by Harsh Rai
INTRODUCTION
India is considered to be a youth-oriented nation in the entire world, with 472 million young people and28.6% of the entire population under the age of 14. Having such an enormous amount of youth base creates enormous responsibility towards their welfare. India is a huge country and one of the largest developing countries. Despite significant progress in economic growth over the last five years, the nation has made an average of 7.3 %. It continues to face other BRICS countries with similar challenges strong growth rates combined with chronic poverty and disparity. These inequalities are evident in the poor human development of the most marginalised nations, including castes, the tribes, and the rural population, women, HIV transgendered persons, and migrants. Despite tremendous advances in India to address poverty, education and the level of HIV, the outcomes were mostly unequal. The children of India continue to suffer some of the world’s most difficult situations, including high rates of malnutrition, child labour, and forced prostitution as well as childhood diseases like diarrhoeal disease [i].
STATUS OF CHILD RIGHTS
About73% of children in India live in rural regions and have frequently restricted access to basic requirements including nutrition, access to health care, education and protection. A large number of rural children often lead to negative repression concerning the fact that children have access to fundamental rights. India’s “Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (Act of 2005)”[ii] (amended in 2006) has influenced the promotion of the rights of children in India. The elimination of child labour, child protection, and young people in particular. The Commission’s mandate to make sure that the Child Rights Perspective enshrines in India’s constitution and the “1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child” is compliant with all the Laws, Policies, Programs and Management Mechanisms. The promotion of children’s rights in India is a priority of the government which is established in the constitution and protected by law. In India, children continue to be faced with obstacles, in particular those linked to access to education, forced labour, and child marriage, when these rights are attained[iii].
SOCIAL PROTECTION TO CHILDREN
For children and families, social protection is vital to avoid and reduce poverty, tackle disparities and achieve children’s rights. Moreover, it is vital that social protection systems, by maximizing good benefits for children and limiting possible negative effects, adapt to children’s vulnerabilities[iv]. Social protection attentive to children can alleviate chronic poverty, social isolation, and external shocks that irrevocably harm children. For children living in rural areas, who typically confront increased vulnerabilities, aggravated by their living situations, this is particularly essential[v]. As just 27% of Indian children reside in urban areas, and 73% live in rural regions, it is vital to broadening access for children to social safety programs. In India, Child sensitive social protection (CSSP) projects, UNICEF, and the Ministry of Social Protection are therefore supporting by saving the children. The objective is to promote and implement the rights of children, ensuring that measures of social protection lead to significant investment in children[vi].
RIGHTS OF CHILDREN TO PROMOTE WELFARE
India 1991 adopted the “United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children in 1992”[vii] with its aim to create an ethical labour market for foreign companies. The Convention is rooted in the willingness of Jebb to alleviate children’s suffering by creating a healthy, joyful, and safe atmosphere that fostered them physically, psychologically, and emotionally. The Convention resonates strongly with these characteristics. Following are the few rights mentioned in the conventions
Right to Identity (Article 7 & 8) The realization of their right to identity and registration is a crucial component in achieving children’s rights. India has one of the highest kid absence rates in the world. Only 41 %of births are recorded. The registration differences are significant in city-rural regions, with 59% of city children under five registered, compared with only 35% in rural areas[viii]. This leads to significant problems for these people since they cannot make use of child-sensitive social safety services and programs which, in the eyes of society, are invisible.
Right to Health (Article 23 & 24)A crucial indication for the achievement of children’s rights is the approach to access to health. In India, about 1 million children die under 5, estimated as 39 fatalities per 1,000 live births. It is very probable that access to health services such as maternity and newborn health care is disadvantaged for women and children. Regular pregnancy surveillance is performed by just 1 in 3 Indian women. Only 37% of newborns in rural regions receive skilled health workers. There are about 204 million people living in India undernourished and the most impacted are the Indian children. Children also confront other problems, including a high prevalence of HIV infections 3700 new children’s infections, lack of safe drinking water, and proper sanitary facilities. Lastly, the wider range of health care in rural areas is unevenly distributed among women and children[ix].
Right to Education (Article 28)“Article 21-A of Indian Constitution”[x] also talks about, Access to education in India continues to be a difficult and essential obstacle to child rights. In India, there are still 287 million adults, the biggest population worldwide, and 37 % of the world’s total, with the highest number of illiterate individuals. Während India’s literacy rate from 1991 to 2006 went 15 percent, the overall number of illiterates remained high after the population increase. Despite India’s attempt to spend 10.5% of total government education expenditures, its decentralized approach enables rich countries to spend far more on training than impoverished countries. For example, a rich country like Kerala spent $685 a year on education, whereas another poor state like Bihar paid $100 per year. This uneven distribution between children and rural people is marginalising higher education in particular.
Right to Life“Article 21, of Indian Constitution”[xi] asserts that“everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of persons”, and that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty…”[xii].In India, life, survival and development of children remain issues of concern notwithstanding the fundamental right that has been established in the constitution. Every day, not only due to poverty, hundreds of children are losing their lives but because of their mom’s impunity. This is a cultural practice that continues to pose the primary danger to Indian children’s right to life. In reality, every day, hundreds of tiny Indian girls die before they are born or lose their lives because their families are not willing or willing to accept them. Several reasons contribute to women’s infanticides, including the system of dowry that “imposes an unbearable economic burden” on children.
Many Indian households use selective miscarriage of the women’s baby to deal with this problem (feticide). In fact, families kill infants by drowning, poisoning, suffocation, or purposeful carelessness leading to the death of the child, much more distressing when child’s birth is inevitable.
Right to Protection and Freedom of expression (Article 19 & 34)A child in India has the right in the domestic and other countries to be safeguarded from neglect, exploitation, and abuse. Children are entitled to be safeguarded against abuse, exploitation, violence, neglect, commercial sexual exploitation, smuggling, child labour, and customary harmful practices. However, more than 69% of children aged 5 to 18 years are victimised by maltreatment, according to government research carried out in 2007. Many have to suffer daily humiliation and violence[xiii].
The cultural norms that have no high regard and respect for the thoughts and views of children are an important component in the neglect of children. There is no particular reference to this right in Indian legislation as such and education concentrates on respecting children for adults. It is necessary to take another approach towards children and their needs to completely realise children’s right to protection. In the educational and educational sector, we must likewise invest in and prosecute those who disregard it, in the fundamental right of children to protection[xiv].
CONCLUSION & SUGGESTIONS
We can conclude on the norm that, post ratification of the Convention in 1990s. The Indian government subsequently made many acts to safeguard the legal interests of children in the country, 32 Situation for children and child rights in India A Desk Review. The country’s court is currently focused on fighting the scenario in which perpetrators of the victims with children are brought to justice. While attempts are obvious, the issue remains how effective the judiciary’s teeth are to curb increasing criminality against minors.
[i]DeveshSaxena, The Problems of Marginalized Groups in India, ACADEMIKE (Sept. 8, 2014), https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/problems-marginalized-groups-india/.
[ii] The Commissions for Protection of Child rights Act, 2005, NO. 4, Acts of Parliament, 2006 (India).
[iii] HUMANIUM, https://www.humanium.org/en/india/ (last visited July 22, 2021).
[iv]Id at III.
[v] Aditi Singh, An Insight into Child Rights in India, LAWLEX.ORG (Jun. 25, 2020), https://lawlex.org/lex-pedia/an-insight-into-child-rights-in-india/23960.
[vi]Combatting COVID-19’s effect on children, OECD (Aug. 11, 2020), https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/combatting-covid-19-s-effect-on-children-2e1f3b2f/.
[vii]UN General Assembly, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, p. 3, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b38f0.html %5Baccessed 22 July 2021].
[viii] HUMANIUM, supra note iii.
[ix]Id.
[x] INDIA CONST. art 21-a.
[xi]INDIA CONST.art. 21.
[xii]Id.
[xiii] HUMANIUM, supra note iii.
[xiv]Karen Broadley, What is child abuse and Neglect? CHILD FAMILY COMMUNITY AUSTRALIA (Sept. 2018), https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/what-child-abuse-and-neglect.
[xv] Picture: Children Incorporated
PROLAWFIC 