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MenuAt HAQ we believe in using international law to strengthen our advocacy efforts on children. These international commitments by India must be reflected in our Indian laws, policies and institutions it creates for the realisation of child rights.
While the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols are the principal instruments concerned with children, there are some relevant Hague Conventions and other Regional Conventions, which are also important for the realisation of the rights of children. India has signed and ratified some of them, but there are several ones that it is yet to ratify and many where India has made declarations or reservations.
These important International Human Rights Instruments specifically address:
| International Legal Instruments | Status of Ratification/Signature/Adoption |
|---|---|
| Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 | RATIFIED on 11 December 1992 with a declaration on Article 32 |
| Optional Protocol to CRC on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography | SIGNED on 15 November 2004 and RATIFIED on 16 August 2005 |
| Optional Protocol to CRC on involvement of Children in Armed Conflict | SIGNED on 15 November 2004 and RATIFIED on 30 November 2005 |
| Amendment to article 43 (2) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1995 | NOT SIGNED |
| Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, 1962 | NOT SIGNED |
| International Legal Instruments | Status of Ratification/Signature/Adoption |
|---|---|
| Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations Against Women (CEDAW), 1979 | SIGNED on 30 July1980 and RATIFIED on 9 July 1993 with a declaration/reservation |
| Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1999 | NOT SIGNED |
| Amendment to article 20, paragraph 1 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1995 | NOT SIGNED |
| International Legal Instruments | Status of Ratification/Signature/Adoption |
|---|---|
| Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006 | SIGNED on 30 March 2007 RATIFIED on 1 October 2007 |
| Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the persons with Disabilities, 2006 | NOT SIGNED |
| International Legal Instruments | Status of Ratification/Signature/Adoption |
|---|---|
| International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), 1965 |
RATIFIED ON 3 Dec 1968
|
| Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948 | SIGNED on 29 Nov 1949 RATIFIED on 27 Aug 1959 |
| International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, 1973 | ACCEEDED on 22 Sep 1977 |
| ACCEEDED on 12 Sep 1990 |
| International Legal Instruments | Status of Ratification/Signature/Adoption |
|---|---|
| Convention on the Status of Refugees, 1951 | NOT SIGNED |
| Protocol to the Convention on Status of Refugees, 1967 | NOT SIGNED |
| Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 1954 | NOT SIGNED |
| Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 1961 | NOT SIGNED |
| International Legal Instruments | Status of Ratification/Signature/Adoption |
|---|---|
| Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1984 | SIGNED on 14 October, 1997 NOT RATIFIED (despite recommendation in this regard by the CRC Committee in its Concluding Observations in India’s Second Periodic Report, India has not ratified this Convention) |
| Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 2002 | NOT SIGNED |
| International Legal Instruments | Status of Ratification/Signature/Adoption |
|---|---|
| ILO Convention No. 29 (Forced Labour, 1930) | RATIFIED on 30 November 1954 |
| ILO Convention No. 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of Rights, 1948) | NOT RATIFIED |
| ILO Convention No. 98 (Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949) | NOT RATIFIED |
| ILO Convention No. 100 (Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951) | RATIFIED on 25 September 1958 |
| ILO Convention No. 105 (Abolition of Forced Labour, 1957) | RATIFIED on 18 May 2000 |
| ILO Convention No. 111 (Discrimination (Employment and Occupation Convention, 1958) | RATIFIED on 3 June 1960 |
| ILO Convention No. 138 (Minimum Age Convention, 1973) | NOT RATIFIED |
| ILO Convention No. 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999) | NOT RATIFIED |
| International Convention on Protection of Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, 1990 | NOT SIGNED |
| International Legal Instruments | Status of Ratification/Signature/Adoption |
|---|---|
| International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 | ACCEDED on 10 April 1979 |
| Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 on setting up of individual complaint mechanism | NOT SIGNED |
| Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of death penalty, 1989 | NOT SIGNED |
| International Covenant Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 | ACCEDED on 10 April 1979 |
India’s commitment to its children finds strength in the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992.
Subsequently, India also ratified the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography on 16 August 2005 and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict on 30 November 2005.
The country has thus agreed to ensure all rights for all children based on the principles of non-discrimination and the best interest of the child. The CRC revalidates the rights guaranteed to children by the Constitution of India and various laws, policies and programmes emanating there from.
The country has to periodically report to the committee on its efforts and progress in realization of child rights in the country based on which the Committee makes certain concluding observations.
A General Comment is an official statement adopted by the UNCRC that eloborates on the meaning of an aspect of the Convention that seems to require further interpretation or emphasis. The aim of the General Comment is to increase state accountability. To date there are 13 such Comments issued from the year 2001.
Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
HAQ: Centre for Child Rights
128 B, Second Floor, Shahpur Jat
Near Purana Shiv Mandir
New Delhi - 110049
Email: info@haqcrc.org
Phone: +91-11-26497412
Child Protection Committee
Internal Complaints Committee
