International Conventions and Declaration

India is signatory to a number of international instruments and declarations pertaining to the rights of children to protection, security and dignity. It acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1992, reaffirming its earlier acceptance of the 1959 UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child, and is fully committed to implementation of all provisions of the UN CRC. In 2005, the Government of India accepted the two Optional Protocols to the UN CRC, addressing the involvement of children in armed conflict and the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. India is strengthening its national policy and measures to protect children from these dangerous forms of violence and exploitation. India is also a signatory to the International Conventions on Civil and Political Rights, and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which apply to the human rights of children as much as adults. Three important International Instruments for the protection of Child Rights that India is signatory to, are:

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989, is the widely accepted UN instrument ratified by most of the developed as well as developing countries, including India. The Convention prescribes standards to be adhered to by all State parties in securing the best interest of the child and outlines the fundamental rights of children, including the right to be protected from economic exploitation and harmful work, from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse and from physical or mental violence, as well as ensuring that children will not be separated from their families against their will.