
BHUBANESWAR: Maoists recruiting more and more children into their fold in conflict zones of the State is a clear indication of the fact that there are far too many gaps in the protection of child rights here, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Chairperson Shantha Sinha said here on Wednesday.
Sinha told this paper that protection of child rights even in conflict zones should not be a debatable issue and that authorities concerned must take an uncompromising stand to ensure their protection.
On migration of children along with their families to other states in search of work, Sinha said no state should make a distinction between native children and migrants in protecting the child rights. She said every state was obliged to protect the rights and interests of migrant children also. “We are not citizens of a state but of this country. All states should proactively intervene to ensure the welfare of children. This also includes taking appropriate measures to repatriate migrant children,” she said.
The NCPCR Chairperson further said that the State Government did not have an estimate of the number of child labourers which indicates its non-seriousness in tackling the issue. “The last survey on child labourers was done in 1997 and since then, nothing has been done to find out the exact figure,” she said, adding that there is no coordination among the labour, women and child welfare and education departments and the police at even district levels “which is essential for curbing child labourers at the grassroots”.
Stating that she has been seeing children from Orissa working as labourers in almost all parts of the country, Sinha said Orissa lacks a comprehensive policy to prevent child labourers and protect child rights.
“Besides, there are no rehabilitation initiatives or follow-up action on child labourers or migrant children who have returned to Orissa. Agents responsible for trafficking children even manage to get away with the crime,” she alleged. All this goes on to prove that there are too many lacunae in proper implementation of The Child Labour (Protection and Regulation) Act.
On the Right To Education Act, she said the State Government should track each child and ensure that he/she goes to school.
“The Government should create schools as safer zones for the children. It is due to lack of institutional support that children fall on paths that are dangerous and this needs to be addressed,” the NCPCR Chairperson maintained.