SAARC nations to set up uniform toll-free child helpline

SAARC nations today agreed on setting up a uniform child helpline in the region even as India offered support to South-Asian countries in expanding and upgrading their child helpline services to check violence against children.
The three-day meeting of South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC), which concluded today, saw participation of ministers and delegates from SAARC nations who agreed to cooperate on information, communication and technology initiatives to trace missing children on the lines of Track Child and Khoya Paya missing child tracking websites.
Technical cooperation for programming on ICT initiatives to trace missing children, working towards setting up a toll-free helpline across the SAARC region, developing a regional strategy and common standards for addressing all forms of sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking were among the recommendations made at the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi called upon all the participant nations to show will and determination in dealing with the problem of child trafficking.
"As many of our problems are interdependent, such as that of trafficking, mutual learning and initiative would result in saving thousands of lives," she said.
India also offered support to South Asian countries in expanding and upgrading their child helpline services as part of efforts to end trafficking and violence against children.

"We are requesting the South Asian countries to expand their child line services. We are ready to provide help. We are trying to get them on board...They will have to put their technologies in and involve efficient NGOs," the minister said.

"We have agreed on a timeline-bound goals. Because we all suffer from child trafficking and therefore, we have the same problems from Afghanistan to Bangladesh. So we will now have time-bound goals for the first time," Gandhi said.
The ministerial meeting of SAIEVAC, which comprises eight nations, was inaugurated on May 9 to set strategies and agree on commitments to ensure protection and security of the children.
It was preceded by a two-day technical consultation focusing on critical issues of child protection and violence in the region.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was the chief guest at the event, said SAARC countries should work together to improve the condition of children and resolve to achieve safety and protection for them.

"To address each challenge comprehensively in SAARC countries, we can all benefit from cooperation and strengthening mechanisms for sharing of information, experience, expertise and good practices," he said.
"It will for the first time that the indicators of child protection will be universally monitored. We need to develop strategies that define clear milestones towards the realization of targets," he said.
Expressing satisfaction with the non-government organization Child Line that is working for child protection and child rights in association with the government, Gandhi said it is one the successful models of the world in preventing violence against children.
"Child line is one of the successes of the world. Last month we got 11 lakh calls from children. We can check it on real times basis. Yesterday, 40,000 children called in a single day," she said.