India asks international community to ensure child rights

Dharam Shourie

United Nations, Oct 17 (PTI) India has asked the
international community to take urgent steps to ensure that
rights of each and every child is protected across the world
in a uniform manner.

Despite lofty promises to children made at the United
Nations and other international fora, a lot needs to be done
to make the world "fit for children", Indian delegate Tariq
Anwar told a key committee of the General Assembly which is
considering measures needed to protect children.

Referring to recent review of the Millennium Development
Goals, Anwar pointed out that the gap between the targets and
actual progress, especially in some pockets of the world, has
become evident.

"We have given ourselves attainable targets for the
overall development of children, not just physically,
psychologically and spiritually, but also socially,
cognitively and culturally," he said, lamenting that while
some progress had been made, the world has not met all targets
as expected.

While enrollments in primary schools have increased,
there are still more than 73 million children who are not
receiving any kind of formal primary education, he told the
delegates, adding that the level of enrollment at secondary
schools remained low with only 53 percent of the children
making the grade.

Seeking the attention of international community towards
the disparity regarding child's right among different
countries, he pointed the percentage enrollment at secondary
schools dipped to as low as 25 percent in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the health sector too, Anwar said, progress has not
been uniform. While the under-five mortality has been reduced
to less than 10 million, last year, a considerable number of
countries will not be able to meet the goal of two-thirds
reduction by 2015.

"This is because, the primary causes of under-five
mortality have not been addressed appropriately," he said,
stressing that dealing with larger issues like poverty
eradication, providing safe drinking water, clean environment,
etc, was much needed for the effective implementation of
children specific programmes.

It is most disheartening, he said, that more than two
million children have lost their lives in conflict zones and
another six million have been permanently disabled.

"The international community has a responsibility to
see that the problem of children in situations of armed
conflict is addressed as a matter of high priority," he added.

Expressing India's full commitment to the development of
every child and ensuring his or rights, Anwar exhorted the
Committee of various programmes launched by the government to
achieve the aim.

Besides, India, he added, has already enacted the
Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act under which
Commissions have already been set up to deal with all matters
related to children for proper enforcement of children's
rights and effective implementation of laws and programmes
relating to them.