The Government of India announced the setting up of the National Children's Commission in January 2001. This was reiterated by the Union HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children (UNGASS) held between May 8-10, 2002. However the composition of the commission, its structure, and role have yet to be finalized.
A National Children's Commission (NCC) could play an extremely significant role in assisting the children of our country to realise their rights enshrined in the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which, India is a signatory. India became a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1992. The National Commission is supposedly being set up within the framework and mandate of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This mandate is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (UNCRC), ratified by 191 countries.
The CRC views children not as recipients of services but as holders of rights. It upholds children's right to self-determination and it recognises children's right to form associations (get organised) and participate in all processes where decisions regarding their lives are being made. This includes decision-making processes within their own homes and communities, as well as national and international policy discourses. However, the National Children's Commission Bill, which should be an embodiment of the CRC, falls short of these principles.
Hence, it is the need of the hour that an effective public discourse on
this issue be set into motion as the Government of India proposes to place
the National Children's Commission Bill before the parliament during this
year's Monsoon session. Unfortunately there is a lack of meaningful
consultative processes preceding the discussion of the Bill in Parliament,
which is a matter of concern. The Government should take immediate note of
this and consider the lacunae in the proposed Bill.
The structure of the NCC should be a bottom up one - starting at the level
of the panchayat and moving up to the national level. With linkages
established between Panchayats, districts and states and the systems made
accountable to children, an effective way to impact policy matters will be
in place.
First, the Government of India has not held nation-wide consultations with children regarding the National Children's Commission. This violates the very spirit of setting up a Commission. A large number of Non Governmental Organisations too have little or no information regarding the NCC. The government should conduct systematic consultations with children throughout India regarding their views about a Children's Commission, which should be decentralised. The GoI should ensure that the views and opinions of a cross-section of children (girls, working children, children with disabilities, children from tribal communities, children affected by HIV etc.) is sought.
During the consultations with children, the government should note that several children's organisations themselves, such as the Bhima Sangha and children councils exist in the country. One such children's organisation is the National Movement of Working Children, whose opinions and suggestions are fully endorsed by the Concerned for Working Children, a Bangalore-based children's rights and advocacy group. The NMWC suggest that the structure of the NCC should be a bottom up one - starting at the level of the panchayat and moving up to the national level. With linkages established between Panchayats, districts and states and the systems made accountable to children, an effective way to impact policy matters will be in place.
The NCC should be easily accessible to children and should have in-built mechanisms like toll-free phone lines and the presence of children's friends. It is noteworthy to mention several countries in Europe (Norway, Sweden) have set up systems such as the ombudsperson, whose experiences and work methodology could be a model for India to study and emulate, based on their relevance to the present context. These systems are autonomous in nature and impact the national policies of their respective countries.
Another major area of concern in setting up the Commission is its constitution. The foremost criterion is that children should be in the forefront with organised representation from the working, school going and disabled segments. According to NMWC, the adult members of the Commission should be those who are capable of understanding children and their rights. Legal experts, doctors, counsellors and government officials should also be part of this Commission. The Commission should include representatives of the National Movement of Working Children. It should have representatives of Children's Panchayats. Being child-friendly, the members of the NCC should have a record of having worked with children in a proactive manner. These will go a long way toward making the commission effective.
The location of the NCC is also important. It should be in each state and located such that it is easily accessible to children. Keeping the criteria required to set up a Commission for children at the national level in mind, it is imperative that the government's approach must be in tandem with the interests of the child. As seen in the past, the lackadaisical manner in which Commissions have been set up should be avoided; this cannot be treated as the setting up of yet another 'Commission'.
