Protection of Child Rights: Problems and Prospects

The two day international conference on Protection of Child Rights started with the inaugural function on 3rd March 2019, with Prof. Dr. M.A.D.S. J. S. Niriella, Professor, Department of Public and International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and Dr. MWIRIGI K CHARLES, Jerusalem University, Post Doctoral Fellow, School of Law, Christ University as the chief guest and Prof. Dr. Asha Sundaram, Principal, Saveetha School of Law as the Patron. The event started with the prayer song “Tamil Thai Vazhthu”, and it was continued by lighting up of Kuthuvilaku by the dignitaries on the stage. The inaugural note was rendered by Prof. Dr. Asha Sundaram, who threw the light on need for recognising the rights of children. The dignitaries were honoured by Prof. Dr. Asha Sundaram. The chief guest of the day, Dr. Charles spoke on growing abuse towards the children and their rights. The chief guest of the day in his intellectual speech helped the participants understand the global standards set in protection of child rights. Dr. Niriella delivered the key note address focusing on the victim of abuse. The extinguished guest of the day brought the role of government and social activists in protecting the rights of children.

The inaugural session was followed by technical session with the resource person’s presentations by Dr. Anuja, Assistant Professor, Coordinator, ENVIS Centre on Environmental Law and Policy sponsored by Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, NLSIU, Bengaluru and Dr. Sathish Gowda, Assistant Professor of Law, P.G. Department of Studies and Research in Law, University Law College, Jnanabharathi Campus, Bangalore University, Bangalore, Karnataka. Both the resource persons was felicitated by Prof. Dr. Asha Sundaram , Principal, SSL. Dr. Sathish Gowda highlighted on widening the aspects of Article 21 of Indian Constitution in protecting the rights of children. He also spoke on the view of judiciary in rights of children. Dr. Anuja spoke on gender disperheria, the guest also spoke on need for the replacement of the term sex with gender identity.

The paper and poster presentations were presented by presenters from various institutions on the themes specified by the conference protocol. The paper presentation helped the students understand the different views and prospects in the trends of child rights.

The comments rendered by the chair person helped the students know, analyse and criticise the legislations in protection of child rights. The second day of this conference was started with the resource person’s presentations by Ms. Harini Ramanujam, CEO, Madras Dyslexia Association, Dr. Aneesh V. Pillai, Assistant Professor (Law), School of Legal Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kalamassery, Kochi, Kerala and Dr. Haritha Devi, Assistant Professor, School of Excellence, Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University. Ms. Harini Ramanujam spoke on counselling dyslexic children and legal approach towards such children. Dr. Aneesh V Pillai insisted on surrogacy and rights of children born out of surrogacy, highlighting the latest legislative intents. Dr. Haritha Devi presentation was based on the rationale for determining extent of child rights and role of parents and educators in protecting rights of children. It was followed by the paper presentation from various institutions. This conference received 45 papers, 5 posters and 2 short films from various institutions. Nearly 140 participants participated in this international conference on child rights.

The valedictory session started with the prayer song. The chief guest for the valedictory session was Mr. V. Balakrishnan, I.P.S., Deputy Inspector General of Police, Railways. The chief guest enlightened on trafficking of children, trauma counselling for child victim and their families, child marriage and other pressing topics which need national and international attention. During the question answer session, the chief guest answered to the question posed by the students on role of police and criminal justice system. Following which the short films taken by the students were displayed. The Chief Guest awarded the best presenters, papers, posters and short films both in Intra and Inter-college levels. Finally, vote of thanks was rendered by Dr. Pandiarajan, Associate Professor, SSL, and the conference was concluded with National Anthem.