Democracy and Children’s Rights in India and the UK

The project titled ‘Democracy and Children’s Rights in India and the UK: Law, Policy and Outcomes’. Prof. Peter R. deSouza and Dr. Todd Landman are the principal investigators of this project. The project has been funded by UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI).

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989 is the most universally signed and ratified treaty in the international human rights regime. Despite this seemingly universal promulgation of the rights of children, a large number of uncertainties placed on record by states when ratifying the Convention has weakened the obligations laid down by the UNCRC.

The UNCRC is unique in its emphasis on viewing the child as a rights-holder rather than a beneficiary of welfare and protection. By recognising that children not only have a moral and legal claim to certain goods, services and provisions, but that they also have the ability to forward these claims to the community and the state, the UNCRC has redefined the concept of citizenship in terms of its membership and its exercise. While the Convention does not argue that children should be given rights identical to those enjoyed by adults, it does underline the position that ‘children are social beings too’ and among other rights, they should be accorded ‘the right to respect, the right to make mistakes and the right to be taken seriously’.

This project seeks to encourage comparative research on the laws, policies, and institutions that come about in response to national and international legal commitments, the cultural attitudes towards children that underlie these efforts and the political and social outcomes of these endeavours. The project focuses on India and the United Kingdom because each of the two countries is uniquely placed in the debate on the rights of children and has a particular perspective to offer. A comparison of the two countries would yield research outcomes relevant not only to each of these countries but also enable both countries to learn from experiences in the implementation of and innovations in laws, policies and institutions. The following areas of research are of particular importance:

Both states have similar international commitments since they have ratified the UNCRC. The United Kingdom has additional commitments accruing from its ratification of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 which is enforced by a stronger accountability mechanism i.e. the European Court of Human Rights. India, on the other hand, is bound by national commitments and the mechanism of state reporting provided by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. However, the evolution of judicial activism and the widespread utilisation of public interest litigation in India have enabled the larger public to gain greater understanding of laws and policies that impact human and child well-being. This particular issue links to the debate on the introduction of a regional human rights treaty body in Asia and the role of national institutions in the implementation and monitoring of states’ commitments.

The United Kingdom has enacted laws and established institutions to promote children’s rights and well-being. Yet it is still languishing in providing for rights-based outcomes for children. A comparative study of the relationship between the introduction of laws and institutions and the implementation of rights and achievement of well-being in these countries would provide valuable insights into larger debates on linkages between child rights and child well-being, their conceptualisation, implementation and measurement. The issue of available resources in the implementation of rights is another theme that underlies comparative research on the two countries. In the light of the Millennium Development Goals especially the five goals that are directly related to child well-being and Goal 8 which seeks to develop a global partnership for development, research on the relationship between developing and developed countries (in this case, India and the United Kingdom) towards implementing their children’s rights obligations would add to current debates on this issue.

Methodology

The project seeks the expertise and experience of an interdisciplinary team of researchers and practitioners to build capacities in India and the United Kingdom for systematic research and policy analysis in the area of children’s rights, including legal analysis, social scientific methods, and the development of indicator systems for monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of children’s rights protection. The project envisages an opportunity for research exchange between scholars and practitioners on their experiences of implementing international and national standards and draw on innovative mechanisms and working practices developed in other parts of the world.

Given the enormity of geographical and population size in India as well as the variation in its cultural practices, laws and policies enacted, and the establishment of institutions by provincial states and their outcomes, it would be extremely difficult to engage in an elaborate academic research involving all regions of the country. This project instead seeks to limit its focus to the western region covering the states of Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Goa is the only state in India that has enacted a Children’s Act and established institutions to ensure the implementation of the Act. The neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka have initiated the process to enact similar legislations as well. This would provide researchers with the impetus to engage in inter-state and inter-country research on the Goa Act, its innovations and failings, and how this compares to the UNCRC and the United Kingdom Children’s Act. Comparative research on national laws and policies, institutions and outcomes in both countries would also be encouraged.

Beginning in 2007, the tenure of the project is two years with five researchers each from India and the UK expected to benefit from the research exchange each of the two years. The individual researches are expected to be complete within two months of the researcher’s stay in the country. A report and research output in the form of a presentation or academic paper should be produced at the end of the research period. Student or junior researchers will be limited by the nature of the exchange, i.e. to attend a training workshop or to assist in an ongoing project; they would be expected to provide, at a minimum, a report of their activities at the end of the exchange. Additionally, one conference or training workshop would be planned once a year in each country towards the capacity building of students, academics and practitioners.