Child Rights

Child
• According to international law, a ‘child’ means every human being below the age of
18 years. This is a universally accepted definition of a child and comes from the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), an international legal
instrument accepted and ratified by most countries.

Child Rights
• The Constitution of India guarantees all children certain rights, which have been
specially included for them. These 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 from 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)).

United Nations Convention on the Rights Of The Child,1989

• India signed it in 1992
• The most significant of all international laws for children is the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, popularly referred to as the CRC.
• Significant features:
o 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.
o The convention is guided by the principles of ‘Best Interest of the Child’ and
‘Non-discrimination’ and ‘Respect for views of the child.’
o 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.
o It obligates the state to respect and ensure that children get a fair and
equitable deal in society.
• It draws attention to four sets of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights:
o Right to Survival – to life, health, nutrition, name, nationality
o Right to Development – to education, care, leisure, recreation, cultural
activities
o Right to Protection – from exploitation, abuse, neglect
o Right to Participation – to expression, information, thought, religion
The 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

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 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.

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015

• The Act seeks to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of Children as ratified by India on December 11, 1992. It specifies procedural
safeguards in cases of children in conflict with law. It seeks to address challenges in
the existing Act such as delays in adoption processes, high pendency of cases,
accountability of institutions, etc. The Act further seeks to address children in the 16-
18 age group, in conflict with law, as an increased incidence of crimes committed by
them have been reported over the past few years.
• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 has come into force
from January 15, 2016 and repeals the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000.
• Key features:
o Special provisions for heinous offences committed by children above the age
of sixteen years - Under Section 15, special provisions have been made to
tackle child offenders committing heinous offences in the age group of 16-18
years. The Juvenile Justice Board is given the option to transfer cases of
heinous offences by such children to a Children’s Court (Court of Session)
after conducting preliminary assessment. The provisions provide for placing
children in a ‘place of safety’ both during and after the trial till they attain the
age of 21 years after which an evaluation of the child shall be conducted by
the Children’s Court. After the evaluation, the child is either released on
probation and if the child is not reformed then the child will be sent to a jail
for remaining term. The law will act as a deterrent for child offenders
committing heinous offences such as rape and murder and will protect the
rights of victim.
o Penalties for cruelty against a child, offering a narcotic substance to a child,
and abduction or selling a child have been prescribed. Any official, who does
not report an abandoned or orphaned child within 24 hours, is liable to
imprisonment up to six months or fine of Rs 10,000 or both. The penalty for
non-registration of child care institutions is imprisonment up to one year or
fine of one lakh rupees, or both. The penalty for giving a child intoxicating
liquor, narcotic or psychotropic substances is imprisonment up to seven years
or fine of one lakh rupees, or both.
o Mandatory registration of Child Care Institutions - All child care institutions,
whether run by State Government or by voluntary or non-governmental
organisations, which are meant, either wholly or partially for housing
children, regardless of whether they receive grants from the Government,
are to be mandatorily registered under the Act within 6 months from the
date of commencement of the Act. Stringent penalty is provided in the law in
case of non-compliance.

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The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed
by the Parliament.
• Specific provisions
o It defines what ‘child pornography’ is; ‘using a child for pornographic
purposes’ and for ‘possessing or storing pornography involving a child’ is
punishable.
o It has also widened the ambit of ‘Aggravated sexual assault’
o It introduced the death penalty for the rape of minors
o The Bill is gender neutral and provides for the death penalty for “aggravated
penetrative sexual assault of a child” and not just a girl child.
o An amendment has also been approved to Section 4 of the POCSO Act so as
to increase the minimum punishment to ten years, from the existing seven
years.
o For ‘penetrative sexual assault’ of 16 to 17 year olds and if the child is below
the age of 16 years the punishment extends to a minimum of 20 years.
o The maximum term of life imprisonment in such cases has been retained.
o Moreover, the definition of ‘sexual assault’ has now been expanded to
include administration of hormones to children to make them appear more
sexually mature for the sake of commercial sexual exploitation.
• The POCSO Act, 2012 was enacted to Protect the Children from Offences of Sexual
Assault, Sexual harassment and pornography with due regard for safeguarding the
interest and well-being of children.
• The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age, and regards the
best interests and welfare of the child as matter of paramount importance at every
stage.
• The act aims to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social
development of the child.
• The act is gender neutral.

Commercial surrogacy
• The Union Cabinet cleared a Bill to prohibit commercial surrogacy in India, allowing
only altruistic, ethical surrogacy to the needy infertile married Indian couples,
including NRIs.
• The Bill lists conditions requiring couples seeking surrogacy service to have been
married for five years and a medical certificate for infertility for either of the spouse
at the end of that period in conformity with the stated age group.
• Surrogacy services will be banned for persons of Indian origin, overseas citizens of
India, members of the LGBT community, single parents and live-in partners.

PCPNDT Act
• Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 is an Act of
the Parliament of India enacted to stop female foeticides and arrest the declining sex
ratio in India.
• The main purpose of enacting the act is to ban the use of sex selection techniques
after conception and prevent the misuse of prenatal diagnostic technique for sex
selective abortion.

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 • Features of the Act
o The Act provides for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after
conception.
o It regulates the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques, like ultrasound and
amniocentesis
o Any person who puts an advertisement for pre-natal and pre-conception sex
determination facilities can be imprisoned for up to three years and fined Rs.
10,000.Any subsequent conviction entails upto 5 years imprisonment and
upto Rs.50,000 fine.
o The Act mandates compulsory registration of all diagnostic laboratories, all
genetic counselling centres, genetic laboratories, genetic clinics and
ultrasound clinics.
o Metropolitan Magistrate or 1st class Judicial Magistrate will try any offence
punishable under this law . According to Section 27 every offence is
cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.
• The 1994 Act was amended in 2003 to The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic
Techniques (Prohibition Of Sex Selection) Act to improve the regulation of the
technology used in sex selection.
• Amendment of the act mainly covered bringing the technique of pre conception sex
selection within the ambit of the act.

Children’s School Bags (Limitation on Weight), Bill of 2006

• The bill states that the weight of a school bag must not exceed more than 10% of the
child’s bodyweight.
• It also directs respective State Governments to ensure that schools provide lockers
for students, ensure that schools adhere to the standards of measurements for bags,
and students use both straps for carrying bags.
• In addition, it states terms that require teachers to inform students of the books
required a day prior, and the students should be taught how to pack bags so heavy
loads can be kept close to the body.
• The 1993 report ‘Learning without burden’, submitted by the Yash Pal Committee
appointed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development stated that young
children should not be compelled to carry heavy bags to schools.

National Registry of sex offenders

• The Union Home Ministry has launched a National Registry of Sexual Offenders,
which should be useful in limiting the rampant growth of sex crimes, including those
against children
• India’s database, which includes names, addresses, photographs, fingerprints, DNA
samples and government ID, will be useful for tracking offenders after they have
served their sentence and would reduce repeat offences
• India is the ninth country to build such a database, and it has chosen to follow the
majority in restricting access to law enforcement agencies

Central Adoption Resource Authority

• Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory autonomous body of
Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.

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 • It functions as the nodal body for the adoption of Indian children and is mandated to
monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
• CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in
accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption,
1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003.
• CARA primarily deals with the adoption of the orphan, abandoned and surrendered
children through its associated /recognised adoption agencies

Hague Adoption Convention

• The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of
Intercountry Adoption is an international convention dealing with international
adoption, child laundering, and child trafficking.
• The Convention was developed by the Hague Conference on Private International
Law, the preeminent organization in the area of private international law. It was
concluded on 29 May 1993 and entered into force on 1 May 1995.
• 96 countries including India has signed and ratified this convention. Whereas Nepal,
South Korea and Russia are yet to ratify it.

Future for the World’s Children Report 2020

• The report was released by a commission of over 40 child and adolescent health
experts from around the world after assessing 180 countries.
• It was commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), UN Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) and The Lancet medical journal.
• The report highlights the distinct threat posed to children from harmful marketing.
• Evidence suggests that children in some countries see as many as 30,000
advertisements on television alone in a single year, while youth exposure to vaping
(e-cigarettes) advertisements increased by more than 250% in the U.S. over two
years, reaching more than 24 million young people.
• Studies in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the U.S. — among many
others — have shown that self-regulation has not hampered commercial ability to
advertise to children.
• Children’s exposure to commercial marketing of junk food and sugary beverages is
associated with the purchase of unhealthy foods and overweight and obesity, linking
predatory marketing to the alarming rise in childhood obesity.
• The number of obese children and adolescents increased from 11 million in 1975 to
124 million in 2016 — an 11-fold increase, with dire individual and societal costs, the
report said.

Sustainability Index
• India ranked 77th on a sustainability index that takes into account per capita carbon
emissions and ability of children in a nation to live healthy lives
• Norway leads the table for survival, health, education and nutrition rates – followed
by South Korea and the Netherlands.
• The central African Republic, Chad and Somalia come at the bottom.
• No country in the world is currently providing the conditions we need to support
every child to grow up and have a healthy future alarmed the report.

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Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana
• Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana is a campaign under the Government of India that
was established for generating awareness and improving the efficiency of the
welfare services intended for girls in India. This scheme was launched by PM
Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 which is run jointly by the Ministry of Women
and Child Development, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry
of Human Resource Development. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign is a national
initiative jointly which aims to address the issue of the declining child sex ratio image
(CSR).
• Dr. Rajendra Phadke is the National Convener of BBBP Abhiyan.
• The main objectives of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana are:
o To prevent gender-biased sex selective elimination.
o To ensure the protection and survival of the girl child.
o Ensuring education and participation of the girl child

Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme

• Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme is a small saving scheme under the Government of India
targeting the parents of any girl children. This scheme focuses on encouraging the
parents of the female child for building a fund for their future education and
marriage expenses. Also known as Sukanya Samriddhi Account, this scheme was
launched by PM Narendra Modi as a part of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign.
It was launched on 22nd January 2015 in Panipat, Haryana
• The Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened at any Post office or branch of
authorised commercial banks in the country.
• The minimum amount for opening an account under this scheme is Rs.250 and later,
any amount in multiples of a hundred can be deposited. Amounts can be deposited
for 15 years into Sukanya Samriddhi account and remain operative for 21 years from
the date of opening of the account.

Ø Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 (Amended in 1979): It restraints child marriage until
the minimum age, i.e. 21 for male and 18 for female, has been attained by them. It
applies to the people of all the religions.
Ø National Policy for Children, 1974: It is the first written policy for the children in India. It
aims at providing better enforcement of constitutional rights of the children along with
those granted by the CRC. Some of the provisions include free education, comprehensive
health and nutritious plans, etc.

Child labour
Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016:
• employment of children below the age of 14 years in any commercial enterprise is
illegal. However, it excludes a section of toiling children in the unorganized sectors
including agriculture as well as the household work.
• The bill also bars the employment of adolescents in occupations that deals with
hazardous working conditions such as chemical plants and mines.
• The act says that children can only work after school hours or during holidays and
that children are allowed to work in family owned secure sectors.
• However, no child is permitted to work between 7 pm and 8 am.

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 • Children are also not allowed to work overtime.
• An establishment must provide holiday of one whole day in each week to every child
employed.
• Recently, India has ratified International Labour Organizations Convention (ILO) no 138
(minimum age for employment) and convention no 182 (worst forms of child labour).

UNICEF
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is a special program of the United Nations (UN)
devoted to aiding national efforts to improve the health, nutrition, education, and
general welfare of children.
• UNICEF was created in 1946 as International Children’s Emergency Fund (ICEF) by UN
relief Rehabilitation Administration to help children affected by World War II.
• UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations in 1953.
• UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989.
• Awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1965 for “promotion of brotherhood among the
nations”.
• Headquarters: New York City.
• It works in over 190 countries and territories with 7 regional offices.
• UNICEF is governed by an Executive Board consisting of 36 members that are elected to
terms of three years by the United Nations' Economic and Social Council.
• South Asia Regional Office, Kathmandu, Nepal
• Nodal Ministries: Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Call to Action, 2013: This initiative was launched to reduce under-five mortality.

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