Kabiraa Foundation

hildren. CHILD RIGHTS….INDIA’S SCENARIO
The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines basic rights of children covering multiple needs and issues. India endorsed it on December 11, 1992. Following are a few rights in the immediate purview of Smile Foundation as well as India
The right to Education: 50% of Indian children aged 6-18 do not go to school
Dropout rates increase alarmingly in class III to V, its 50% for boys, 58% for girls. The right to Expression: Every child has a right to express himself freely in whichever way he likes. Majority of children however are exploited by their elders and not allowed to express. The right to Information: Every child has a right to know his basic rights and his position in the society. High incidence of illiteracy and ignorance among the deprived and underprivileged children prevents them from having access to information about them and their society. The right to Nutrition: More than 50% of India's children are malnourished. While one in every five adolescent boys is malnourished, one in every two girls in India is undernourished. The right to Health & Care: 58% of India's children below the age of 2 years are not fully vaccinated. And 24% of these children do not receive any form of vaccination. Over 60% of children in India are anemic. 95 in every 1000 children born in India do not see their fifth birthday. 70 in every 1000 children born in India do not see their first birthday. The right to protection from Abuse: There are approximately 2 million child commercial sex workers between the age of 5 and 15 years and about 3.3 million between 15 and 18 years. They form 40% of the total population of commercial sex workers in India. 500,000 children are forced into this trade every year. The right to protection from Exploitation: 17 million children in India work as per official estimates. A study found that children were sent to work by compulsion and not by choice, mostly by parents, but with recruiter playing a crucial role in influencing decision. When working outside the family, children put in an average of 21 hours of labour per week. Poor and bonded families often "sell" their children to contractors who promise lucrative jobs in the cities and the children end up being employed in brothels, hotels and domestic work. Many run away and find a life on the streets. The right to protection from Neglect: Every child has a right to lead a well protected and secure life away from neglect. However, children working under exploitative and inhuman conditions get neglected badly. The right to Development: Every child has the right to development that lets the child explore her/his full potential. Unfavourable living conditions of underprivileged children prevent them from growing in a free and uninhibited way. The right to Recreation: Every child has a right to spend some time on recreational pursuits like sports, entertainment and hobbies to explore and develop. Majority of poor children in India do not get time to spend on recreational activities. The right to Name & Nationality: Every child has a right to identify himself with a nation. A vast majority of underprivileged children in India are treated like commodities and exported to other countries as labour or prostitutes. The right to Survival: Of the 12 million girls born in India, 3 million do not see their fifteenth birthday, and a million of them are unable to survive even their first birthday. Every sixth girl child's death is due to gender discrimination. India is a party to the UN declaration on the Rights of the Child 1959. Accordingly, it adopted a National Policy on Children in 1974. The policy reaffirmed the constitutional provisions for adequate services to children, both before and after birth and through the period of growth to ensure their full physical, mental and social development. Accordingly, the government is taking action to review the national and state legislation and bring it in line with the provisions of the Convention. It has also developed appropriate monitoring procedures to assess progress in implementing the Convention-involving various stake holders in the society. India is also a signatory to the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children. In pursuance of the commitment made at the World Summit, the Department of Women and Child Development under the Ministry of Human Resource Development has formulated a National Plan of Action for Children. Most of the recommendations of the World Summit Action Plan are reflected in India's National Plan of Action- keeping in mind the needs, rights and aspirations of 300 million children in the country. The priority areas in the Plan are health, nutrition, education, water, sanitation and environment. The Plan gives special consideration to children in difficult circumstances and aims at providing a framework, for actualization of the objectives of the Convention in the Indian context. The Indian constitution accords rights to children as citizens of the country, and in keeping with their special status the State has even enacted special laws. The Constitution, promulgated in 1950, encompasses most rights included in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy. Over the years, many individuals and public interest groups have approached the apex court for restitution of fundamental rights, including child rights. The Directive Principles of State Policy articulate social and economic rights that have been declared to be “fundamental in the governance of the country and … the duty of the state to apply … in making laws” (Article 37). The government has the flexibility to undertake appropriate legislative and administrative measures to ensure children’s rights; no court can make the government ensure them, as these are essentially directives. These directives have enabled the judiciary to give some landmark judgements promoting children’s rights, leading to Constitutional Amendments as is in the case of the 86th Amendment to the Constitution that made Right to Education a fundamental right. Constitutional Guarantees that are meant specifically for children include:
Right to free and compulsory elementary education for all children in the 6-14 year age group (Article 21 A)
Right to be protected from any hazardous employment till the age of 14 years (Article 24)
Right to be protected form being abused and forced by economic necessity to enter occupations unsuited to their age or strength (Article 39(e))
Right to equal opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and guaranteed protection of childhood and youth against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment (Article 39 (f))
Right to early childhood care and education to all children until they complete the age of six years (Article 45)
Besides, Children also have rights as equal citizens of India, just as any other adult male or female:
• Right to equality (Article 14)

• Right against discrimination (Article 15)

• Right to personal liberty and due process of law (Article 21)

• Right to being protected from being trafficked and forced into bonded labour (Article 23)

• Right of minorities for protection of their interests (Article 29)

• Right of weaker sections of the people to be protected from social injustice and all forms of exploitation (Article 46)

• Right to nutrition and standard of living and improved public health (Article 47)