IMPHAL November 20: Yambem Laba, founder member of Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) while welcoming the cabinet decision of the state government to establish a State Commission for Protection of Child Rights asserted that, unlike the non-functioning MHRC, the state government must initiate appropriate steps to ensure that the Child Commission be a proper effective body which tenders to needs of the child and prevent child rights violation in the state.
Briefing mediapersons at Manipur Press Club today, he said that the members of the commission must also be proficient to tackle the child right issues and the concerned state authorities should be apolitical in nominating the members for the said commission.
“The commission according to its guidelines must at least have a member who holds office at the rank of a secretary in the state administration, because through him, we have to tender the recommendations of the commission to the state government for effective and speedy redressal” , he said.
He further mentioned that the concept of child rights violation is perceived by the public as mostly child labour though there are different forms of exploitation of a child. Among the flagship programs of the Union government, the RTE scheme provides ample nourishment and free education to children among other facilities. Laba alleged that it is an undoubted fact that the schemes for benefiting children are not implemented in totality in the state. “ If the state commission for children is established, then the commission will be the monitoring body to assess the loopholes and further to rectify it, the commission will be an effective recommendatory body for child rights issues”, he said.
Laba, who is also chairman of European Union project implemented by Wide Angle, a voluntary people’s collective stated that as part of the project, it was urged to state legislators to establish the commission at the earliest by the body and the endeavour was also reciprocated by the ministers and MLAs by signing a declaration urging for the same. He acknowledged sixteen legislators including four cabinet ministers whom Wide Angle approached for tendering their endorsement.
Montu Ahanthem, secretary of Wide Angle supplementing Laba said that the establishment of the commission would go a long way in tackling problems afflicting children of the state in multiple aspects. He said that cases of child rights violation can be speedily tackled by the commission and exhaustive measures need not be taken to intimate the National Commission for every arising singular child right issue.
Retired director of Social Welfare department and steering committee member of Wide Angle, S Sarat also applauded the cabinet resolve and stated that planning and budgeting for establishing the commission is required by the state government at the outset, but the commission must be made functional at the earliest, he said. He further mentioned that there regulatory norms of the commission may need to be streamlined so as to be compatible with the prevalent scenario of the State.