To be Useful, Child Rights Must Be Known, Understood and Advocated

 

The society must be aware of the child rights and it must be able to put them into practice. The inclusion of child rights in government policies and decision-making is ensured by advocacy. According to UNICEF’s National Human Rights Institutions Series (NHRIS) tool “Advocacy might seek to influence changes to legislation, policies, levels of resourcing and budgets, service design, innovative practices or institutional functions. The activities involved can take many forms, including media campaigns, parliamentary lobbying, petitions, letter-writing, research and policy or drafting legal reforms.”

Children are subject to their own rights. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child describes the rights that must be realized for children to develop their full potential. It recognizes that the basic human rights and a quality of life are important for every child. The civil society can be informed about child rights through education and awareness. It can be done by capacity building, communication campaigns, collaborations with child/youth groups, and media intervention.

Children must be aware of their own rights and know how to assert them. They must be involved in the advocacy efforts and be able to empower themselves and the other underserved kids. Schools should educate children about their rights and other outreach programs must be organised for out-of-school children.

Advocacy, Research, and Training Efforts of Udayan Care

Udayan Care’s advocacy work is focused on ensuring and enhancing rights of children without parental care. It explores different aspects of policy and practice around alternative care for children and youth through research, publications, consultations, trainings, seminars and workshops. From recommendations for policy and legislative reform to training practitioners on standards of care, Udayan Care also develops knowledge products on various aspects of Alternative Care.

Udayan Care has also instituted Biennial Conferences on Alternative Care (BICON) with an aim to bring together representatives, working on youth development, child protection, and child care. Its academic, bi-annual, double-peer reviewed, journal, “Institutionalised Children: Explorations and Beyond”, launched in March 2014, now in partnership with SAGE Publishing, addresses the gaps in research, knowledge and counselling practices, prevalent in working with children in Alternative Care, in South Asian countries.

Udayan Care has conducted trainings on various aspects of juvenile justice and alternative care with key stakeholders, children and youth, to build their knowledge, attitude, capacities and skills on aftercare, case management, and family-based care in 12 states of India. It has also been selected by central and state governments as members of several special committees on developing guidelines on aspects of child protection.

Why Advocate?

Advocacy is important as without the voice of those who possess both expertise and experience in child rights, legislation, regulations, and other related policy decisions may not reflect what is best for the children. In a democratic system, all citizens have a right to advocate. As a constituent you are an indispensable part of the democratic system and your advocacy is an important mechanism to influence the government decisions.

To amplify your message and build greater public support, you can help by educating the public about the importance of child rights. This education can take place in the form of conversations with family, friends and colleagues about child rights issues and the importance of advocacy. It is important to spread awareness about children and their rights as advocacy is usually more likely to be successful if it is supported by a wide range of stakeholders.