Child rights - the first steps
The young nation finally wakes up to protect its young. If all goes well, The Child rights bill would become law with the pending presidential nod. 430 million Indians (Children) would be covered by this bill. Its incredible that it has taken us this long to formulate something like this. But at least now the intent is right. But can it be implemented ? That is another huge challenge. But If India wants to become a "superpower" it cannot ignore the young - the leaders of tomorrow.
Outlook writes, " India's future—its 430 million children—can finally look forward to being treated as individuals and granted their due rights.
This will be ensured by the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Bill 2005, passed in Parliament in December last year. The commission is slated to become functional from March this year, post a formal presidential nod. It will examine and review the safeguards for the protection of child rights and look into matters relating to children in need of special care and protection. This will include those in distress, in conflict with law, juvenile delinquents, children without family and children of prisoners. It will recommend appropriate remedial measures, all of which have been spelt out for the first time in the bill. The commission also has the mandate to examine all factors that curtail the rights of children affected by terrorism, communal violence, riots, natural disaster, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and human trafficking.
And rumour has it that it has acted now fearing censure from the UN. Being a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on December 11, 1992, India was bound to come out with an action plan. But everyone working with children is agreed that the bill is a positive first step.Child rights activists have all along confronted the government with startling statistics on the status of Indian children. Nearly 17 million children have to work for a living, many of them in hazardous environments. Close to 30 per cent of the two million sex workers are under-age. Yet only 3 per cent of the GDP goes towards welfare schemes targeted at children. Less than half of India's 430 million children go to schools. Faced with the appalling statistics, the child development department under the Union ministry of human resources and development has finally done something."
The young nation finally wakes up to protect its young. If all goes well, The Child rights bill would become law with the pending presidential nod. 430 million Indians (Children) would be covered by this bill. Its incredible that it has taken us this long to formulate something like this. But at least now the intent is right. But can it be implemented ? That is another huge challenge. But If India wants to become a "superpower" it cannot ignore the young - the leaders of tomorrow.
Outlook writes, " India's future—its 430 million children—can finally look forward to being treated as individuals and granted their due rights.
This will be ensured by the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Bill 2005, passed in Parliament in December last year. The commission is slated to become functional from March this year, post a formal presidential nod. It will examine and review the safeguards for the protection of child rights and look into matters relating to children in need of special care and protection. This will include those in distress, in conflict with law, juvenile delinquents, children without family and children of prisoners. It will recommend appropriate remedial measures, all of which have been spelt out for the first time in the bill. The commission also has the mandate to examine all factors that curtail the rights of children affected by terrorism, communal violence, riots, natural disaster, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and human trafficking.
And rumour has it that it has acted now fearing censure from the UN. Being a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on December 11, 1992, India was bound to come out with an action plan. But everyone working with children is agreed that the bill is a positive first step.Child rights activists have all along confronted the government with startling statistics on the status of Indian children. Nearly 17 million children have to work for a living, many of them in hazardous environments. Close to 30 per cent of the two million sex workers are under-age. Yet only 3 per cent of the GDP goes towards welfare schemes targeted at children. Less than half of India's 430 million children go to schools. Faced with the appalling statistics, the child development department under the Union ministry of human resources and development has finally done something."
posted by Cogito at
10:59 PM
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