THE Ministry of Social Welfare is working with the United Nations Children's Fund and the Solicitor General's office on other legislations to protect children.
Apart from the Child Welfare Decree on mandatory reporting, the ministry is working on other legislations to ensure that it meets up with the benchmark of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Social Welfare permanent secretary Govind Sami said the ministry had also hired a consultant to assist in the review of some legislations on child welfare and protection.
The legislations under review are Adoption of Infants Act, Juveniles Act and Probation Act.
"The new decrees will provide a new platform to provide a supportive and caring environment for children in Fiji," Mr Sami said.
Fiji has acceded to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption effective from August 1, with Inter-country Adoption and the Ministry being the identified central authority.
This will mean the institutional arrangement on Intercountry Adoption would be realigned to International Best Practice providing a more protective environment for children who need to be placed on alternative care.
Mr Sami said with the proposed provisions in the Community Based Corrections Decree, the ministry hoped to work closely with relevant stakeholders like police and civil society and non-government organisations to provide an array of programs available for children who find themselves in conflict with the law.
The CRC also advocates on protection and promotion of the rights of special needs children, of minority children and those of refugee children.