Bhubaneswar: The year 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of United Nation (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the most widely ratified international human rights treat body.
To commemorate the occasion, Asian Children’s Summit was organised by Regional Secretariat of South Asian Initiative for Ending Violence against Children (SAIEVAC), Child Right Coalition, Asia and ACWC Thailand for ASIAN Region, hosted in Bangkok from November 25 to 29, 2019. It was an effort to create a common voice for children of Asia in a child – friendly, inclusive and gender sensitive space. Children from South, Southeast and East Asia came together to give voice their opinions and know their rights. The objective of the Summit was to contribute to the realisation of the right of the child to be heard.
In this summit, India was represented by 4 child participants including two Odia girls namely Preetimayee Sahoo, and Milonee Mishra. The other two, Prathit Singh and Sasha Agrawal, are from West Bengal.
The child delegates were nominated by National Action and Coordination Group for Ending Violence against Children (NACG EVAC), India through a national level nomination process. They were accompanied by Anuradha Mohanty, Executive Director, PECUC and Sisir Thanikal of Interational Justice Mission, Kolkata.
Around 22 countries from Asia participated in this summit. The specific aim of the summit was to to build the children’s advocacy capacity and to provide a venue for cultural exchange. The principal theme was “Justice for Children, Leave No One Behind”.
The UNCRC is considered a landmark treaty that recognises children as human beings who are entitled to a distinct set of fundamental rights. It sets non-discrimination, best interest of the child, right to survival and development and child participation as the guiding principles for the realisation of children rights.
