The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is, at present, the most unanimously ratified treaty on Human Rights. India adopted it in 1992 and since then, every five years, the Indian nation must draw up and send reports to the International Committee regarding the enforcement of the rights set forth in the CRC, and about the steps being taken there to guarantee the rights of all children.Aside from the official report that the Indian government sends the Committee, non-governmental organizations and other social entities that work in the country can – and must – draw up alternative reports so that the Committee may have a more encompassing perspective of the children’s status in India, and may formulate recommendations. This year, Asha-Kiran became a key element in this process. In previous years, the Committee against Child Labor (CACL) – a network of NGOs that work for the wellbeing of children, and of which Asha-Kiran is an executive member – used to be the only one in charge of drawing up the alternative report.
This year, however, a process was launched whereby the children had the chance of drawing up the report themselves – an innovative way of promoting the children’s participation, and giving the report more credibility, since it was written from the findings of the children’s surveys, their discussions, and their own experiences and expectations.
The Children’s Report on the Status of the United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights in the State of Maharashtra, which had Asha-Kiran as one of its main organizers of the process, was published on the 25th of November. In a few weeks, all the states in the country will finish their reports, which will then be compiled into a single document to be sent to the International Committee of the Children’s Rights Convention.
This time, it will be the children themselves who will make their voices be heard.
