The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Mainstream children's rights: Shantha Sinha

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 08, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Mainstream children's rights: Shantha Sinha

Special Correspondent

Suggests task force in States to probe cases

CHENNAI: Newly appointed chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Ramon Magsaysay winner, Shantha Sinha, on Saturday called for "mainstreaming" children's rights and ensuring State's responsibility to secure them.

"I feel it is possible to ensure that no child is left out. When you are talking about children, it appeals to people. The challenge is to mainstream the issue," Ms. Sinha said here.

Calling for a "galvanising movement" for children's rights in the country, she said the National Commission for Child Rights would count on the support of as many players in the sector as possible to take forward its mandate.

The Commission has the autonomy to establish its own committees and task forces to investigate cases relating to children. Each State government is mandated to set up a State Commission for Child Rights and while waiting for the Commission to be appointed, a task force can be set up in the state to investigate such cases, she said.

Main issues

Unwilling to prioritise some issues over others, she said all subjects required equal attention of the Commission. These varied with age group and comprised foeticide, infanticide, child labour, trafficking, sexual abuse, education and health condition.

There was no concrete policy to protect children in the age group 14 to18. Changes would have to be made to the Child Labour Act to prohibit all forms of child labour. A statutory clause must be inserted into the Education for All Act to push for effective implementation.

In Tamil Nadu, over the last three days, Ms. Sinha met Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy and Secretaries of key departments to apprise them of the Commission's mandate. The government team made a presentation on initiatives for children implemented by Tamil Nadu.

Ms. Sinha said the noon meal programme of the State Government was a unique intervention and recommended that other States study the model and implement it.

Ms. Sinha and child rights experts Neera Burra and Venkat Reddy visited Sirkazhi in Nagapattinam district, where a public hearing was organised by Action Aid India and M.V.Foundation. Issues thrown up included migrant children, child labour, rights of nomadic communities, and problems older children face in joining schools. It was followed up with discussions with Nagapattinam collector Tenkasi S. Jawahar.

On Saturday, the Human Rights Foundation and Cedar Tamil Nadu organised a consultation of civil society organisations in Chennai with the team to discuss and arrive at a clear picture of the role and responsibility of the Commission.

Ms. Sinha said Tamil Nadu was the first State she was touring after assuming charge. She had chosen to come here because of the proactive role the Government and NGOs took in ensuring child rights.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu