II. Human Rights, Child Rights, Street Child and Public Health

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states:

The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for:

(a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant mortality and for the healthy development of the child;

(b) The improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene;

(c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases;

(d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness.”

This is the most comprehensive and direct statement on the right to health at the international level. Article 12 (2) outlines the specific goals that must be attained with regard to the enforcement of this right.

The International Conference on Primary Healthcare at Alma Ata expressed the following points in relation to primary healthcare for achieving “Health For All”:

ii) The existing inequality in health status between the developed and developing countries as well as within countries is politically, socially and economically unacceptable.

iii) The promotion of and protection of the health of the people is essential to sustained social and economic development.

iv) People have a duty to participate individually as well as collectively in the planning and implementation of healthcare.

v) Primary healthcare reflects and evolves out of the economic conditions of the people addresses the main health problem in the community by establishing

promotive, preventive and rehabilitation services.

vi) All governments should adopt national policies to launch primary healthcare as a part of the comprehensive national system.

vii) An acceptable level of health can be attained through the fuller utilization of World’s resources.

December 1971, states that the mentally retarded persons have a right to proper

medical care and physical therapy and to such training, education and rehabilitation that would enable him to develop his ability to the fullest.
The Declaration of the Rights of the Disabled Persons of 9th December 1975, states that the disabled people have a right to medical, psychological as well as functional treatment including access to prosthetics…,vocational training and rehabilitation that will hasten their process of social integration.
The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, of 18th

December 1979, Article 14.2 B states that state parties shall take adequate measures to ensure that women have access to adequate healthcare facilities including information, counseling and services in family planning.

“Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief- The State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief”

“Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health- The State shall regard the raising of he level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties and, in particular, the State shall endeavor to bring about prohibition of the consumption, except for medicinal purposes, of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health”

The above articles act as guidelines that the State must pursue towards achieving certain standards of living for its citizens’. It also shows clearly the understanding of the State that nutrition, conditions of work and maternity benefit as being integral to health.
The Supreme Court Judgments
i) In the case of Consumer Education and Research Centre v. Union of India34 [1995 (3) SCC 42]: The government has a positive duty to provide the basic conditions necessary to lead a life that is more than mere animal existence, including a Right to Health, Right to Clean Environment, Right to Privacy.
ii) In the case of Parmanand Katara v. Union of India 35 [1989 (4) SCC 286], the Supreme Court said that whether the patient was innocent or a criminal, it is an obligation of those in charge of community health to preserve the life of the patient.
iii) In an important judgement the case of Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity vs. State of West Bengal36, [1996 (4) SCC 37], the Supreme Court of India ruled that -

In a welfare state the primary duty of the Government is to secure the welfare of the people. Providing adequate medical facilities for the people is an essential part of the obligations undertaken by the Government in a welfare state. … Article 21 imposes an obligation on the State to safeguard the right to life of every person. … The Government hospitals run by the State and the medical officers employed therein are duty bound to extend medical assistance for preserving human life. Failure on the part of a

ix) In the case of Puttappa Honnappa Talavar vs Deputy Commissioner, Dharwad, AIR 1998 Kar 10, 1998, the Indian courts have brought access to clean drinking water

The various aspects of child rights in India are listed below:

India is a signatory to the following international commitments on child rights:

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child, 1959 -

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), 1989 – The rights perspective is embodied in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, which is a landmark in international human rights legislation. This comprehensive document contains a set of universal legal standards or norms for the protection and well-being of children. The range of rights can be summarized as the three Ps: provision, protection, and participation. The CRC gives children their basic human rights- civil, economic, social, cultural, and political- which enable children to achieve their full potential. The civil rights of children include right to a name and a nationality, protection against torture and maltreatment, special rules governing the circumstances and conditions under which children may be deprived of their liberty or separated from their parents, etc. The economic rights under the CRC include the right to benefit from social security, the right to a standard of living adequate to ensure proper development, and protection from exploitation at work. The social rights include the right to the highest attainable standard of health services, the right to social care for handicapped children, protection from sexual exploitation and abduction, and the regulation of adoption. Right to education, access to appropriate information, recreation and leisure, and participation in artistic and cultural activities are included in the cultural rights of the children under the CRC. Broadly the civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights of every child can be grouped in to the four following classes:

THE RIGHT TO SURVIVAL - This includes the right to life, the highest attainable standard of health and nutrition, and adequate standards of living. It also includes the right to a name and nationality.

THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION- This includes freedom from all forms of exploitation, abuse, inhuman or degrading treatment, and neglect, including the right to special protection in situations of emergency and armed conflicts.

THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT – This includes the right to education, support for early childhood development and care, social security, and the right to leisure, recreation, and cultural activities.

THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION – This includes respect for the views of the child, freedom of expression, access to appropriate information, and freedom of thoughts, conscience and religion.

The CRC is guided by the principle of a first call for children- a principle that the essential needs of children should, at all times, be given priority in the allocation of resources at all times.

Ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1992 – The Government of India has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 12 November 1992.

SAARC Convention on Prevention and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution – Among the significant features of this Convention agreed to by the parties are, ‘Trafficking in women and children for prostitution is a crime against human dignity and as such effective measures, including legal, socio-economic, and administrative, to be taken to effectively prevent trafficking in women and children.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) – The CEDAW provides that the States shall eliminate discrimination against women in healthcare, and ensure, on the basis of equality of men and women, access to basic healthcare services, including those related to family planning and further ensure appropriate services in connection with pregnancy.

Millennium Development Goals, 2000-15 - The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)1 are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges, the focus being the human dimension. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations-and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000. India is a signatory to the MDGs.

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Target: Halve the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and those who suffer from hunger.

Target: Ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school.

Target: Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.

Target: Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five.

Target: Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio.

Target: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Target: Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Target: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources.

Target: Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.

Target: Achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020.

This goal gives due recognition to the fact that there is interdependence between growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development and emphasises that the achievement of MDGs was founded on a global partnership between developed and developing countries.

Table 8: Progress towards achieving MDGs in India

The report, MDG Promises and Reality in Maharashtra 7-7-7, prepared by Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (WTNA) Maharashtra, states:

Source: Shaban, Abdul (2006); “Regional Structures, Growth and Convergence of Income in Maharashtra”; Economic and Political Weekly”; May 06; Pgs. 1803 – 1815

The above aspects in terms of income disparity and inter-region inequalities could result in increased migration to cities leading to increased homelessness populations including children on the streets.

Education- The literacy rate being recorded by Maharashtra may be high in comparison to most states in India, one cannot deny the fact that there exists “education poverty”( A term coined by Jandhyala Tilak (leading researcher on macro education issues) in many districts in the state. Unfortunately, socially backward groupings are getting exposed to this phenomenon of “education poverty”.

State Administration has not been able to achieve the goals that it set for itself in the Population Policy in the context of infant mortality rate.

Source: NFHS-III