By Barnes Mawrie
If we look at any society in the world, since time immemorial, children have been considered as incapable of self determination and free decision. The adult caretakers (parents, teachers, elders etc) were usually invested with the authority to supervise them. This practice though sound in itself, has often led to the oppression and exploitation of children by malicious and manipulative adults. Those who have read classics like David Copperfield or Oliver Twist will realize how susceptible children are to adult manipulations. This has often led to child labour and child abuses of every kind even in today’s world. It is this plight of children that has opened the eyes of society today to realize that the children form a minority group who need to be conscientiously protected and guaranteed basic as well as special rights.
The history of children’s rights can be traced back to Jesus Christ himself who displayed a special love and concern for them in a society that chose to ignore them. In Mk 10:16 we read thus “and he took the children in his arms, placed his hands over them and blessed them”. Again in Mt 19:14 he says “let the little children come to me for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Many Christian Rights activists would agree that Jesus was indeed their precursor. Sir William Blackstone way back in the 18th century spoke of the duty of parents to maintain, protect and educate the children. In the mid 19th century, Don Bosco a priest in Turin (Italy) had already initiated movements for the rights of children. He started a Mutual Aid Society for young workers in 1850, perhaps the first of its kind in history. He himself established work contracts with employers on behalf of his young workers. These contracts included: regular stipends for them, increment of stipends, right to rest and holidays and avoidance of corporal punishments. In 1924 the League of Nations adopted the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which enunciated the child’s right to receive the requirements for normal development, the right of the hungry child to be fed, the right of the sick child to receive health care, the right of the backward child to be reclaimed, the right of orphans to shelter, and the right to protection from exploitation. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959, which enunciated ten principles for the protection of children’s rights, including the universality of rights, the right to special protection, and the right to protection from discrimination, among other rights.
Children are entitled to two types of human rights under the International Human Rights law. Firstly, they are entitled to fundamental general human rights as adults with a few exceptions like the right to marry which applies only to adults. Among these are: right to security of the person, to freedom from inhuman, cruel, or degrading treatment, and the right to special protection during childhood. Secondly, they are entitled to special rights which are meant to protect them during their period of minority. Among such rights are: the right to life, the right to a name, the right to express his views in matters concerning the child, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the right to health care, the right to protection from economic and sexual exploitation and the right to education regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability, color, ethnicity, or other characteristics.
Generally, children’s rights are categorized under two headings: (a) Right to empowerment which implies respect for a child’s autonomy. Among these would be included, freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom from fear, freedom of choice and the right to make decisions and ownership over one’s body. Further this includes the right to an adequate standard of living, health care, education and services, and to play and recreation, the right to participate in communities and have programs and services for themselves. This further includes children’s involvement in community programs, youth voice activities and involving them as decision-makers. This part of children’s rights is meant to uphold the dignity of a child as a human being. According to Cornell University, a child is a person, not a sub-person and as such he/she should be respected as a full-fledged person. (b) Right to protection which results from the children’s dependency on the adult world. This would include the right to protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination, the right to safe places for children to play, constructive child rearing behavior and acknowledgment of the evolving capacities of children. In connection with this Amnesty International advocates some particular children’s rights, including the end to juvenile incarceration without parole, an end to the recruitment of military use of children, ending the death penalty for persons under 21, and raising awareness of human rights in the classroom, end to child labor, care of abandoned children, refugees, street children and preclusion of corporal punishment.
Looking critically at the condition of our children in our State, we realize that the situation is far from being ideal. Many of our children are still exploited and harassed. Child labour is still rampant, sexual abuses of minors are being reported almost on a daily basis, tortures and violence against children are still taking place and juvenile justice is still inefficient or inadequate. The heavy hand of the adult system is still being felt by the minors. Even our educational system is merciless towards our children. The unreasonably heavy curriculum levied on the children is depriving them of their right to recreation and play. Our school curriculum is a mental torture for our children. Perhaps this aspect has been overlooked by the Children’s Rights activists in our State. If children are the future of our society, how can we ignore our responsibility to care for them. Speaking about child care the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Gabriella Mistral has rightly said: “To him we cannot answer ‘Tomorrow’, his name is ‘Today'”. Even more emphatically I would say: “To human rights we cannot answer ‘tomorrow’. Its name is ‘yesterday’. Tomorrow and today are already too late. For even as we talk here, funeral dirges are being sung and children’s rights are being flouted. So let us rise, organize and educate, to prevent the tragedy in our society!