Cabinet today approved National Child Policy, which states that every person below 18 years of age is child and will have right to survival , protection, development and participation. It also stipulates that all existing law pertaining to child will have to be amended accordingly.
Like Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 differentiates between male and a female child below 21 and 18 years of respectively and will have to be amended.Prohibition of Child Labour Act recognises person of below 14 years for purpose of Child labour and will also have to be amended. India has ratified the UN Convention on Rights of Child (UNCRC) and the policy will be our response to the UNCRC.
last National Child Policy was adopted in 1974.
The National Policy for Children 1974 is the first policy document concerning the needs and rights of children. It is a very brief document that does not come close to covering the mass number of issues faced by children in India. It recognises children to be a supremely important asset to the country. The goal of the policy is to take the next step in ensuring the constitutional provisions for children and the UN Declaration of Rights are implemented. It outlines services the state should provide for the complete development of a child, before and after birth and throughout a child's period of growth.
ReplyDeleteThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. India is one of the parties on convention.
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