1. The document discusses various international conventions, declarations, and guidelines related to children's rights over time from the 18th century onwards. 2. It outlines key documents like the Geneva Declaration of 1924, UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 which established core principles of children's rights. 3. Regional bodies like ASEAN and SAARC have also adopted agreements to cooperate on issues like preventing trafficking of children and upholding children's welfare.

1. by
Maj Gen Nilendra Kumar
An effort for
Bachpan Bachao Andolan
and
Lex Consilium Foundation

2.  "If we are to teach real peace in this world…We shall have to
begin with Children.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
 “The soul is healed by being with children.”
-Fyodor Dostoyevsky
 “The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it
leaves to its children.”
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
German Theologian

3. CONVENTION
 Means binding agreement between states, is a
synonym of Treaty and Covenant. Conventions
are stronger than declarations as they are
legally binding for signatory states and
governments.
 The signatory states and governments can be
censured by the UN for violating them.

4.  A binding agreement between the states, is a
synonym of Convention and Treaty.
TREATY
 A formal agreement between two or more
states in reference to peace. Alliance, commerce
or other international relations. It could also
refer to a formal document embodying such an
international agreement.

5. An important official statement
about a particular situation or
plan, or the act of making this
statement.

6. 1. Parental duties to the child were recognized by Sir
William Blackstone during 1765-69
2. 1890- Berlin Declaration
3. 1923- Geneva Declaration
4. 1924- League of Nations
5. 1948- UDHR
6. 1957- Abolition of forced labor convention
7. 1959- UN declaration on the rights of child
8. 1973- Minimum age convention
9. 1985- Beijing Rules
10. 1990- Riyadh Guidelines
11. 1999- Worst Forms of child labour convention
12. 2015- SDG

7.  Protection
 Maintainance
 Education
- Sir William Blackstone, during 1765-69
- (English Jurist, Judge and politician)

8. The first Conference on Workers’
Protection was held in 1890 in
Berlin. In that conference, a
recommendation of a minimum
age of 14 for miners was made.

9.  It was drafted by Eglantyne Jebb, a social reformer
in UK.
 The Geneva Declaration on the Rights of the Child.
 Adopted by the League of Nations in 1924 on
behalf of men and women of all nations.
 Recognizing that mankind owes to the child, the
best that it has to give.
 It is the duty of all men and women, beyond and
above all considerations of race, nationality and
creed. Creed means an accepted system of
religious or other belief or principles.

10. The text of the document was
published by the International Save
the Children Union, in Geneva on
23 February 1923

11. 1. The child must be given the means requisite for
its normal development, both materially and
spiritually.
THE DECLARATION OF 1923
PROCEEEDED TO DECLARE AND
ACCEPT FOLLOWING FIVE
POINTS

12. 2. The child that is hungry must be fed, the child
that is sick must be nursed; the child that is
backward must be helped; the delinquent child
must be reclaimed; and the orphan and the
waif must be sheltered and succored.

13. 3. The child must be the first to receive relief in
times of distress.
4. The child must be put in a position to earn a
livelihood and must be protected against every
form of exploitation.
5. The child must be brought up in the
consciousness that its talents must be devoted
to the service of fellow men.

14.  Covenant of League of Nations obliged its
members to endeavour, secure, and maintain
fair and humane conditions of labour for men,
women and children
 Article 23(c) was incorporated to “Entrust the
League with the general supervision over the
execution of agreements with regard to the
traffic in women and children.”

15.  This declaration followed the five points set out
in 1923, with two additions stated below,
taking into account the experiences of the
second world war.
1. The child must be protected beyond and above
all considerations of race, nationality or creed.
2. The child must be cared for with due respect
for the family as an entity.

16.  Article 25(2) “Motherhood and childhood
are entitled to special care and assistance.
All children whether born in or out of
wedlock shall enjoy the same social
protection.”
 Article 26 calls for the right to education
for all, and deals both with access to and
the aims of education.

17. Article 3- Everyone has the right to life, liberty
and security of person.
Article 4- No one shall be held in slavery or
servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms.

18. One of the eight ILO fundamental
conventions which abolishes certain
forms of forced labour that were
prevalent at that time.

20. ARTICLE 1
Each member of the ILO which ratifies this
convention undertakes to suppress and not to
make use of any form of forced or compulsory
labour.
 (a)As a means of political coercion, etc. or
education, or as punishment for political views.
 (b)For economic development.
 (c)As a means of labour discipline.
 (d)As a punishment for participation in strikes.
 (e)As a means of racial, social, national or
religious discrimination.

21.  As of May 2016, it has been ratified by 175 of
187 ILO members. Those who have not ratified
include China, Japan, South Korea, Myanmar
and Vietnam etc.
 Malaysia and Singapore are the two countries
who had earlier ratified, but later denounced it.

22.  It highlighted that the child’s best interests are
always the paramount concern.
 It emphasized the primacy and importance of
the role, authority and responsibility of parents
and family.

23.  It enunciated ten principles for the protection
of children’s rights.
1. Universality of rights.
2. Right to special protection.
3. Right to protection from discrimination.

24. 1. The Right to affection, love and understanding.
2. The Right to adequate nutrition and medical care.
3. The Right to free medical care.
4. The Right to full opportunity for play and
recreation.
5. The Right to a name and nationality.
6. The Right to special care, if handicapped.
7. The Right to be among the first to receive relief in
times of disaster.
8. The Right to be a useful member of society and to
develop individual abilities.
9. The Right to be brought up in a spirit of peace and
universal brotherhood.
10. The Right to enjoy these rights, regardless of race ,
color, sex, religion, national, or social region.

25.  The declaration was adopted by the UNGA on
20 November 1959 and,
 This date has been adopted as the Universal
Children’s Day.

26. An effort by the International Labour
Organization for adoption of
minimum age for admission to
employment.

27. Aimed at designing a national policy to ensure
the effective abolition of child labour and to raise
progressively the minimum age for admission to
employment or work.

28. Minimum age for admission to
employment or work in any occupation
shall not be less than the age of completion
of compulsory schooling and in any case,
less than fifteen years.

29. Adopted by UNGA on 29 November, 1985 at its
40th session. It was originally proposed as a bill
of rights for young offenders, but was
eventually renamed as captioned above.

30. 1. Lists general principles and fundamental
perspectives.
2. Defines a juvenile, offence and juvenile
offender.
3. Covers issues like age of criminal responsibility
and protection of privacy.
4. Lays down provisions concerning detention
pending trial and other relevant matters.

31.  The CRC stipulates that the children must be
detained only as a measure of last resort, in
exceptional circumstances and for the shortest
appropriate period of time. This applies to all
children at all times.
 Alternatives to detention should be given
preference.

32.  The Beijing Rules set out a variety of non-custodial
options for children facing criminal charges.
 They include diversions from persecution and
detention, which keeps children in a channels them
into age appropriate processes or programmes.
 This can mean keeping children in their family
environment, counselling for children and their
family, foster care, educational and training
programmes and other forms of social support.
 In all cases alternatives to detentions should involve
the family and community in fair process that respect
children’s rights needs and best interests.

33.  Riyadh Guidelines
 First elaborated at a meeting by the Arab
Security Studies and Training Centre (ASSTC)
in Riyadh.

34.  They set forth standards for the
prevention of juvenile delinquency,
including measures for the protection of
young persons who are abandoned,
neglected, abused or in marginal
circumstances- in other words- ‘social
risk’.
 They cover the pre conflict stage i.e.,
before juveniles come into conflict with
law.
 They have a ‘child-centered orientation.’

35. These proceed on a premise that it
is necessary to offset those
conditions that adversely influence
and impinge the healthy
development of the child.

36.  It has a preamble and 54 articles.
 Most comprehensive document on the rights of
children.
 It is the longest human rights treaty in force.
 It sets forth a number of substantive rights and
also implementation measures.

37.  It is the first legally binding international
instrument to incorporate the full range
of human rights- civil, cultural,
economic, political and social rights.
 Its implementation is monitored by the
committee on the rights of the child.
 It is the most widely ratified human
rights treaty with 195 ratifications.

38.  South Sudan and USA are the
only two countries which have
not ratified the CRC.

39.  The United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Child defines child as a “human being below the
age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to
the child, majority” is attained earlier.
 MAIN PLANKS
1. Provision
2. Protection
3. Participation

40.  Principle of non-discrimination.
 The best interest of the child.
 The right to life, survival and development.
 Consideration to the views of the child in
decisions that affect them (as per their age and
maturity).

41.  Children’s best interest should be the primary
concern when considering actions that concern
them.
 The term best interest broadly refers to the
individual child’s well being and is assessed in
relation to a range of factors including a child’s
age physical and mental health, level of
maturity, current living arrangements, safety
culture and traditions environment,
experiences and presence or absence of parents.

42.  Participation.
 Protection against discrimination.
 Prevention of harm to them.
 Provision for assistance for their basic needs.

43.  It creates new rights for children under
international law that previously had not existed,
such as the child’s rights to preserve his or her
identity (Article 7 and 8).
 The right of vulnerable children such as refugees
to special protection (Article 20 and 22).
 Indigenous children’s right to practice their culture
(Article 8 and 30).
 Child specific version of existing rights, such as
those regarding freedom of expression (Article 13).
 The Right to a fair trial (Article 40).

44.  Some critics are in favour of CRC’s
overall goal but do not believe that the
treaty is an effective mechanism for
achieving the goal.
 Some other contend that it does not help
children. Its ratifications are used as a
façade by governments that disregard
child rights.

45.  A number of Islamic countries have
attached reservations about a few
provisions which they deem
incompatible with Islamic Sharia law
values, particularly in the field of child
marriage and education for girls.
 Norway and Sweden have opposed the
inclusion of reservations.

46. Convention concerning the prohibition and
immediate action for the elimination of the
worst forms of child labour.

47.  These comprise-
a) Slavery or practices similar including
trafficking, debt bondage, serfdom, recruitment
of children for use in armed conflict.
b) Prostitution or pornography
c) Illicit activities and drugs
d) Work likely to harm the health, safety or
morals of children.

48.  SDGs are formally known as Transforming our
world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.
 These are set of 17 ‘Global Goals’ with 169
targets between them.
 These are spearheaded by the UN through a
deliberative process that saw involvement in
filament of its 193 members as well as global
civil society.
 These are contained in Paragraph 54 of UN
Resolution of 25 September 2015.

49.  A principle for meeting human development
goals while at the same time sustaining the
ability of natural systems to provide the natural
resources and ecosystem services upon which
the economy and society depends.

51.  None of the 17 goals specifically mention child
or children yet some of them relate to children
e.g.
 Goal 4- Quality Education
 Goal 3- Good health and well-being
 Goal 16- Peace, justice and strong institutions

52. The complex of a community of organisms
and its environment functioning as an
ecological unit. It also means everything
that exists in a particular environment.

53. 1. A child born today has a much better chance of
reaching her fifth birthday.
2. Rural children are nearly twice as likely to be
stunted than urban children.
3. A child born today is more likely to go to
school. The number of out of school children
has nearly halved since 1990.
4. The poor children are five times more likely to
be out of school than the rich ones.

54. 1. A focus on and investment in child
rights.
2. A matter of equity: “leave no one
behind.”
3. Participation: children as change agents.
4. Child protection issues: front and center.
5. Universally applicable to all countries.

55. 1. Poverty
2. Nutrition
3. Health
4. Education
5. Gender
6. Water and sanitation
7. Energy
8. Employment
9. Inequalities
10. Cities
11. Climate
12. Peace and justice

56.  Use and disaggregation of data to track
progress of all children.
 Disaggregation means breaking up of a
total (aggregate), integrated whole into
smaller elements, parts or units, usually
for easier handling or management.

57. Indicator Tier Custodian Other
Agencies
1. Sexual violence against
women and girls by
intimate partner
II UNICEF, UN
Women,
UNFPA,
WHO
UNSD,
UNDP
2. Sexual violence against
women and girls, by
person other than
intimate partner
II UNICEF, UN
Women,
UNFPA,
WHO
UNSD
3. Early marriage I UNICEF WHO,
UNFPA, UN
Women, UN
Population
Division
4. Child labour I ILO, UNICEF
5. Child discipline I UNICEF
6. Sexual violence against
children
I UNICEF UNSD,
UNSP,

58. UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
UNSD United Nations Statistics Division
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
UNICEF United Nations Children Fund

59. Efforts at a regional, sub-
regional or bilateral
level.

60. Regional or sub regional efforts
may also demonstrate
acceptance and consensus
indicated by formal documents.

61. Signatories ;
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Maldives
Nepal
Pakistan
Sri Lanka.

62. Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Ghana, Haiti,
India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand
and Uganda are believed to be the main
sources of transit, and destination for
trafficking in persons, including children.
They are used for forced labour and
prostitution.
Children are trafficked from
abovementioned countries to various parts
of the globe.

63. Another illustration to the regional effort by the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
whose member countries committed themselves
to a trafficking agreement in 2014. Original
ASEAN member countries who joined in 1967
included Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore and Thailand. Later it expanded to
included Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and
Vietnam. Subsequently china, Japan and Korea
also entered the group. They have all dedicated to
the fight against trafficking of persons.

64. A case law to indicate the weight
assigned to international treaties,
covenants and conventions in the
Indian legal system.

66. The whole object of Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection) Act, 2000 is to provide for the care,
protection, treatment, development and
rehabilitation of neglected or delinquent
juveniles.
The Act being benevolent legislations, an
interpretation must be given which would
advance the cause of the legislation, to give
benefit to the juveniles. It is not only a beneficial
legislation, but also a remedial one.

67. Relevance of International treaties, covenants
and conventions
Although they may not be a part of a municipal
law, the same can be referred to and followed.
Principles of International Law, whenever
applicable, operate as a statutory implication.
Contextual meaning to a statute is to be assigned
having regard to the constitutional as well as
international law operating in the field.
(Contextual means relating to, dependent on, or using
context.)

68. Right to have a fair trial strictly in terms of the JJ
Act which would include procedural safeguard is
a fundamental right of the juvenile.

69. Expeditious disposal of cases.
`
Right to speedy trial is embedded in the
constitution in terms of Articles 21 and 14.
International treaties recognize the same. Right of
a juvenile to get his case disposed of expeditiously
is a statutory as well as constitutional right. At all
stages, the court/board is required to pass an
order expeditiously.

70. Constitution must necessarily be understood in the
context of the present day scenario and having
regard to the international treaties and
conventions. Courts are not hesitant in referring to
international law in finding new rights in the
context of the Constitution. Part III of the
Constitution protects substantive as well as
procedural rights. Implications which arise
thereafter must effectively be protected by the
judiciary.
Meaning of the Constitution is influenced by the
legal context in which it must operate.
Political, social and economic development can
throw light on its meaning.

71.  “No boundary or barrier surrounds the heart of a
person that loves their self and others”
-Shannon L Alder
Author