Child Rights in India
- November 21, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Child Rights in India
Subject – Governance
Context – Tamil Nadu releases state policy to ensure child rights
Concept –
Fundamental Rights
- Article 14- The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of laws with in the territory of India.
- Article 15- The State shall not discriminate against any citizen. Nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provisions for women and children.
- Article 21- No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.
- Article 21 A- The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6-14 years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine.
- Article 23- Traffic in human beings and beggary and other forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with the law.
- Article 24- No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
- The Constitution (86th Amendment) Act was notified on 13th December 2002, making free and compulsory education a Fundamental Right for all children in the age group of 6-14 years.
Directive Principles
- Article 39(e) & (f) direct that the state policies are directed towards securing the tender age of children.
- Article 45 states that the state shall endeavor to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.
- Article 47– The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties
- Article 51A mentions that it shall be the fundamental duty of the parent and guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen.
- Article 243G read with Schedule 11 – provide for institutionalization of child care by seeking to entrust programmes of Women and Child Development to Panchayat (Item 25 of Schedule 11), apart from education (item 17), family welfare (item 25), health and sanitation (item 23) and other items with a bearing on the welfare of children.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
- The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was set up in March 2007 under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, an Act of Parliament (December 2005).
- National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is a statutory body under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005 under the administrative control of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
- The Commission’s Mandate is to ensure that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- The Child is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years age group.
United Nations Convention on the Rights Of The Child
- Human rights belong to all people, regardless of their age, including children. However, because of their special status – whereby children need extra protection and guidance from adults – children also have some special rights of their own.
- These are called children’s rights and they are laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
- Significant features of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
- Applies equally to both girls and boys up to the age of 18, even if they are married or already have children of their own.
- The convention is guided by the principles of ‘Best Interest of the Child’ and ‘Non-discrimination’ and ‘Respect for views of the child.’
- It emphasises the importance of the family and the need to create an environment that is conducive to the healthy growth and development of children.
- It obligates the state to respect and ensure that children get a fair and equitable deal in society.