Our former Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru rightly said, "The children of today will make the India of tomorrow." While we popularise these sayings by great people of our country, it is essential to protect the rights of children. As a result, the UN General Assembly formally adopted the United Nations Convention for Child Rights in 1989 and opened it for signature from countries around the world. A total of 196 countries have signed it so far and India is one among them.
It was on December 11, 1992, that India signed UNCRC. Hence, today is an important day for the children of India. But what is UNCRC and what was the basis for the concept of rights of the child?
UNCRC is a legally binding international agreement setting out the civil, political, economic, socio-cultural rights of every child below 18 years. According to the UNCRC, there are four basic principles under which child rights must be protected. It includes non-discrimination, devotion towards the best interests of the child, right to life, survival and development. Eglantyne Jebb, a British social reformer and Founder of Save the Children organisation was shocked by the deprivation of education and nutrition among children. That's when she decided to write the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child. This declaration served as the basis for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Her vision was to protect the rights of children.
India's role in implementing UNCRC:
In pursuance of UNCRC, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights was set up in March 2007 under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act in 2005. The commission had to ensure that all laws, policies and programmes formed must be in favour of the child's rights.
Hence, the constitution of India, as of now, guarantees all the children certain rights.
This includes:
*Article 21 A mentions the Right to free and compulsory education
*Article 24 mentions the Right to be protected from any hazardous jobs in the factory
*Article 39 F guarantees Right to equal opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in the condition of freedom and dignity and guaranteed protection of childhood and youth against exploitation and against material and moral abandonment
