Protecting minors- The Hindu- 29-12-2019, Page-14

News:

• In the backdrop of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, a number
of minor under the age of 18 have been detained and tortured by the law
enforcement authorities.

• This has invigorated the debate around child rights especially of those children who
are in conflict with the law.

Rights of Children in conflict with law

Juvenile Justice Act

• Section 10 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 provides
for a special juvenile police unit or the designated child welfare police officer.

• A child is found to be in conflict with law he/she shall be placed under the charge of
this officer who shall produce that child before the Juvenile Justice Board within a
period of 24 hours.

• Thus the Juvenile Justice Act prohibits the detention of a child in police custody.
NCPCR Guidelines

• The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights guidelines on children’s rights
in areas of civil unrest provide that law enforcement authorities should avoid blanket
characterization of adolescent boys as security threats.

• Besides the guideline also direct the authorities to take the cases of arbitrary
detention, mistreatment, or torture of children extremely seriously and investigate
the violations and take appropriate action against personnel involved.

• In the context of the CAA protests, the NCPCR had highlighted that children were

being used by certain groups of protesters were in unlawful activities such as stone-
pelting which violates their rights under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of

Children) Act, 2015

Protecting the rights of children

• India acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992.

• Accordingly the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) a
statutory body set up under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 is
entrusted with the responsibility to protect, promote and defend child rights in India.

• The commission works under the aegis of the Ministry of Women and Child
Development.