Children are the most important assets of the nation because they shape the destiny of the nation as future citizens. The children have a right to protection against any kind of abuse, trafficking and exploitation. Children are easily gullible, vulnerable to abuse and exploited by the vested interests since they are tender in their age. Children are abused by their parents, guardians, teachers and other forces within and outside the family. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child called upon the States Parties to take appropriate educational, social, legislative and administrative measures to protect the child from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation. The national governments have also provided various constitutional provisions, opportunities and facilities to safeguard the interest of children and facilitate their integrated development.
Millions of children are not fully protected. Many of them deal with violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation, exclusion and/or discrimination every day. Such violations limit their chances of surviving, growing, developing and pursuing their dreams.
Children rights under the constitution
Fundamental Rights:
Fundamental means Basic. All rights that are basic to every human being has been listed by the Constitution Under Fundamental Rights:
Right to equality
Right to Equality Before Law (Article 14)
Right against discrimination
Article 15(3) requires the state to make special provisions for children.
Right to education
Article 21-A of the constitution states that “right to education-the state shall
provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such a manner as the state may, by law determine.”
The Supreme Court in its liberal interpretation of life and liberty as under
Article 21 held that the term liberty not only includes liberty but also
includes livelihood but also the right of human beings to live with dignity and that also includes the right to education, and therefore, right to
education is a fundamental right under the constitution. The case of Mohini
Jain case came to be fortified by the supreme courts subsequent
constitution bench of Unnikrishnan’s case, which held that right to education can be restricted to primary educational level and not to higher secondary level.
Article 45 Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years-
The State shall endeavor to provide early childhood care and education for
all children until they complete the age of six years.
This article has been substituted by the Constitution (eighty-sixth amendment) act, 2002 which received assent of the President on Dec. 12 2002. By this amendment a new Article 21-A providing for right to education has also been inserted. This is in keeping with the hope expressed in the Supreme Court in Unnikrishnan and Mohini Jain that conversion of the State’s obligation under Article 45 into a fundamental right would help achieve the goal at a faster speed. This is now also a
fundamental duty of parents and guardians to educate such children as
provided in clause (k) of Article 51-A.
Article 45 states the “provision for free and compulsory education for
children- the State shall endeavor to provide, within a period of ten years
from the commencement of the Constitution, for free and compulsory
education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years”. However this goal has not been achieved even after fifty years of the commencement of the Constitution. It was held that there was nothing to prevent the State from discharging that solemn obligation through the government and aided the schools, and Article 45 does not require the obligation to be discharged at the expense of minority communities. It was held in the case of Mohini Jain v. state of Karnataka and others.
The directive principles which are fundamental in the governance of the country cannot be isolated from the fundamental rights guaranteed under part III. These principles, have to be read into the fundamental rights. Both
are supplementary to each other. The state is under the constitutional
mandate to create conditions in which the fundamental rights guaranteed to
the individuals under part III could be enjoyed by all. Without making “right to education” under Art.41 of the constitution a reality the fundamental rights under Chapter III shall remain beyond the reach of large majority which is illiterate.
“Right to life” is the compendious expression for all those rights which the courts must enforce because they are basic to the dignified enjoyment of
life. It extends to the full range of conduct which the individual is free to
pursue. The right to education flows directly from right to life.
Rights against exploitation
Article 23 states that “prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour.-
(1)Traffic in human beings and beggar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.
(2)Nothing in this Article shall prevent the state from imposing compulsory service for public purposes, and in imposing such service the State shall
not make any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste or
class or any of them.
Traffic in human beings means to deal in men and women like goods, such as or to sell or let or otherwise dispose them of. It would include traffic in
women and children for immoral or other purposes. The immoral traffic
(prevention) Act, 1956 is a law made by parliament under Article 35 of the
constitution for the purpose of punishing acts which result in traffic in human beings.
In pursuance of Article 23 the bonded labour system has also been abolished and declared illegal by the bonded labour system (abolition) act, 1976. To ask a person to work against his will and not provide him remuneration can be a breach under Article 23 of the Constitution. In no circumstances can a man be required to work against is will.
The Indian penal code and the criminal procedure code have separate provisions prohibiting traffic in human beings. According to the penal code, selling, letting for hire or otherwise disposing of, or buying, or hiring or otherwise obtaining possession of any girl under the age of 18 years for the purpose of prostitution or for any unlawful or immoral purposes is also an offence. In 1958, by a central enactment organized prostitution as a profession has been abolished all over the country and the running of brothels has been made an offence.
Article 24-“prohibition of employment of children in factories,etc- No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or be engaged in any hazardous employment”
To Enforce Fundamental Rights :
•File a petition in Supreme Court
•Petition in the High Court
•Writing a letter to the High Court or Supreme Court
•Asking someone to file a petition on our behalf
•Write a letter on our behalf if one is unable to (as may be the case with children)
Rights under directive principles
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))
Article 45. The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten
years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and
compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of
fourteen years.
• Right to early childhood care and education to all children until they
complete the age of six years (Article 45)
Article 46. Right of weaker sections of the people to be protected
from social injustice and all forms of exploitation
Article 47. Right to nutrition and standard of living and improved
public health
Fundamental Duties Article 51
who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to
his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and
fourteen years.
JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 is the primary legal framework for juvenile justice in India. The Act provides for a special approach towards the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency and provides a framework for the protection, treatment and rehabilitation of children in the purview of the juvenile justice system. This law, brought in compliance of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), repealed the earlier Juvenile Justice Act of 1986 after India signed and ratified the UNCRC in 1992. This Act has been further amended in 2006 and 2010.
The Act is considered to be extremely progressive legislation and the Model Rules 2007 have further added to the effectiveness of this welfare legislation. However, the implementation is a very serious concern even in 2013 and the Supreme Court of India is constantly looking into the implementation of this law in Sampurna Behrua V. Union of India and Bachpan Bachao Andolan V. Union of India. In addition to the Supreme Court, the Bombay and Allahabad High Courts are also monitoring implementation of the Act in judicial proceedings. In order to upgrade the Juvenile Justice Administration System, the Government of India launched the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) in 2009-10 whereby financial allocations have been increased and various existing schemes have been merged under one scheme.
The rights of a delinquent child
There is to be a sharp and basic focus on the procedural safeguards that guarantee a fair and just trial of every juvenile before a competent authority. Basic procedural safeguards such as the presumption of innocence, the right to be notified of the charges, the right to remain silent, the right to council. The right to the presence of parents, etc.. shall be guaranteed at all stage.
As justice Bhagwati has rightly quoted “the child is a soul with a being, a nature and capacities of its own, who must be helped to find them, to grow into the maturity, into fullness on physical and vital energy and most breadth, depth and height of its emotional, intellectual and spiritual being”[13]. Children require guidance and support. They do not know the technicalities of life. It is for citizens like us to take their hand and show them the right way. The social workers play an important role in eradicating social evils and thus they is need for stricter analysis on their qualification and professional capacity.
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