Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1238003,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1238003/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 53,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Speaker (Hon. Kingi)",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Senators, I hereby report to the Senate that a Petition has been sent by Nayan Salva concerning the Victim Rights Charter. As you are aware under Article 119 (1) of the Constitution: “Every person has a right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority including enacting, amending or repealing any legislation.” Hon. Senators, the salient issues raised in the said Petition are as follows; THAT, the Victim Protection Act No. 17 was enacted in 2014 yet the Victim Protection Board is still unincorporated. THAT, the Victims Rights Charter has not been implemented eight years since the enactment of the Victim Protection Act. THAT, the staff of the Victim Protection Board have been receiving a salary for eight years yet the Board remains unincorporated and the Victim Rights Charter has not yet been launched. THAT, the Petitioner has requested a copy of the Victim Rights Charter from the Victim Protection Board unsuccessfully and that the representatives of the Board have stated that elaborate procedure and budgetary constraints have caused the delays without providing any evidence to support this claim. The reasons provided by the Victim Protection Board for the delay in launching the Charter are unconvincing and material published on the website mainly consisting of repetitive annual reports does not provide a satisfactory explanation. THAT, the proposed legislation for the implementation of the Victim Protection Act including the Victim Protection Amendment Bill of 2019 and the Victim Protection Trust Fund Regulations 2021 have equally taken inordinately long to be enacted without satisfactory reasons. THAT, the petitioner has made efforts to address the matter by the relevant authorities, all of which have failed to give a satisfactory response. THAT, none of the issues raised in this Petition are pending in any court of law. The Petitioner, therefore, prays that Senate: 1. Investigates the reason for the delay in the implementation of the incorporation of the Victim Protection Board and the launching of the Victim Rights Charter. 2. Inquires into the operations of the Victims Protection Board and its activities since 2014. 3. Inquires into the role of the office of the Attorney-General and the Department of Justice in the operationalization of the Act. Hon. Senators, pursuant to Standing Order 237, I shall now allow comments, observations or clarifications in relation to the Petition for not more than 30 minutes."
}