The Convention's Articles About Disadvantaged Children

In one line

Articles 19, 23 and 28 to 32 are the Convention's provisions about children who are themselves disadvantaged: those exposed to violence, those with disabilities, those without education, those of a minority or indigenous origin, and those at work.

Article 19: protection from violence

States shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parents, legal guardians or any other person who has the care of the child.

19(2) requires those measures to include, as appropriate, effective procedures for the establishment of social programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have the care of the child, and for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child maltreatment, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement.

Two things about article 19 for this paper.

It names the carer. The harm addressed is harm inflicted by the parent, guardian or carer, which is exactly the harm article 12 of the Constitution places outside Part III.

And 19(2)'s chain is a design specification. Identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up is a sequence, and a State that provides one link has not complied. The Indian child sexual offences legislation's mandatory reporting duty is the second link of that chain written into a statute.

Article 23: children with disabilities

23(1): States recognise that a mentally or physically disabled child should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate the child's active participation in the community.

23(2) and (3): the right of the disabled child to special care, and the extension of assistance which shall be provided free of charge whenever possible, taking into account the financial resources of the parents, and designed to ensure that the disabled child has effective access to and receives education, training, health care services, rehabilitation services, preparation for employment and recreation opportunities in a manner conducive to the child's fullest possible social integration and individual development.

23(4) requires the exchange of appropriate information in the field of preventive health care and of medical, psychological and functional treatment of disabled children, with particular account taken of the needs of developing countries.

Article 23 predates the disability convention by seventeen years and already contains its vocabulary: dignity, self-reliance, participation, integration. Saying so shows the direction of travel.

Articles 28 and 29: education

Article 28 recognises the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving it progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity requires States to make primary education compulsory and available free to all, to encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational, making them available and accessible to every child and taking appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need, to make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity, to make educational and vocational information and guidance available, and to take measures to encourage regular attendance and the reduction of drop-out rates.