Srinagar
Juvenile Justice Committee, Supreme Court of India, Juvenile Justice Committee High Court of J&K in collaboration with Government of Jammu & Kashmir and supported by UNICEF today organized Third J&K Roundtable Conference on Implementation of Juvenile System in the Union Territories of J&K &Ladakh.
Chairperson, Supreme Court Committee on Juvenile Justice Deepak Gupta, Chief Justice High Court of J&K Justice Gita Mittal, Chairman, Juvenile Justice Committee High Court of J&K Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, Justice Tashi Rabastan, Justice Sanjeev Kumar, Advocate General J&K D C Raina, Commissioner Secretary Social Welfare Manoj Dwivedi, IGP Jammu Mukesh Singh, Secretary Law Achal Sethi, Chief Child Protection UNICEF India Soledad Herrero, Secretary Juvenile Justice Committee Abdul Rashid Malik, large number of judicial officers of subordinate courts, members of Juvenile Justice Boards, member of District Child Welfare Committees, members of NGOs, social organizations and several other stakeholders participated in the conference.
The aim of the conference was to provide an opportunity to all the stakeholders involved in the process of protection of child rights especially those who deal with the children in conflict with the law and children needs care and protection. During the proceedings of the programme, the emphasis was laid on strengthening the Juvenile Justice System with special focus on the implementation of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act, 2015 in the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
Presentations were made by keynote speakers on progress made in the implementation of the Act in light of recommendations and State Action Plan of 2018 Roundtable Conference. Besides, strengthening of the Juvenile Justice System and key features of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act 2015) was also discussed in detail.
Speaking during the inaugural session, Justice Deepak Gupta complimented the Juvenile Justice Committee, High Court of J&K, the Government and all the stakeholders for the work they have done with regard to the protection of child rights. He said that we have gathered here to discuss what all we can do for our children’s and the interests of children has to be foremost and rest all other things come later.
He said with the shifting from State to Union Territory, the National Act is applicable here having and we might face are some challenges while implementing the new Juvenile Justice Act for protection of rights of children. Our efforts are always on to avoid the children’s getting their psyche damaged at a small age, if this happened the damage is difficult to get repaired leaving the child in trauma for the whole of his/her life, he added.
Justice Deepak Gupta further said that if we want to have a society where all the children can live a happy life, then we must give them an opportunity to grow as a normal child. Alternative care is one of the best examples to give a positive atmosphere to the children’s, he added.
With regard to the functioning of Children Institutions, Justice Deepak Gupta said that all such institutions should be registered and strictly monitored by the Government. He also stressed on adopting effective Child Management Programme since the day the child has joined the institution till the time he left the place.
Stressing on showing sensitivity to the requirements of the children’s is a very important aspect and everyone involved in the process need to be sensitized about the meeting their requirements. The sensitive approach towards children’s is must if we want to do something good for them, Justice Deepak Gupta added.
He said that all who have gathered today has a positive role to play in sensitizing the people about the protection and guarantee the rights of children.
Chief Justice High Court J&K Gita Mittal while delivering her keynote address during the Third Roundtable Conference said that no matter, we all are putting serious efforts in ensuring dignified life to all the children’s but still lot more required to be done in this regard. We need to focus on generating more awareness on the topic and the children especially be made aware of their rights and how they can protect them.
She spoke about institutional care, strengthening the Juvenile Justice System, setting up of children courts, provision of funds from the government for effective implementation of the Act, infrastructural up-dation and other important aspects of Juvenile Justice System.
Chief Justice further said that psychological assistance should be provided to the children whenever required. She also said that the childcare institutions must be registered so that the government has a clear control over the activities happening there.
She also highlighted a very important aspect of the system- rehabilitation and re-integration of the children with the family after he/she leave the children or correction homes. She said we should ensure that the child is properly rehabilitated and re-integrated with the family after getting freed from the children institutions.
Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey while addressing the gathering threw light on present Juvenile Justice System in the Union Territories and said that the deliberation during the conference will provide us better understanding of the system and would make us to move ahead in right direction.
This is a learning process which provides us a common platform to come together, discuss the difficulties we are facing, finding solutions to the problems for improvement, he said adding that hope we all would take out good things discussed today and applied them for successful implementation of the Juvenile Justice System. He urged the police to understand their role while dealing with the child in conflict with the law.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar also spoke on the occasion and said that before we sensitize others, there is a need to sensitize ourselves about child rights. He said that the challenges that we would be facing with the enactment of Juvenile Justice Act 2015 need to be taken care of properly and this kind of programme provides us an opportunity to discuss the issues and redress the same with joint efforts.
Justice Kumar also highlighted the proactive role being played by the judiciary in the light of child rights. He said that the Government also has a greater responsibility towards the mission of protecting child rights and every required step should be taken to ensure the implementation of the system. He also urged all the stakeholders to ensure that the rights of child’s are guaranteed at any cost.
Commissioner Secretary Social Welfare Manoj Dwivedi also spoke during the inaugural session and termed the conference historical. He said every child is important for the society and for the protection of their rights; several measures have been taken by the Government but lot more to be done in this regard. We should be able to make some positive changes in the lives of children’s by our efforts for which the department of Social Welfare will provide all kind of support.
The department has been regularly providing training to the people involved in the process. He enlists many steps that have already been taken by the Government to strengthen Juvenile Justice System including mapping of children institutions, inspection of centres etc. He stressed on having effective strategy and coordinated efforts among all for achieving the desired results on ground. Robust management and information system has to be put in place and infrastructural gaps are also being covered by its upgradation, he added.
Manoj Kumar Dwivedi said that under the able guidance of judiciary, the Government is putting all its efforts in ensuring welfare of children’s and protection of their rights.
Chief, Child Protection UNICEF India Soledad Herrero appreciated the efforts of judiciary, government and the stakeholders for doing service to the children’s. She assured the support of UNICEF for the cause and urged all the stakeholders to do a critical analysis of the success we have achieved so far in the field of child protection and also to note down the failures so that a strategy can be made keeping in mind the present scenario.
During the second session, various presentations were made to understand the Juvenile Justice System and things required to bring improvement in its implementation. Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey in his presentation gave overview of JJ Act implementation in J&K, Commissioner Secretary Social Welfare Manoj Dwivedi apprised about strengthening Child Protection Service in J&K with special focus on 2018 action plan, IGP Jammu Mukesh Singh on initiatives by police for child protection in the backdrop of 2018 action plan and Secretary Law Achal Sethi spoke on update on Child Rights Legislation (Acts/Rules/Ordinances).
At the valedictory session, Co-Founder, HAQ, Centre for Child Rights highlighted key features of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act 2015).
Abdul Rashid Malik, Member Secretary, Juvenile Justice Committee, J&K High Court conducted the proceedings of the conference. He welcomed the participants and expressed his gratitude for gracing the occasion.
