Promises to keep and miles to go

The 20th Century is often qualified as the century of realisation of Human Rights world over. While at one level this may be true because starting from the Declaration on Human Rights, the century has witnessed the adoption many convenants on Human Rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20th November, 1989 and ratified by all but two nations, the United States of America and Somalia, have added to this. Based on the principle of the "best interest" of the Child, the Convention through its various articles guarantees the right to survival, development, protection and participation to every child of today and the days to come.

So at notional level, children are no more mere residual category as part of the family but are persons with individual rights of even participation. Children have rights and these are human rights.

Contrary to commitments

But looking at the situation of children world over today one wonders if children's rights are there, more to be violated than guaranteed. Large number of children world over live in sub human conditions, in poverty, deprivation, infected by various diseases, malnourished, suffering from war, strife, and conflicts, maimed, abandoned, orphaned, exploited, economically and socially abused, physically and sexually alienated and neglected. The rights of the child is violated daily in countless ways.

According to the latest UNICEF documents, the number of people living in poverty has increased to 1.2 billion of which 600 million are children below the age of 18 while the world economy as a whole has grown massively. Even at the onset of the 21st century about 30,500 children are estimated to die daily due to various diseases and other causes like accident, war, etc. which can be prevented.

It is almost impossible to estimate the number of children who are victims of trafficking, sale, bondage and debt, forced labour, etc. ILO has estimated that 250 million children between the age of 5-14 are employed in various sectors, most of who are in the less developed countries. Of these at least 60 million between 5 and 11 years age are said to be engaged in hazardous sector of employment.

Struggling to survive

The decade of nineties began with lot of promises for children especially through the World Summit on Children organised in 1990 including more than 75 heads of governments stating their intention to ratify CRC. However this decade alone has seen more than 2 million children being killed and more than 6 million being wounded or disabled due to conflicts, strife and war. The world has more children today living in poverty than 10 years ago when the World Summit pledged to reach 27 years for children and women by 2000.

Some estimate that about 540 million children live in very dangerous circumstances involving political conflicts, war, ethnic and communal clashes, etc. During the decade more than 2 million children have been killed, 6 million injured and 1 million orphaned. Children have also been the worst sufferers of calamities such as Earthquake ( India) Hurricane (Mitch) Latin / Central America and Super-cyclone ( India, Orissa) and numerous others, of varying magnitude.

Not so dramatic but more common causes like malnutrition too is a mighty killer. Under five mortality is still high in many developing countries in a Asia and Africa and malnutrition is responsible for half of these deaths. Under five mortality of girls is particularly high in those countries where gender discrimination is rampant. The South Asian Countries are examples of this trend.

Malnutrition is not just due to shortage of food. Even when food is available people cannot afford it due to poverty. Dr. Amartya Sen has argued that, poverty rather than shortage of food, is the real cause of hunger.

Gary, Gardner and Brian Halweil present a very interesting scenario in their article 'Nourishing the underfed and Overfed' in the State of the World 2000.

"In a large desert tent in war-torn Ajeip, Sudan, doctors and nurses, from the aid agency Medicines sans Frontieres, are hard at work. They hover over starving Sudanese children, administering high-calorie biscuits and sugar water in an effort to revive them. These children have traveled from miles around, most arriving by foot. All of them are emaciated, with skin stretched tightly across their bones, and with stomachs that, ironically, are clearly distended- a condition of calorie and protein deficiency known as "kwashiorkor" that disturbs the water balance of the abdomen.

Half a world away, patients arrive at the cardiac ward of Mt. Sinai hospital in Manhattan, many complaining of chest pains. Doctors and nurses prepare some for open-heart surgery, schedule others for angioplasties to open clogged arteries, and administer anti-clotting medications to the remainder. Like the Sudanese children, many of these patients are noteworthy for their swollen abdomens-in this case, of course, the product of too much food. In contrast to the Sudanese children, many of whom will not pull through, most of the New Yorkers will survive, only to return later with similar symptoms.

The disparity in wealth and health care between the Ajeip and Manhattan centres is clear. Perhaps less obvious is the condition common to both, one shared by a large and diverse portion of the human family: malnutrition. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that roughly half the population in all nations-wealthy and poor-suffers from poor nutrition of one kind or another." This includes 1.2 billion hungry people, those whose diets are lacking in calories. It also includes their polar opposite on the nutritional spectrum-those who eat too much -at least 1.2 billion people.

More stunted than bloomed

CRC guarantees the right to free and quality education to all children as part of the right to development. But what is the reality. No doubt there have been improvements in enrollment rates. Nevertheless over 130 million children of school going age are out of school. Many of them are employed and cruelly exploited, others have been recently honored with a new title viz " no where children". Again girls out number boys in this ease too. It is startling news that we still have countries where the rate of literacy of women is less than 10% (Burkina Faso Niger, Sierra Leone). Closer home we still have many districts in India where women's literacy is less than 20%. This is certainly indicative of the violations of the right to education of the girl child.

There is also great disparity between of children attending primary schools in the urban areas and in the rural areas. In most developing countries while a larger percentage of children in the urban areas attend schools only smaller sections from the rural areas have access. The divide is at least 10% in 34 countries out of 54 in which studies to this effect have been undertaken. The urban rural divide is largest in Eriteria. Here 79% of children in the cities attend school while in the villages only 24% are in school. It has also been noted that orphan children are at higher risk of being out of school than children are with parents.

While many factors contribute to children being pushed out of school, the quality of education and teaching is the key factor that contributes to this. Often the teachers are poorly trained and motivated the curricula are dull and irrelevant to the children and reinforce the various discriminations already prevalent in the society.

Free quality education is the key to the development of the child and also to protection of children from exploitation and poverty. Education, when good and relevant, empowers the child to fight poverty and to open up new possibilities for him or her to participate and contribute. This is also the essential prerequisite for realising the commitments of CRC.

Yet to be protected

Cheated out of the right to education, a large number of children end up in high-risk groups. They turn to the streets, to the railway platforms, market places, bus terminals, and tourist centres, looking for survival possibilities. They are also driven to the streets due to other reasons, of parental neglect, family feud, social and political conflicts and so on. Appropriating jobs such as rag-picking and anything that comes across, they struggle facing violence and exploitation, from police, criminal gangs, unscrupulous elders and even end up in such company. In large cities of the World like Lima, Manila, Bangkok, Mumbai lakhs of children live in such conditions. In countries like Brazil and Chile such children are even shot down point blank to clear the cities of them. The cities in the so called developed countries too are not free of street children. Cities like Washington, New York, Berlin, Amsterdam, and London too have such homeless, uncared for children in large numbers. The right to protection, which these children must enjoy, is far from reality.

A large number of children who need protection are orphaned by the murderous march of HIV / AIDS. In African countries HIV / AIDS is now the biggest killer. By the end of 2000 there will be about 10.4 mn children orphan by this relentless killer majority of whom, would be form Africa. But it is not confirmed to these continent countries like Thailand, Mynamar, Cambodia and India in the Asian continent too are now swamped with large numbers of HIV-AIDS infected people.

Apart from street children and the AIDS orphans, there still exist large numbers of abandoned children who do not enjoy their right to family, love and care. There probably is no proper data on this section of children who need special care and protection.

Adoption by families probably could be the best way to ensure their happiness and development. However much remains to be done both to find families for all abandoned children and guarantee them equal status like in the case of biological children.

Children who are disabled physically and mentally too deserve special care and protection. Their special needs must be fulfilled. In addition all children need to be protected from disability through universal immunization against Polio and other diseases. The African and Asian continents lag behind in securing this to all children. While only about 50% children in sub Saharan Africa are immunized, about 70% are administered immunization in South Asia.

Right to Participation of children which is really a new area is yet to be recognised. Prior to the passage of the CRC this right of children was not even notionally accepted. One step forward has been taken by the universal recognition of this right. But it may take decades to realise this right of children in practice. Children live in an adult world. It is not only an adult world but also a highly male dominated adult world regimented and compartmentalised with numerous traditions, cultural norms, practices, religions stipulations and so on. Children have very little say on what affects them.

In spite of the information explosion children at large are far from well informed on matters concerning them or the society. The right to take well-informed decisions can be realised only with discerning assistance.

While there have been various alliances for children since the beginning of the last century, the last decade of the century has made this beginning of alliances and movements not only improve their situation but also to restore peace and security in societies caught in conflict and war. 'Children's Movement for Peace' in Columbia is an example. With the promotion of children's right to participation, they probably can become the ambassadors for a new era, of peace, security and prosperity with equality.

World of disparities

It is estimated by UNICEF again that on an average 30% of the children world over are at risk but in the Asian and African countries the percentage of children at risk are much larger and varies form 40% to more than 60%.

This brings in the whole Rich World Poor World division which is the characteristic the present era.

About 30% of the population poor countries live on less than Rs 45/- a day, the majority of the poor are women and children. About 10% of the children in the industrialized countries even the richest ones live in poverty and neglect.

The sharp divide between the rich poor is very appropriately recorded by UNICEF in its latest document "The Progress of Nations…2000" in July 2000.

"These statistical profiles portray, in sharp detail, the development challenges the world faces at the start of the 21st century. Among these 192 countries, per capita GNP ranges from $ 100 to $ 45,100 a year. The under-five mortality rate varies from 4 to 316 deaths per 1,000 live births. The percentage of underweight children ranges from 1% to 60%.

The primary school enrolment rate varies from 24% to 100% of children. The total fertility rate ranges from 7.5 children born per woman to 1.1. The maternal mortality rates varies from 1,100 to 0."

Poverty and deprivations and multifarious discriminations which, thrive, in spite of economic development and end of classical colonialism, are then at the root of violations of the rights of children. This is true both within the developed nations and between those and the developing ones. The concentration of wealth in the hands of the few continues relentlessly. The poorest 20% of the world's population has only 1% of world GNP. Even in the rich countries children live in relative poverty. It is reported that 22.4% of children in United States of America and 26.2% of children in Mexico and 20.5% in Italy live in poverty. It is only in countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Luxembourg and so on where the level of child poverty is very low. These are also the countries with largest investment in social sectors and also generous donors to the developing countries,. Rich countries like U.S.A and Italy where child poverty is high also contribute the lowest assistance to developing countries in terms of percentage of their GNP.

The ratio between the global income of poorest 20% and the richest 20% of the world is 1.74! It was 1:30 in 1960. The picture that has been portrayed so far is gory and probably contrary to common perceptions, but all is not yet lost. This itself is an improved situation over the past. The achievements then of the last decade and before must not be underestimated. Even in the midst of formidable constraints improvements have been made in the areas of child survival rates, the nutritional status of the child, improved situation of basic education, health services, better access to clean drinking water and sanitation.

There is certainly a better awareness of the situation of children world over and such issues have emerged as politically relevant. After the world summit on children in 1990 where heads of nations for the first time vowed to work towards set goals, yet another summit to review these and other factors is under preparation for the year 2001.

Concerns extend

Yet another ray of hope is present in the involvement of numerous organisations and individuals outside of the government or multilateral bodies in the promotion of right of the child. Apart from the few political leadership and multilateral bodies like UNICEF, ILO and other U.N bodies, national and international orgnisations have made significant contributions to both raising critical awareness and improving the development services for children. Defense of children International (DCI), Save the Children Fund (SCF), and the International Federation of terre des hommes have been very active during the previous decades.

terre des hommes ( Germany) for instance has contributed to securing the right of the child to a family, love and care through promotion of inter country and in country adoptions of abandoned children. Beginning with such concrete assistance to abandoned children, tdh has eventually worked towards promoting child focussed socio-economic development of marginalised communities through co-operation and collaboration with local initiatives and social movements for restoration of human rights particularly children's right and women's rights. It is active in 26 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America through local partners.

While upholding the equal rights of children of the migrant population in Germany and popularising the tenets of CRC in the German Society it has also struggled to bring about legal measures to deter child abuse by German tourists travelling to the other parts of the world. Providing direct assistance to victims of war and political conflict, the organisation today is an active member of the Coalition against Child Soldiers. Together with many like-minded organisation, it is preparing to launch a global campaign against trafficking in children.

Perspectives for now

Children's rights then have not remained confined to interventions by the officialdom. It has been becoming and increasing concern of communities, individuals and groups at different levels. The quotation from Gracia Marcel is totally relevant here.

"We are guilty of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children, neglecting the fountain of life. Many of the things we need can wait. The child cannot wait. Right now is the time his bones are being formed, His blood is being made and his senses are being developed. To him we cannot answer 'Tomorrow'. His name is 'Today'. "

'The best interest of the child then, is the best interest of Human Civilisation'.

Children are often said to be 'our future', 'the future of the nation', etc. Let's try to paraphrase this and say that 'we are the future of our children'. We need to work for them today. Only this can change the situation. If we stay content with children being the future we are likely to postpone our action. This cannot be afforded. We must act now and defend and promote their rights. While we are doing this we are defending and promoting our own future. Let us work for our future.