GUWAHATI: The Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) organised the 3rd Zonal Level Consultation on the ‘Status of Child Protection Mechanism with special focus on the performance of the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) and Assam Police’ in collaboration with the UNICEF at a hotel in Hailakandi town in Barak Valley.
Speaking on the occasion, Member of the Commission, Rupa Hazarika stressed on the need of strong coordination and collaboration among the various stakeholders in order to cater to the needs of children in need of care and protection. Hazarika pointed out that there are various services in operation by the government as well as civil society organizations. “Various departments and authorities such as the judiciary, the police administration, the civil administration and other agencies have been made responsible to protect and promote the rights of the children and to render protective and rehabilitative services to the children in need of care and protection,” she said.
Hazarika was quick to add that recent studies and the status of implementation of the schemes meant for child protection and rehabilitation revealed they have not been able to suffice to the requirements or have not been able to provide quality services to the children and thus there was a need to collate the prime stakeholders i.e., the police and the DCPU on a single platform to discuss the issues and come to a collaborative understanding and increased convergence.
Superintendent of Police, Mohneesh Mishra, while addressing the gathering, explained the role and responsibility of the Police Department in dealing with the cases of offence against children such as child marriage, child sexual abuse, child labour, child beggary, cruelty against children, child trafficking, etc.
Mishra said that though there was shortage of women police to cater to the needs of the practical scenario, this should not hamper our commitment to protect our children from all forms of abuse.
Addressing the gathering, Deputy Commissioner, Adil Khan said that there was a strong need of convergence and a common understanding of our jurisdiction and linkage with other stakeholders for a composite service delivery to the children to protect them from abuse and provide them with protective and rehabilitative services.
DSP-CID, Assam, Sukanya Das, Technical Consultant of the Commission, Rajiv Kumar Jha, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Assam University, Silchar, Aditi Nath were among the eminent speakers who enlightened the gathering on various aspects of child rights protection.
The consultation ended with an elaborate group exercise between all the stakeholders and fostered the emergence of suggestions and way forward for evolving of a strong and increased coordination to provide quality services to the children in need of care and protection and for ushering in a conducive environment free from all forms of abuse and violence.