January 1, 2019 Press Release
We are herewith releasing the text of the letter dated January 1, 2019 sent jointly by thirty-three organisations from various states working among children and persons with disabilities. This is in response to the Draft National Child Protection Policy to which comments were sought by the Ministry of Women & Child Development, from stakeholders. (Muralidharan) General Secretary, NPRD *** Full Text of the Letter Secretary Ministry of Women & Child Development Government of India Shastri Bhawan New Delhi 110 001 Dear Sir, Sub: Draft National Child Protection Policy We have gone through the Draft of the National Child Protection Policy dated December 14, 2018 uploaded on the Ministry’s website. We have had a preliminary discussion among disability rights groups, especially those working among children, women’s organisations as well as organisations working on child rights. We opine that: 1. It is welcome that the government has come out with this long overdue policy draft. 2. However, we feel that it is more in the form of guidelines and expectations from various duty holders and less of a policy statement on child protection. 3. The commitment and responsibility of the government, unfortunately, is missing in the draft. 4. From the disability perspective, two important legislations – the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the Mental Health Care Act, 2017 – are not even acknowledged in the Draft. India is also a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities – this also does not find mention. 5. Most of the people we have spoken to are unaware of the publication of this draft policy and hence are unable to give a comprehensive response. We therefore request that: 1. Since this would be a long-term policy concerning 40 per cent of our population, much more deliberations need to be undertaken. Consultations at various levels are necessary. 2. To enable us to respond adequately, sufficient time is required for organisations engaged with children to enable them to prepare their comments/observations. 3. The last date for receiving responses from stakeholders may be extended by a month to February 4, 2019. In the interest of our children and for the framing of a better and comprehensive policy, we hope you will respond to our request positively. Signatory Organisations: 1. Muralidharan, General Secretary, National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled, 2. Kumar Shailabh, Co-Director, HAQ: Centre for Child Rights 3. Radhika Alkazi, Astha 4. Merry Barua, Director, Action for Autism 5. Syamala Gidigu, Director, Action for Ability Development and Inclusion Kanti Ganguly, General Secretary, Paschim Banga Rajya Prathibandhi Sammelani, West Bengal S Namburajan, General Secretary, Tamilnadu Assn for the Rights of All Types of Differently-Abled & Caregivers O Vijayan, General Secretary, Differently-Abled Welfare Federation, Kerala Rishikesh Rajli, General Secretary, Haryana Viklang Adhikar Manch Adivaiah, General Secretary, Vikalangula Hakkula Jathiya Vedika, Telangana Meenu Mani, Convenor, Delhi Viklang Adhikar Manch Dayabhai Gajera, Gujarat Viklang Adhikar Manch Subhash Gupta, Jharkhand Viklang Morcha Rangappa Dasar, General Secretary, Karnataka Rajya Angavikalara Mattu Palakara Okkota Lakshadweep Disabled Association Banamali Dhupal, Platform for Rights of Disabled, Odisha Salil Debbarma, General Secretary, Tripura Rajya Prathibandi Sammelani Appala Naidu, Vikalangula Hakkula Jathiya Vedika, Andhra Pradesh 19. Shampa Sengupta, Director, Sruti Disability Rights Centre, Kolkata 20. Seema Lal, Together We Can, Kochi, Kerala 21. Seema Baquer, Lawyer & Cross Disability Consultant 22. Jo Chopra, Latika Roy Foundation 23. Kirti Shukla, Jan Swasthiya Abhiyan 24. Mukesh Gupta, President, Northern Railway Physically Handicapped Employees Association 25. Murali Padmanabhan, Disability Inclusion Advisor (SCA), Light for the World 26. Dave Deuel, Independent Disability Researcher 27. Gautam Chaudhary, Sanchar, Kolkata 28. Meenakshi Balasubramaniam, Equals, Chennai 29. Rahi Foundation, Delhi 30. Rahi Foundation, Kolkata 31. Rukmini Sen, Professor, School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi 32. Dus theke Dus Hazaar, a platform against sexual violence, West Bengal 33. Saswati Acharya, Co-ordinator, Ankur Advocacy Group, Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, Kolkata Submitted from the office of: National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled 36, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla Lane, New Delhi 110001 Tel. 9868768543 Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
