NEW DELHI: In a recent development, the United Nations Secretary-General has excluded India from the list of countries mentioned in a report on children and armed conflict. The report addressed concerns regarding the alleged recruitment, detention, and harm inflicted on boys by armed groups in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the involvement of security forces.

According to the women and child development ministry, India had been featured in this report since 2010, alongside other nations such as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Lake Chad basin, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines. The mention was primarily due to allegations of armed groups recruiting and utilizing boys in Jammu and Kashmir, the detainment of boys by Indian security forces based on alleged associations with armed groups, and incidents of children being killed or injured by Indian security forces, including the use of pellets.

However, the ministry announced that India's name no longer appears in the United Nations General Assembly Security Council Children and Armed Conflict Report by the Secretary-General. The government has been actively working to have India removed from the list. In November 2021, an inter-ministerial meeting was held in Delhi, where representatives from the women and child development ministry, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Permanent Mission of India at New York, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children, and UN officials were present.

During the meeting, an agreement was reached to appoint a national focal point responsible for identifying priority interventions to enhance the protection of children. Furthermore, a joint technical mission was proposed to hold inter-ministerial, technical-level meetings with the United Nations to explore areas of enhanced cooperation for child protection. The ministry stated that a comprehensive roadmap for collaboration on child protection issues was developed.

Last year, the office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General visited India, followed by a workshop on strengthening child protection in Jammu and Kashmir. This workshop was conducted by the women and child development ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Jammu and Kashmir government, with the active participation of the United Nations. As a result, all necessary statutory service delivery structures, such as the Child Welfare Committee and Juvenile Justice Boards, have been established in accordance with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2015, ensuring a robust child protection framework.

This positive progress demonstrates India's commitment to addressing child protection issues and working collaboratively with international organizations like the United Nations to ensure the well-being and safety of children in the country.

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