Another toothless panel getting ready

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Another Commission with no powers for punitive action, meant for the protection of child rights, is in the fin..

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Another Commission with no powers for punitive action, meant for the protection of child rights, is in the final stages of genesis. The rules of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Rules drafted by the Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, were discussed and given a final shape by experts at the initiative of the State Government over the last weekend.
The Child Rights Commission is supposed to safeguard child rights and examine all factors that inhibit the rights of children such as terrorism, communal violence, riots, trafficking, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, natural disasters, pornography and maltreatment of children and recommend remedial action. Besides, the Commission would be the monitoring agency for the Right to Education Act. However, the powers of the Commission is of a recommendatory nature with no powers for punitive action even after completion of inquiry into a particular case. The draft rules also do not give any powers to initiate disciplinary action against those who violate the recommendations or refuse to comply with the suggested remedial action.

The Commission is mammothsized with one chairman and six members. As per the draft rules, ''the chairperson shall be paid a salary equivalent to the salary of the Chief Secretary and every other member shall be paid a salary equivalent to that of a Secretary to the State Government.''

Its functions also include dissemination of information about child rights, promote incorporation of the same in the school curriculum, train teachers, compile and analyse data on children and refer cases and issues of national and interstate importance to the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights as and when required. The Commission, is to function as an independent and autonomous body to safeguard the rights of children and study state policies that impact children and ensure that they comply with international child rights standards.