INTRODUCTION:
The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights1 states that all people are born
free and equal in dignity and rights. However, specifically vulnerable groups such
as women, indigenous people, and children have been given special protection by
the UN legal framework. The following Charters, Conventions, Declarations, Protocols
deal with the provisions protecting human rights of children.
§ African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights,
Article 18(3)2.
§ African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of
The Child3.
§ American Convention on Human Rights, Article
194.
§ American Declaration
of the Rights and Duties of Man, Article 75.
§ Arab Charter on Human Rights, Articles. 10,
17, 33 and 346.
§ Cairo Declaration on Human Rights, Article
77.
§ Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide, Article 11, C8.
§ Convention on the Protection of Rights of Migrant
Workers and Members of their Families, Articles 29, 30, 459.
§ Convention on the Rights of the Child10.
§ Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on sale of children11.
§ Optional Protocol to the convention on the
Rights of the Child on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict12.
§ Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms
of Intolerance and Discrimination based on Religion or Belief, Article 513.
§ European Social Charter, Articles, 7, 1714.
§ International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, Articles. 10, 14, 2415.
§ International; Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, Articles. 10, 12, 1316.
§ International Labour Organisation Convention
Concerning Indigeneous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, Article, 2817.
§ International Labour Organisation Minimum Age
Convention, 197318.
§ International Labour Organisation Worst Forms
of Child Labour Convention, 199919.
§ United Nations Standard Minimum Rules For Administration
of Juvenile Justice20.
§ United Nations Standard Minimum Rules For the
Treatment of Prisoners, Article 821.
§ Universal Declaration on Human Rights, 1948,
Article 2522.
All these conventions, declarations,
rules have not been implemented in all the countries of the world ipsofacto rather
it depended on the respective law making bodies of these countries to ratify them.
In spite of that majority of the UN member states have ratified these instruments
pertaining to the protection of human rights of children.
To begin with most comprehensive
convention on human rights, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC) which defines children in Article 1 as “every human being
below the age of eighteen years, unless under the law applicable to the child, majority
is attained earlier23. ”
There are four core principals
of CRC, viz. (1) participation by children in decisions affecting them; (2) protection
of children against discrimination, neglect and exploitation; (3) prevention of
harm to children; and (4) provision for children’s basic needs.
Areas of special concern with
respect to the rights of children include: (1) the right to freedom from sexual
exploitation, (2) child labor, (3) children in armed conflict, (4) education, and
(5) children within the context of criminal law.
Sexual Exploitation:
Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child
Pornography requires States to ensure that certain acts against children are criminalized,
and it obligates States to prosecute or extradite offenders within their jurisdiction.
Child Labor:
The issue of child labor has
been comprehensively resolved by ILO. International Labor Organization Minimum Age
Convention (ILO 138) states that the minimum age for employment is generally 15
years, though developing countries may initially specify a minimum age of 14 years.
For employment under specified circumstances (e. g., in the case of health hazards),
the minimum age is 18 years24.
Armed Conflict and Children:
The recruitment of children
into armed forces violates international humanitarian law contained in the Geneva
Convention which prohibits the effects of armed conflict upon children and also
provides for detailed provisions regarding protection of rights of children during
armed conflicts.
Child Rights Convention prohibits
recruitment of children below the age of of 15 year, Article 77 of Protocol I to
the Geneva Conventions of 1949 provides for protection against recruitment of children
between 15 and 17 years of age in international armed conflicts.
First Optional Protocol to
the Convention on the Rights of Children in Armed Conflict raises the minimum age
of individuals taking part in armed conflicts to 18 and non-state actors cannot
recruit such individuals it is the sole responsibility of the state to recruit such
individuals.
Laws Pertaining to Juvenile
Justice:
The age for criminal responsibility
varies from country to country. The observation 10 to CRC, 1989 states that there
are number of provisions in various international laws which protect the rights
of juveniles. Criminal procedures applying to children must consider the age of
the child and comprehension of the situation in which crime occurred. The convicted
children must be kept separate from adults, further more the rights of children
should be kept in paramount consideration while they are kept in detention25.
Besides this there are also
various provisions of various international laws which protect rights of juveniles
such as
Ø
Article 37; International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights26.
Ø
Article 6(5); Fourth Geneva
Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War27.
Ø
Article 68; American Convention
on Human Rights28.
Ø
Article 4(5); Protocol No. 6 to the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms concerning
the abolition of the death penalty29.
Ø
United Nations Standard
Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (“The Beijing Rules“)30.
Ø
UN Doc. A/RES/40/33, 29
November 198531.
Ø
UN General Assembly, Resolution
45/11332.
Ø
UN Rules for the Protection
of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, UN Doc. A/RES/45/113, 14 December 199033.
Child Trafficking:
Child trafficking is a form of
human trafficking and defined as recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt
of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labor and exploitation. Though statistics
regarding the magnitude of child trafficking are difficult to obtain, the International
Labor Organization estimates that 1. 2 million children are trafficked each year34.
The trafficking of children has been internationally recognized as a serious crime
that exists in every region of the world and which often has human rights implications.
Yet, it is only within the past decade that the prevalence and ramifications of
this practice have risen to international prominence, due to a dramatic increase
in research and public action. A variety of potential solutions have accordingly
been suggested and implemented, which can be categorized as four types of action:
broad protection, prevention, law enforcement, and victim assistance.
The main international documents
dealing with the trafficking of children are the
·
U.N. Convention
on the Rights of the Child198935.
·
I.L.O. Worst
Forms of Child Labour Convention, 199936.
·
U.N. Protocol
to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children,
200037.
·
ILO Conventions 29, 105,
and 18238.
·
The Recommended Principles
and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking39.
·
Commentary on the Recommended
Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking40.
·
Convention on the Elimination
of all Forms of Discrimination against Women41.
·
Convention on the Rights
on the Child and its Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution
and child pornography42.
·
Convention relating to
the Status of Refugees (1951) and its 1967 Protocol The Slavery Convention (1926)
and its Supplement43.
·
I.L.O. Minimum Age Convention,
197344.
·
I.L.O. Worst Forms of Child
Labour Convention, 199945.
·
I.L.O. Worst Forms of Child
Labour Recommendation No. 190, 199946.
·
I.L.O. Forced Labor Convention,
193047.
·
I.L.O. Migrant Workers
Convention (Revised), 194948.
·
United Nations Convention
on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,
199049.
Thus all these laws, conventions,
protocols etc protect the human rights of children but all these provisions are
not implemented ipsofacto rather the governments of all the states will have to
ratify these provisions otherwise they will remain merely the provisions written
on paper. In fact it is the collective responsibility of all the states who have
not still ratified these provisions they should ratify these documents and with
this move the human rights of children will be protected across the globe.
REFERENCES:
10.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx
