National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

Context:

Supreme Court is suo motu examining ways to protect children who have suffered personal loss and trauma due to the pandemic.

The NCPCR and the States were also asked to compile data identifying children in need of immediate care.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in India

The Commission visualizes a rights-based perspective flowing into National Policies and Programmes, along with nuanced responses at the State, District and Block levels, taking care of specificity and strengths of each region. In order to touch every child, it seeks a deeper penetration to communities and households and expects that the ground experiences gathered at the field are taken into consideration by all the authorities at the higher level. Thus the Commission sees an indispensable role for the State, sound institution-building processes, respect for decentralization at   the  local  bodies  and  community level and larger societal concern for children and their well-being.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) emphasises the principle of universality and inviolability of child rights and recognises the tone of urgency in all the child related policies of the country. For the Commission, protection of all children in the 0 to 18 years age group is of equal importance. Thus, policies define priority actions for the most vulnerable children. This includes focus on regions that are backward or on communities or children under certain circumstances, and so on. The NCPCR believes that while in addressing only some children, there could be a fallacy of exclusion of many vulnerable children who may not fall under the defined or targeted categories. In its translation into practice, the task of reaching out to all children gets compromised and a societal tolerance of violation of child rights continues. This would in fact have an impact on the program for the targeted population as well. Therefore, it considers that it is only in building a larger atmosphere in favour of protection of children’s rights, that children who are targeted become visible and gain confidence to access their entitlements.

For the Commission, every right the child enjoys is seen as mutually-reinforcing and interdependent. Therefore the issue of gradation of rights does not arise. A child enjoying all her rights at her 18th year is dependent on the access to all her entitlements from the time she is born. Thus policies interventions assume significance at all stages. For the Commission, all the rights of children are of equal importance.

NCPCR Constitution

The NCPCR has been constituted by the Government as an act of Parliament as mentioned above. Hence, it is a statutory organisation. It consists of the following members:

1. Chairperson – Person of eminence and who has an exemplary record of work in child welfare.
2. Six members:
   • A minimum of two women members.
   • Should have experience in the following fields:
     • Education
     • Child health, care, welfare or child development
     • Juvenile justice or care of neglected or marginalized children or children with disabilities
     • Elimination of child labour or children in distress
     • Child psychology or sociology
     • Laws relating to children

Functions and Powers

The Commission shall perform all or any of the following functions, namely:

• Examine and review the safeguards provided by or under any law for the time being in force for the protection of child rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation.
• Present to be central government, annually and at such other intervals, as the commission may deem fit, reports upon working of those safeguards;
• Inquire into violation of child rights and recommend initiation of proceedings in such cases;
• Examine all factors that inhibit the enjoyment of rights of children affected by terrorism, communal violence, riots, natural disaster, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, trafficking, maltreatment, torture and exploitation, pornography and prostitution and recommend appropriate remedial measures;
• Look into matters relating to children in need of special care and protection, including children in distress, marginalised and disadvantaged children, children in conflict with law, juveniles, children without family and children of prisoners and recommend appropriate remedial measures.
• Study treaties and other international instruments and undertake periodic review of existing policies, programmes, and other activities on child rights and make recommendations for their effective implementation in the best interest of children.
• Undertake and promote research in the field of child rights.
• Spread child rights literacy among various sections of society and promote awareness of the safeguards available for protection of these rights through publications, media, seminars and other available means.
• Inspect or cause to be inspected any juvenile custodial home or any other place of residence or institution meant for children, under the control of the Central Government or any State Government or any other authority including any institution run by a social organization, where children are detained or lodged for the purpose of treatment, reformation or protection and take up with these authorities for remedial action, if found necessary.
• Inquire into complaints and take suo moto notice of matters related to:
  1. Deprivation and violation of child rights.
  2. Non implementation of laws providing for protection and development of children.
  3. Non compliance of policy decisions, guidelines or instructions aimed at mitigating hardships to and ensuring welfare of the children and to provide relief to such children or take up the issues arising out of such matters with appropriate authorities
• Such other functions as it may consider necessary for the promotion of child rights and any other matter incidental to the above functions.

Functions Assigned under RTE, 2009

Apart from the above, the Right to Education assigns following duties to NCPCR:

• to examine and review the safeguards for rights provided by or under this Act and recommend measures for their effective implementation.
• to inquire into complaints relating to the child’s right to free and compulsory education; and
• to take necessary steps after completion of an inquiry.

Functions Assigned under POCSO Act, 2012

The commission has been given following functions under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and POCSO Rules 2012

• to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the POCSO Act
• to monitor the designation of Special Courts by state governments;
• to monitor the appointment of Public Prosecutors by state governments;
• to monitor the formulation of the guidelines described in the Act by the state governments etc.

Source: The Hindu