Children’s Rights

The UN convention on the Rights of Child which lndia ratified in 1992, lists the following as the Rights of the child.

The Right to survival:

According to the convention, the “Right to survival includes the right to life, the attainable standard of health, nutrition and an adequate standard of living. It also includes the right to a name and nationality”. These rights seek to ensure that the children have nutritious food, potable drinking water, a secure home and access to health facilities.

The Right to Protection:

According to the convention, this right includes freedom from all forms of exploitation, abuse and inhuman or degrading treatment. This Includes the right to special protection in situations of emergency and armed conflict. The aim is simple, to protect vulnerable children from those who would take advantage of them and to safeguard their minds and bodies.

The Right to development:

The right includes the right to be educated, to receive support for development and care during early childhood and to social security. It also includes the right to leisure, to recreation and to cultural activities. This right seeks to ensure that children can study and play with whomever they want, practice their own religion and culture and accept their own uniqueness of other cultures and religion.

The Right to participation:

According to the convention, the Riqht to participation accords the child access to appropriate information and the freedom of thought and expression, conscience and religion. In addition to this, one ought to respect the views of the child. The aim here is to see that the children are able to develop their own set of values and principles and that they have the opportunity to express themselves and their own opinions.

Apart from the Rights of Child laid down by the U.N.Conventions following are some of the Rights of child laid down by different Acts & the Indian Constitution :

No person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof (The Mines (Amendment) Act 1983).

No child who has not completed his fourteenth year shall be required or allowed to work in any factory (The factories Act, 1948).

Courtesy: http://mppolice.gov.in/Static/Citizen/children_right_e.aspx