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11 January 2000
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AFTERNOON
HR/CRC/00/4
11 January 2000
COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF INDIA
The Committee on the Rights of Child continued this afternoon its consideration of an initial report from India, hearing from the Government delegation, among other things, about measures taken to educate children of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes who were considered as minorities.
Answering questions raised by Committee experts, Indian officials said that major improvements had been made in elementary education and concerning illiteracy, with states and provisional authorities adopting a series of measures to comply with the Government policy designed to foster education.
Discussion over the course of the afternoon focused on the general topics of the legal definitions related to childhood; anti-discrimination efforts; education; civil rights and freedoms; and family environment and alternative care.
The Indian delegation consisted of Kiran Aggarwal, Secretary of the Department of Women and Child Development; Savitri Kunadi, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Office at Geneva; V.S. Rao, Joint Secretary of the Department of Women and Child Development; Sharat Sabharwal, Deputy Permanent Representative; R.N. Prasad, Counsellor; and Amarjeet Sinha, Director at the Department of Education.
India, as one of 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, must submit periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to implement the provisions of the treaty. Government delegations generally come before the Committee to discuss the reports and answer questions raised by Committee members.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 12 January, it will conclude its consideration of the report of India.
Discussion
In response to a number of questions raised by members of the Committee during the morning meeting, the Indian delegation said that the 1990s had seen a shift in education policy in comparison to the previous decades. Major improvements had been made in elementary education and concerning illiteracy, with states and provisional authorities adopting a series of measures to comply with the Government policy designed to foster education.
High incidents of gender discrimination which took place in the past had been minimized during the last three years, the Indian officials said. Many state governments had taken serious measures to prevent gender discrimination and to enhance education as a right. In addition, the initiative, "People's Movement for Education for All", which involved members of the community, had contributed in promoting education among citizens.
In order to increase the number of girls being educated, the Government had been organizing special camps specifically for girls to provide them with the necessary assistance to meet their educational needs, the delegation said. The 32 Indian states and territories had also taken similar measures to promote the education of girls. Furthermore, in 1994, there had been an ambitious educational programme to increase the number of girls in schools. In 42 districts where the programme was implemented, the percentage of girls receiving elementary education had been considerably raised.
Further, the Government of India had extended learning opportunities to children of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes who were considered as minorities, the delegation said. Children engaged in agricultural labour had also been given the opportunity to go back to school through the Government's facilitating and mainstreaming measures. An 8-year educational cycle was presently the accepted policy of the Government, the Indian delegation said.
The Government of India was closely working with a number of local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the field of education, the delegation said. The Government had an open policy in its cooperation with NGOs and it was grateful to them for their contribution in promoting education both in the rural and urban areas of the country. In addition, the Government had approached the private educational sectors to admit in their class-rooms pupils without financial resources by allocating them a sort of quota within their institutions.
The legal minimum age for marriage with parental consent was set at 21 years for boys and 18 years for girls, the delegation said. The age of criminal liability was raised to 12 years if the child was found not to have attained the ability of understanding the nature and consequences of his or her act. However, nothing was considered an offence when carried out by a child under the age of 7 years.
With regard to child labour, the delegation said that no child below 14 years should be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
Social discrimination in Indian society was a matter of attitude which needed to be changed, the delegation said. The Constitution of India guaranteed the non-discrimination against children, especially those belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
With regard to street children, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was implementing a scheme, "An Integrated Programme for Street Children", which was aimed at preventing children from becoming destitute and facilitating their withdrawal from street-life, the delegation said. The initiatives taken under that programme included providing shelter, nutrition, health-care, sanitation and hygiene, education and protection against abuse, among other things.
In order to protect the girl child from discrimination, female infanticide was made a crime under the Indian Penal Law, the delegation said. Selective abortion of the female foetus had also been banned. In addition, the Government had adopted a special programme for the girl child by providing financial assistance and future security linked to education to newborn girls in families below the poverty line.
The Government of India had initiated the establishment of a national commission for children to promote and protect the rights of all Indian children, the delegation said. The project was expected to take shape in the near future once the objectives were defined and the targets identified.
Committee members put additional questions on such issues as registration of children at birth; sexual abuse and gang rape carried out by some law-enforcing agents against children aged 7 to 14 years; abandoned children and alternative care; children of Kashmir and the measures taken to assist child victims; access of children to newspapers; the situation of children in conflict with the law; privacy of children; and corporal punishment.
HR/CRC/00/4
11 January 2000
COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF INDIA
The Committee on the Rights of Child continued this afternoon its consideration of an initial report from India, hearing from the Government delegation, among other things, about measures taken to educate children of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes who were considered as minorities.
Answering questions raised by Committee experts, Indian officials said that major improvements had been made in elementary education and concerning illiteracy, with states and provisional authorities adopting a series of measures to comply with the Government policy designed to foster education.
Discussion over the course of the afternoon focused on the general topics of the legal definitions related to childhood; anti-discrimination efforts; education; civil rights and freedoms; and family environment and alternative care.
The Indian delegation consisted of Kiran Aggarwal, Secretary of the Department of Women and Child Development; Savitri Kunadi, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Office at Geneva; V.S. Rao, Joint Secretary of the Department of Women and Child Development; Sharat Sabharwal, Deputy Permanent Representative; R.N. Prasad, Counsellor; and Amarjeet Sinha, Director at the Department of Education.
India, as one of 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, must submit periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to implement the provisions of the treaty. Government delegations generally come before the Committee to discuss the reports and answer questions raised by Committee members.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 12 January, it will conclude its consideration of the report of India.
Discussion
In response to a number of questions raised by members of the Committee during the morning meeting, the Indian delegation said that the 1990s had seen a shift in education policy in comparison to the previous decades. Major improvements had been made in elementary education and concerning illiteracy, with states and provisional authorities adopting a series of measures to comply with the Government policy designed to foster education.
High incidents of gender discrimination which took place in the past had been minimized during the last three years, the Indian officials said. Many state governments had taken serious measures to prevent gender discrimination and to enhance education as a right. In addition, the initiative, "People's Movement for Education for All", which involved members of the community, had contributed in promoting education among citizens.
In order to increase the number of girls being educated, the Government had been organizing special camps specifically for girls to provide them with the necessary assistance to meet their educational needs, the delegation said. The 32 Indian states and territories had also taken similar measures to promote the education of girls. Furthermore, in 1994, there had been an ambitious educational programme to increase the number of girls in schools. In 42 districts where the programme was implemented, the percentage of girls receiving elementary education had been considerably raised.
Further, the Government of India had extended learning opportunities to children of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes who were considered as minorities, the delegation said. Children engaged in agricultural labour had also been given the opportunity to go back to school through the Government's facilitating and mainstreaming measures. An 8-year educational cycle was presently the accepted policy of the Government, the Indian delegation said.
The Government of India was closely working with a number of local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the field of education, the delegation said. The Government had an open policy in its cooperation with NGOs and it was grateful to them for their contribution in promoting education both in the rural and urban areas of the country. In addition, the Government had approached the private educational sectors to admit in their class-rooms pupils without financial resources by allocating them a sort of quota within their institutions.
The legal minimum age for marriage with parental consent was set at 21 years for boys and 18 years for girls, the delegation said. The age of criminal liability was raised to 12 years if the child was found not to have attained the ability of understanding the nature and consequences of his or her act. However, nothing was considered an offence when carried out by a child under the age of 7 years.
With regard to child labour, the delegation said that no child below 14 years should be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
Social discrimination in Indian society was a matter of attitude which needed to be changed, the delegation said. The Constitution of India guaranteed the non-discrimination against children, especially those belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
With regard to street children, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was implementing a scheme, "An Integrated Programme for Street Children", which was aimed at preventing children from becoming destitute and facilitating their withdrawal from street-life, the delegation said. The initiatives taken under that programme included providing shelter, nutrition, health-care, sanitation and hygiene, education and protection against abuse, among other things.
In order to protect the girl child from discrimination, female infanticide was made a crime under the Indian Penal Law, the delegation said. Selective abortion of the female foetus had also been banned. In addition, the Government had adopted a special programme for the girl child by providing financial assistance and future security linked to education to newborn girls in families below the poverty line.
The Government of India had initiated the establishment of a national commission for children to promote and protect the rights of all Indian children, the delegation said. The project was expected to take shape in the near future once the objectives were defined and the targets identified.
Committee members put additional questions on such issues as registration of children at birth; sexual abuse and gang rape carried out by some law-enforcing agents against children aged 7 to 14 years; abandoned children and alternative care; children of Kashmir and the measures taken to assist child victims; access of children to newspapers; the situation of children in conflict with the law; privacy of children; and corporal punishment.