Children holders of "universal, inalienable" rights: Speaker

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar today said every child was a holder of "universal, inalienable and indivisible rights" as she stressed on a multi-dimensional and integrated approach for harmonious development of children.
Participating in a panel discussion of the Third Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights on the 'Role of Parliaments in Protecting the Rights of Children' in Switzerland's Geneva, Kumar said India, which had the most number of children in the world, was committed to protecting their rights.
Attending the 129th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva, Kumar said the India accorded high priority to the well-being of children and considered their issues with the utmost diligence.

India's approach to the protection and promotion of child rights derives from its Constitution, she said, adding that it was also one of the countries that had agreed to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
"Our commitment to children is reiterated continuously through efforts to strengthen the framework for protection of their rights, which include establishment of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights in 2007, one of the few of its kind in Asia, to safeguard and enforce the rights of children in the country," she said.
She noted that while India did not face either international or domestic armed conflict situations, there were episodes of civil unrest that put children in need of special care.