Regional Consultation Meet: Rights of the Child discussed

With an aim of inviting suggestions to prepare the report on Convention on the Rights of the Child, a consultation meet was organised in Bhopal. The meet was attended by representatives of various organisations of national and state level repute.
A THREE-DAY REGIONAL consultation meet for preparation of India’s country report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child was recently held at Bhopal. This was second such meeting organised by Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, wherein first one was held at Chandigarh. More than 50 civil society and state partners from states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh participated in the consultation. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is an international treaty signed by Government of India in year 1992. It is also a legal binding international instrument, incorporating the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.

The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols to which India is signatory and these are for the benefit of children. The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. Dr Hamid El Bashir, State Representative, UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh, participating in the meet said that society needs to lead the change process and could lead the thinking of the government as well. Children have unmet rights in Madhya Pradesh and we need a holistic approach when we talk about child’s rights. We need to create a mass movement around children for making that happen. Madhya Pradesh state needs to strengthen the child rights monitoring and take into account child views when we decide for children view. When we decide not to include children in fact we are missing important members of the society.

Karuna Bishnoi, Communication Officer, UNICEF Delhi who was participating in the meet spoke on the need of taking views of children into account and also increase our understanding of many issues which have got reflected at the consultation so that suitable recommendations can be provided. She said that India will be reporting for the first time on the Optional Protocols on children affected by armed conflict and sale of children, may be we need to understand the context better and provide suitable suggestions. Razia Ismail Abbasi, Co-Convenor of India Alliance for Child Rights, a national network of non governmental organisation working for child rights who participated in the workshop said that we need to invest more in children and young people and it is an investment not just the welfare.

Issue of ’defining the age of a child’ in India came up in the meeting. As per ’Convention on the Rights of the Child article one, anyone below 18 is considered a child. Whereas Indian laws like juvenile justice, child labour etc. differ on the age parameters.

Participants suggested that we should work towards making ‘18 years age’ a common parameter for defining a child, under all Indian laws. They also proposed that there is a need of strengthening of implementation of the various laws and policies besides engaging communities in implementation. “There is need of increasing awareness not only amongst communities but also among implementers,” added a participant from Maharashtra.

Representatives of World Vision, Plan International, and Child Line Foundation along with others contributed various suggestions for the report. Non-governmental organisations from Madhya Pradesh namely Aarambh, Oasis, Madhya Pradesh Samaj Sewa Sanstha, Madhya Pradesh Voluntary Health Association, Vikas Samvad, Janshas, National Institute of Women Youth and Child Development contributed from the state perspective. C K Reejonia, Under Secretary, Women and Child Development Department, Government of India; Representatives from Women and Child Development, Education and Social Justice from the state and Women and Child Development Maharashtra also participated in the meeting.