Guwahati: The Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights will soon launch a campaign of compulsory registration of all unregistered children homes in Assam under the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act, 2000.
This was unanimously decided after a daylong consultation organised by the Commission on the occasion of the International Child Rights Day here on Wednesday.
International Child Rights Day marks the anniversary of adoption of United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child, a historic document that brought the concept of Child Rights into a reality.
‘The ASCPCR believes that International Child Rights Day is not simply a day to celebrate children for who they are, but to bring awareness on children around the globe who have succumbed to violence in the forms of abuse, exploitation and discrimination,’ an ASCPCR release said.
As such, the Commission decided to use the platform of celebration of International Child Rights Day to launch an initiative to strengthen the Child Care Institutions in Assam and invited all the registered children homes of Assam and funded by the government and run by NGOs under Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) to the consultation along with officials from the state social welfare department and the State Child Protection Society.
Commissioner and Secretary, Social Welfare Department, HK Sharma, Director, Social Welfare Department, Dilip Borthakur, Deputy Director, Social Welfare Department Junu Neog and Child Protection specialist of UNICEF, Assam, Ved Prakash Gautam, among others, were present on the occasion.
Altogether 75 representatives from 21 children homes and 8 special adoption agencies run by NGOs under the ICPS Scheme were present at the Consultation.
Sharma, in his speech, underlined the need for establishing more child homes, especially in Cachar and Lakhimpur districts, and also upgradation of facilities in the existing homes and registration of unregistered childcare Institutions.
Interacting with participants, Borthakur stressed changing of mindsets of all those related to child protection and sought community participation in running the children homes.
State Child Protection Society Consultant Tazkir Inam gave a presentation on the ICPS and provisions under it for institutional care of children in need of care and protection, while Child Protection Specialist of UNICEF, Assam, Mr Gautam gave a presentation on the care standards to be followed by all registered children home under the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act, 2000. (UNI)
