In the run-up to General Election 2014, on November 13 last year Child Rights and You (CRY), the well-known Mumbai-based NGO, released a Child Rights Manifesto as part of its ‘Vote for Child Rights’ election advocacy campaign. The manifesto calls upon all political parties to accord top priority to child welfare and education in their election agendas. CRY’s ten major demands:
Standardise age definition for all child-related legislation in line with the National Policy for Children 2013, in which a child is defined as any person below 18 years of age.
Ensure that all children between the ages 6-14 are in school and learning as per the provisions of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. Expand the ambit of the RTE Act to bring children aged 0-6 years and 14-18 years under its purview.
Strengthen implementation of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme to ensure that six services viz. supplementary nutrition, health check-ups, immunization, nutrition and health education, preschool/non-formal education and referral services, are available in anganwadis. Also allocate adequate resources to ensure universal access for all children in the 0-6 age group to anganwadis with adequately staffed and trained personnel.
Reduce child mortality by ensuring that no child remains malnourished through sustained efforts such as complete immunization, regular health check-ups, proper nutritional support and health counselling.
Declare access to quality primary healthcare a fundamental right and strengthen the primary healthcare system with special focus on children.
Ensure food security for all marginalised groups with proper implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013. Amend the Act to (i) increase the protein/fat intake of pregnant women and children to 20-25 gm (ii) include services such as immunization, health check-ups etc available under ICDS as part of the Act (iii) make provision of supplementary nutrition for children aged 14-18 years.
Amend the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2012 to abolish all forms of child labour by removing the distinction between hazardous and non-hazardous categories of work for all children up to 18 years of age.
Invest adequately in ensuring protection for children by implementing policies and programmes that protect them from abuse, violence and exploitation.
Ensure gender parity, social equity, and guarantee the rights of children with disabilities by providing equal opportunities for all children.
Allocate sufficient budget for children by increasing the allocation for education and healthcare from 4.64 percent to 10 percent of GDP.
