Training underway for Special Juvenile Police Units
Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 19
A 2-day training for Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPU) organized by the State Child Protection Society Nagaland (SCPS), Department of Social Welfare, in collaboration with Nagaland Police commenced here at Police Central Mess Chumukedima on Wednesday.
Resource persons of the training were Sandeep Kumar Mitra, Head, Eastern Regional Resource Centre, CHILDLINE India Foundation, Kolkata and Dr. Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan, Registrar of West Bengal National University for Judicial Sciences (NUJS).
In the morning session, Sandeep Mitra dwelled on the topics ‘Highlight on CHILDLINE and … field experience working with children’ and ‘Introduction to Child Rights’, while Dr. Sarfaraz gave a presentation on ‘Child and the juvenile justice law in India; a brief introduction to and an overview of the new Juvenile Justice Act.’
Mitra said CHILDLINE (1098) is a national 24x7 hours toll free emergency outreach phone service for children in need of care and protection and linking them to long term care and rehabilitation services.
Supported by Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, CHILDLINE is operational in more than 405 cities/districts across 29 States and 7 UTs of the country. Explaining on the credo of CHILDLINE, Mitra stressed that every call is important and children must play a role in his/her intervention. He said the credos of CHILDLINE are CHILDLINE cannot work alone, CHILDLINE is a special family, and CHILDLINE is transparent and accountable. He also highlighted on CHILDLINE intervention model and presented statistics of the total number of calls and intervention in North East Region during 2016-17 (See Table).
Meanwhile, Dr. Sarfaraz highlighted on the constitutional mandate with regard to Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, including Article 21A: Free and compulsory Education; Article 24: Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc. – No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
Sarfaraz said under Article 39 (e), the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not to be abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter vocations unsuited to their age or strength. Article 39 (f) stresses on giving opportunities and facilities to children to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment. Article 45 emphasizes on education and wellbeing of a child while Article 47 states that it is the duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health.
Earlier, Director, SCPS Nagaland, Z Nyusietho Nyuthe, delivered the keynote address and Programme Manager, SCPS Nagaland, Raitale Zeliang, highlighted on child protection service delivery structure in the state.
