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Q. Discuss international efforts made for welfare of


children. Refer to various international conventions
and recommendations pertaining to children.
First effort was UNICEF 1946.
In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United
Nations has proclaimed that childhood is entitled to special care
and assistance.
Most important effort - Convention on the Rights of the
Child aka CRC 1989.
Built on varied legal systems and cultural traditions, the
Convention is a universally agreed set of non-negotiable
standards and obligations. These basic standardsalso called
human rightsset minimum entitlements and freedoms that
should be respected by governments. They are founded on
respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless
of race, colour, gender, language, religion, opinions, origins,
wealth, birth status or ability and therefore apply to every
human being everywhere. With these rights comes the
obligation on both governments and individuals not to infringe
on the parallel rights of others. These standards are both
interdependent and indivisible; we cannot ensure some rights
withoutor at the expense ofother rights.
A legally binding instrument
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally
binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of
human rightscivil, cultural, economic, political and social
rights. In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a
special convention just for them because people under 18
years old often need special care and protection that adults do
not. The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world
recognized that children have human rights too.
The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two

Optional Protocols. It spells out the basic human rights that


children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to
the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and
exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and
social life. The four core principles of the Convention are nondiscrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the
right to life, survival and development; and respect for the
views of the child. Every right spelled out in the Convention is
inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of
every child. The Convention protects children's rights by setting
standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social
services.
The Convention is the principal children's treaty encompassing
a full range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural
rights. The Convention aims at protecting children from
discrimination, neglect and abuse. It grants and provides for
the implementation of rights for children both in times of peace
and during armed conflict. The Convention constitutes a
rallying point and a useful tool for civil society and individuals,
working for the protection and promotion of the rights of the
child. In many respects, it is an innovative instrument.
The Convention acknowledges that every child has certain
basic rights, including the right to life, his or her own name and
identity, to be raised by his or her parents within a family or
cultural grouping and have A RELATIONSHIP with both parents,
even if they are separated

Key Provisions
It is the first legally binding international
instrument, which provides in a single text universally
recognized norms and standards concerning the protection and
promotion of the rights of the child.
It is the most rapidly and widely ratified
international human rights instrument in the world. Such
unprecedented wide participation clearly demonstrates a
common political will to improve the situation of children.

The Convention emphasizes the spirit of


complementarity and interdependence of human rights by
combining civil and political rights with economic, social and
cultural rights. It calls for a holistic approach in analysis and
recognizes that the enjoyment of one right cannot be separated
from the enjoyment of others.
It establishes a new vision of the child, combining
provisions aimed at protecting the child through positive action
by the State, the parents and relevant institutions, with the
recognition of the child as a holder of participatory rights and
freedoms.
In so doing, it establishes rights in new areas which
were not covered by previous international instruments, such
as the right of the child to freely express views and have them
given due weight, and the right of the child to a name and
nationality from birth. In addition the Convention established
standards in new areas including the issue of alternative CARE
, the rights of disabled and refugee children; and the
administration of juvenile justice. The need for recovery
and SOCIAL reintegration of a child victim of neglect,
exploitation or abuse is also set forth.
The Convention acknowledges the primary role of
the family andparents in the care and PROTECTION of the
child, while stressing the obligation of the State to help families
in carrying this task. It calls for positive action by institutions
and the State or parents.
It constitutes a useful tool for advocacy and
greater awareness of the new perspective of children's rights,
and attaches special importance to international cooperation
and assistance as ways of achieving the effective protection of
children's rights.
Four GENERAL principles are enshrined in the
Convention. They express the philosophy it conveys and
provide guidance for national programmes of implementation.
Key provisions focus on:
Non-discrimination;

Best interests of the child;


Right to life, survival and development;
Views of the child.
Article 43 of the Convention establishes the
Committee on the Rights of the Child, a monitoring body of ten
experts, for the purpose of examining the progress made by
States parties in implementing the Convention.
Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child
The Convention protects children from harmful work and the
Optional Protocols offer additional protection from the worst
forms of exploitation.
Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography - Commercial sexual explSoitation of children
such as the sale of children, child prostitution, child sex
tourism and child pornographyare prevalent all over the
world.

UNICEF 1946
UNICEFs mission is to advocate for the protection of childrens
rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their
opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided in
doing this by the provisions and principles of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child.
The United NATIONS Children's Fund (or UNICEF) was created
by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946
to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in
countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1953,
UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations System
and its name was shortened from the original United Nations
International Children's Emergency Fund but it has continued to
be known by the popular acronym based on this old name.

Headquartered in New York City, UNICEF provides long-term


humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and
mothers in developing countries.
UNESCO 1945
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations
established on 16 November 1945. Its stated purpose is to
contribute to peace and security by promoting international
collaboration through education, science, and culture in order
to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and the
human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the UN
Charter.
Others
Worst FORMS of Child Labour Convention 1999
Recalling the resolution concerning the elimination of child
labour adopted by the International Labour Conference at its
83rd Session in 1996, and
Recognizing that child labour is to a great extent caused by
poverty and that the long-term solution lies in sustained
economic growth leading to social progress, in particular
poverty alleviation and universal education, and
Recalling the Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted by
the United Nations General Assembly on 20 November 1989,
and
Recalling the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and
Rights AT WORK and its Follow-up, adopted by the
International Labour Conference at its 86th Session in 1998,
and
Recalling that some of the worst forms of child labour are
covered by other international instruments, in particular the
Forced Labour Convention, 1930, and the United Nations
Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the
Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery,
1956, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with
regard to child labour, which is the fourth item on the agenda of
the session, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of

an international Convention;
adopts this seventeenth day of June of the year one thousand
nine hundred and ninety-nine the following Convention, which
may be cited as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention,
1999.
Article 3 For the purposes of this Convention, the term the
worst forms of child labour comprises:
(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as
the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom
and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or
compulsory RECRUITMENT of children for use in armed
conflict;
(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for
the production of pornography or for pornographic
performances;
(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in
particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined
in the relevant international treaties;
(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is
carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of
children.

Child Labor and International Treaties


The ILO has a specialist programme addressing child labour,
the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour
(IPEC).
ILO Conventions on Child Labor
There are two basic conventions on child labor adopted by the
ILO, and one adopted by the United Nations. The ILO Minimum
Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and its accompanying
Recommendation (No. 146) set the goal of elimination of child
labor, and the basic minimum age for employment or work (in
developing countries at 14 years of age or the end of
compulsory schooling,whichever is higher; and 15 or the end of
compulsory schooling for developed countries). The Convention
sets a minimum age of 2 years younger for light work, i.e., 12
and 13 years, respectively; and a higher minimum age for

dangerous or hazardous work (basically 18 years of age, but 16


in certain circumstances).
In June 1999, the ILO adopted the Worst Forms of Child
Labor Convention (No.182) and Recommendation No.190,
which target the worst forms of child labor as a matter of
urgency. Convention No.182 APPLIES to all branches of
economic activity and requires immediate action, regardless of
the level of
economic development of the ratifying country. It is a clear
statement of the need to take immediate action to eliminate
the intolerable conditions many children face and to help them
recover and lead healthy lives. The worst forms of child labor
are
(i) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as
the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage, and serfdom
and forced or compulsory laborincluding forced or compulsory
recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(ii) use, procurement, or offering of a child for prostitution,
production of pornography, or pornographic performances;
(iii) use, procurement, or offering of a child for illicit activities,
in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs; and
(iv) work that, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is
carried out,is likely to harm the health, safety, or morals of
children.
In addition, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted
by the United Nations in 1989, has been ratified by almost
every country in the world, and applies also to child labor.

Child Labor Provisions in India


Constitutional Provisions
Child Labour is a perennial problem in India. It is deemed as
the legacy of the old feudal system. The architects of the
Indian Constitution were fully aware of this menace and
incorporated Articles 15(3), 23,24, 39(e), (i) and 45
which mandate non EMPLOYMENT of children and their
induction into schools. Another mandate is provision of a
free and compulsory ELEMENTARY EDUCATION for all children

upto the age of 14 within a period of 10 years of adoption of


the Republican Constitution in 1950. These were augmented
with the Prohibitive Laws namely Bonded Labour
System Abolition Act 1976 and Child Labour Regulation
Act, 1986.
Indian Constitution provisions:
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 engaged in any other hazardous
employment.
Article 39 Certain principles of policy to be followed by the
State
The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing
(a) that the citizen, men and women equally, have the right to
an adequate MEANS of livelihood
(b) that the ownership and control of the material resources of
the community are so distributed as best to subserve the
common good
(c) that the operation of the economic system does not RESULT
in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the
common detriment
(d) that there is equal pay for equal work for BOTH men and
women
(e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women,
and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens
are not forced by economic necessity to ENTER avocations
unsuited to their age or strength
(f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop
in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity
and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation
and against moral and material abandonment.
Article 45 Provision for free and compulsory education for
children
The State shall endeavor 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.

Other Provisions
India has all along followed a proactive policy with respect to
the PROBLEM of child labor, and has stood for constitutional,
statutory and developmental measures to combat child labor.
Six ILO conventions relating to child labor have been ratified,
three of these as early as the first quarter of this century.
The first Act in India relating to child labor was the Enactment
of Children (Pledging of Labor) Act of February 1933.
Since then there have been nine different Indian legislations
relating to child labor. The strategy of progressive elimination of
child labor underscores India's legislative intent, and takes
cognizance of the fact that child labor is not an isolated
phenomenon that can be tackled without simultaneously taking
into ACCOUNT the socio-economic milieu that is at the root of
the problem.
This was followed by the EMPLOYMENT of Children Act in
1938. Subsequently, twelve additional legislations were passed
that progressively extended legal protection to children.
Provisions relating to child labor under various enactment such
as the Factories Act, the Mines Act, the Plantation Labor
Act etc. have concentrated on aspects such as reducing
working hours, increasing minimum wage and
prohibiting EMPLOYMENT of children in occupations and
processes detrimental to their health and development.
The Child Labor (Prohibition & Regulation) Act 1986 of
India was the culmination of efforts and ideas that emerged
from the deliberations and recommendations of various
committees on child labor. Significant among them are
the National Commission on Labour (196669), Gurupadaswamy Committee on Child Labour (1979),
and the Sanat Mehta Committee (1984).
The Child Labor (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 of
India prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14

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in factories, mines and in other forms of hazardous


employment, and regulates the working conditions of children
in other employment. India has announced a National Policy of
Child Labor as early as 1987, and was probably the first among
the DEVELOPING countries to have such a progressive policy.
Through a notification dated May 26, 1993, the working
conditions of children have been regulated in all employment
not prohibited under the Child Labor (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act. Further, following up on a preliminary
notification issued on October 5, 1993, the government has
also prohibited employment of children in occupations such as
abattoirs/slaughter houses, printing, cashew de-scaling and
processing, and soldering.
The Act,, in particular,
bans the employment of children, i.e. those who have
not completed their 14th year, in specified
occupations and processes (listed in the Schedule to
the Act, attached at Annexure I);
lays down a procedure to make additions to the
schedule of banned occupations or processes;
regulates the working conditions of children in
occupations where they are not prohibited from
working;
lays down penalties for employment of children in
violation of the provisions of this Act,, and other Acts
which forbid the employment of children;
brings uniformity in the definition of the "Child" in
related laws
Under various specific acts such as Factories Act, Mines Act,
Employment of children under 14 years of age is prohibited .
Main Provisions of Child Labour Prohibition (and
Regulation) Act 1986
2 3 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

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DPTHHIARDHP
Section 2 : Defines child as a person who has not completed
his fourteenth year of age.
Section 3. PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN
IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS AND PROCESSES. - No child
shall be employed or permitted to work in any of the
occupations set forth in Part A of the Schedule or in any
workshop wherein any of the processes set forth in Part B of the
Schedule is carried on : Provided that nothing in this section
shall APPLY to any workshop wherein any process is carried on
by the occupier with the aid of his family or to any school
established by, or receiving assistance or recognition from,
Government
Section 5 : TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CHILD
LABOUR
The Child Labour Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has been
set up in accordance with the provisions of Section 5 of the
Child Labour (prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986.
7. HOURS AND PERIOD OF WORK. - (1) No child shall be
required or permitted to work in any establishment in excess of
such number of hours, as may be prescribed for such
establishment or class of establishments.
(2) The period of work on each day shall be so fixed that no
period shall exceed three hours and that no child shall work for
more than three hours before he has had an interval for rest for
at least one hour.
(3) The period of work of a child shall be so arranged that
inclusive of his interval for rest, UNDER sub-section (2), it shall
not be spread over more than six hours, including the time
spent in waiting for work on any day.
(4) No child shall be permitted or required to work BETWEEN 7
p.m. and 8 a.m.
(5) No child shall be required or permitted to work overtime.

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(6) No child shall be required or permitted to work in, any


establishment on any day on which he has already been
working in another establishment.
8 Weekly Holidays
9 Notice to Inspector
10 Disputes as to age
11 Maintenance of Register
12 Display of notice containing abstract of sections 3 and 14
13 Health and Safety
14. PENALTIES.- (1) Whoever employs any child or permits
any child to work in contravention of the provisions of Sec. 3
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall
not be less than, three months but which may extend to one
year or with fine which shall not be less than ten
thousand RUPEES but which may extend to twenty thousand
rupees or with both.
(2) Whoever, having been convicted of an offence under Sec. 3,
commits a like offence afterwards, he shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six
months but which may extend to two years.
(3) Whoever - (a) fails to give notice as required by Sec. 9, or
(b) fails to maintain a register as required by Sec. 11 or makes
any false entry in any such register; or
(c) fails to display a notice containing an abstract of Sec. 3 and
this section as required by Sec. 12; or
(d) fails to comply with or contravenes any other provisions of
this Act or the rules made there under, shall be punishable with
simple imprisonment which may extend to one month or with
fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both.

However, due to cultural and economic factors, these goals


remain difficult to meet. For instance, the act does nothing to
protect children who perform domestic or unreported labor,
which is very common in India. In almost all Indian industries
girls are unrecognized laborers because they are seen as

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helpers and not workers. Therefore, girls are therefore not


protected by the law. Children are often exploited and deprived
of their rights in India, and until further measures are taken,
many Indian children will continue to live in poverty.
PART A OCCUPATIONS
Any occupation CONNECTED with - (1) Transport of
passengers, goods or mails by railway;
(2) Cinder picking, CLEARING of an ash pit or building
operation in the railway premises;
(3) Work in a catering establishment at a railway station,
involving the movement of a vendor or any other employee of
the establishment from one platform to another or into or out of
a moving train;
(4) Work relating to the construction of a railway station or with
any other work where such work is done in close proximity to or
between the railway lines;
(5) A port authority within the limits of any port.
(6) Work relating to selling of crackers and fireworks in shops
with temporary licences.
(7) Abattoirs/slaughter HOUSES .
PART B PROCESSES
(1) Bidi-making.
(2) Carpet-weaving.
(3) Cement MANUFACTURE , INCLUDING bagging of cement.
(4) Cloth printing, dyeing and weaving.
(5) Manufacture of matches, explosives and fire-works.
(6) Mica-cutting and splitting.
(7) Shellac manufacture.

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(8) Soap manufacture.


(9) Tanning.
(10) Wool-cleaning.
(11) Building and construction INDUSTRY .
(12) Manufacture of slate pencils (including packing).
(13) Manufacture of products from agate.
(14) Manufacturing processes using toxic metals and
substances, such as, LEAD , mercury, manganese, chromium,
cadmium, benzene, pesticides and asbestos.
(15) "Hazardous processes" as defined in Sec. 2 (cb) and
dangerous operations as defined in rules made under Sec. 87 of
the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948).
(16) Printing as defined in Sec. 2(k) (iv) of the Factories Act.
1948 (63 of 1948).
(17) Cashew and cashew nut decaling and processing.
(18) Soldering processes in electronic industries.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women

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====================================

Provisions of the Constitution of India having a bearing


on
EDUCATION
Part

Title

Article /
Schedule

Fundamental Rights

13

Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundam


rights

15

Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, r


sex or place of birth

III

TITLE

21A
Right to education

[Inserted by the 86th Amendment in December, 2002


to be brought into FORCE .]

IV

DIRECTIVE Principl

28

Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or r


worship in certain educational institutions

30

Right of minorities to establish and administer educa


institutions

37

Application of the principles contained in this Part

16

es of STATE Policy
38

State to secure a social order for the promotion of we


the people

39

Certain principles of policy to be followed by the Stat

41

Right to work, to education and to public assistance i


cases

45

TEXT in force
Provision for free and compulsory education for child

Amended Text as per the 86th Amendment of D


2002, but yet to be brought into force-

Provision for early childhood care and education to ch


below the age of six years
46

Promotion of educational and economic interests of S


Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections
47

IV A

Fundamental Duties

Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and th


standard of living and to improve public health
Fundamental Duties

51A

IX

The Panchayats

243B

Constitution of Panchayats

243G

Powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayat

Eleventh Schedule

IX A

The Municipalities

243Q

Constitution of Municipalities

243W

Powers, authority and responsibilities of Municipalitie

Twelfth Schedule

Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas


The Scheduled and
Tribal AREAS

244

Fifth Schedule

Provisions as to the Administration and Control of Sc


Areas and Scheduled Tribes

Sixth Schedule

Provisions as to the administration of tribal areas in t


of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram

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XI

246
Relations BETWEEN
the Union and
theSTATES

Subject-matter of laws made by Parliament and by th


Legislatures of States

SeventhSCHEDULE
List I Union List
List II State List
List III Concurrent List

XVII

Official Language

254

Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament and


made by the Legislatures of States

344

Commission and Committee of Parliament on official

Eighth Schedule
350A

Languages
Facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at primary
Directive for development of the Hindi language

351

XXI

Temporary,
Transitional and
Special Provisions

371 E

Establishment of Central University in Andhra Prades

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