‘Better implemention of laws needed to protect children’
By IANSTuesday, November 9, 2010
NEW DELHI - Delhi Minister for Women and Child Development Kiran Walia Tuesday said that instead of new laws, better implementation of the existing ones was needed to protect children’s rights.
“More than laws, we need self-realisation and sensitisation on part of the institutions which have been assigned the authority to implement laws related to the rights of children,” Walia said at a conference here on child rights.
Voicing similar concern, Jose Bergua, chief, child protection, Unicef, said: “Indian laws and policies are truly comprehensive. It is very important to focus on practice.”
The aim of the conference, organised by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), was to synergise efforts to check the exploitation of children.
It was attended by government representatives as well as NGOs working on child rights, including Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Salaam Baalak Trust and Prayas.
DCPCR chairperson Amod Kanth said: “It is important that the roughly half a million homeless and vulnerable children are identified and enumerated so that the benefit of policies like the right to education can reach them.”
