In order for children attending camps and their parents to feel safe, additional requirements will be imposed on the managers and employees of the children's camps. On Thursday, 20 June, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Education Law tasking the Cabinet of Ministers to specify the requirements.
The amendments have been developed in response to recent cases of violence and sexual offences that have occurred in children's camps. The amendments will strengthen the requirements for the competence and responsibility of children's camp managers in complying with safety regulations and preventing any kind of risk of violence among the camp participants and staff, the authors of the draft law emphasise.
Until now, the Cabinet of Ministers was authorised to regulate the organisation and operation of children's camps, but with the new amendments the Cabinet of Ministers will determine the requirements for both camp managers and employees, as well as for the improvement of the professional competence of managers. The Cabinet of Ministers will also have to determine the procedure for issuing, registering, suspending or revoking children's camp managers’ licences.
As the authors of the draft law emphasise, it is not permissible that after initiating an investigation into a possible violation or confirming a violation of a camp manager, they would retain the right to run another camp. Therefore, it is necessary to stipulate in which cases the manager’s licence suspended or revoked.
Saeima Press Service