Voice for Green Earth
Voice for Green Earth’ – a 45-days of the campaign launched by YES members in April 2021 is taking off again in 2022. Please sign the petition https://chng.it/ZVm5hjQnFz
Human Rights Are For Everyone
Destination Unknown – Children on the Move
India is a young country with more than 50% of its population being below the age of 25. Children until the age of 18 constitute almost 42% of the total population.According to the official statistics nearly 30% of the population still lives below poverty line whereas a large section is just above poverty line. Poverty is mainly the result of income, resources and opportunities for people leading to poor economic conditions especially in the rural areas. This is leading to forced migration of the families from rural to urban areas, from poor states to developed states and even migration within the states. Migration involves families, sometimes many families and many times just children on their own.
“Children on the Move” are those children who have left their home and are on the way to a new destination or have already reached there. This category includes children who are trafficked, unaccompanied, in street situation, kidnapped, forced to migrate, refugees, asylum seekers and nomadic.
Destination Unknown – Children on the Move is a thematic campaign focused on the phenomenon of child mobility. It will promote “the best interest of the child” whenever and wherever the child is….the campaign recognises that children too have a right to move away from exploitation, disaster and other situations that they may find difficult.
The Children on the move- Destination Unknown is a campaign launched by the International federation of Tdh based in Geneva. However in India the campaign is being actively supported by TDH Lausanne Foundation, TDH Netherlands, TDH Suisse Geneva and tdh Germany. This year the campaign will be led by Terre des hommes Germany India programme. In the first year it has been decided that the campaign will focus its work in Andhra Pradesh and in West Bengal due to the presence of most of the tdhs in this region as well as the fact that there is a lot of migration out of West Bengal in several sectors as well as from Andhra Pradesh. At a recent meeting held in Hyderabad 2 local partner organizations were elected to take forward the campaign and focus on different areas of children on the move. Such as street children, trafficked children, children on and off the street, children engaged in begging, rag picking, children living and moving in railway platforms, run away children; abandoned children; differently abled children; children affected by HIV AIDs; children affected by radiation; children affected by natural calamities and disasters; children moving from rural to urban areas and to neighboring districts and children in marriage etc. In West Bengal Path Welfare Society will be leading the campaign and in Andhra Pradesh it will be led by PEACE.
CACL
Campaign Against Child Labour launched in 1992, initially as a network of a few organizations has grown over the years. At present, the campaign consists of a network of over 6000 anti-child labour groups spread over 19 states in India. Active women groups, trade unions, academic institutions, media agencies, child right and human right organizations, research bodies. Corporate houses, student volunteers, eminent citizens constitute an integral part of a campaign.
CACL is committed to the eradication of child labour through a process building progressive social change. To this end it engages in public opinion, investigation of abuse/exploitation, advocacy, lobbying and monitoring of national and international developments. The campaign believes in networking and alliance building with other like-minded groups. It intervenes in specific cases of violation of child rights and abuse of children and initiates relevant advocacy and lobbying to restore justice and rights of the child.
CACT
Trafficking of children often goes unnoticed. Many of us do not know enough or do not understand the phenomenon of ‘child trafficking’. Some of us who do know often feel that it does not happen to us – it happens to others. The Campaign Against Child Trafficking (CACT) has been launched to combat this heinous violation of children’s rights.
CACT – Campaign Against Child Trafficking in India is part of the International Campaign against Child Trafficking (ICaCT), supported by the tdh Federation in Geneva and its other European chapters. The International campaign is functional in six regions namely South East Asia, India, South and West Africa, Europe and Latin America.
Formally launched in New Delhi on 12 December 2001, the campaign presently extends to 13 States – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
CACT believes that all children have a right to survival, development, protection and participation. Trafficking of children is one of the worst violations of these rights.
The Campaign envisions a world where children are not seen as commodities to be bought and sold in the open market, a world where humanity is founded upon freedom, dignity and happiness of children and not upon their exploitation and abuse.
The Mission of CACT is to STOP CHILD TRAFFICKING!
ARC
Action for the Rights of the Child, ARC, is a network of organisations in Pune, Maharashtra, working for and with children. Set up in 1991 with tdh German- India Programme as one of the initiators, the network has has been successful in bringing together more than 25 organisations on a common platform of children’s rights. ARC has been instrumental in easing the admission process in government schools for children without birth certificates. Other areas of work in the past have been in lobbying for more openness in the fuctioning of government-run residential institutions, getting the corporation to provide shelters for street children, and being one of the fonder members of the nation-wide Campaign Against Child Labour. At present ARC focuses on advocacy for improvements government-run schools in Pune, participation in the Task Force against child labour, and in public awareness and advocacy against child labour and child sexual abuse. ARC continues to be an active member of CACL.
Ecological Child Rights
Terre des homes Germany in its Delegates conference in September 2013 also passed a resolution about – The necessity of an intact natural environment for the welfare of children is generally recognised. Children, youth and their communities are supported in their efforts to protect and strengthen their natural environment.
Children and youth have the right to an environment in which they can grow up healthy and which – sustained by cultural and biological diversity – enables them to comprehensive developmental opportunities and positive future prospects. That presupposes the preserving of natural resources, forms of cultural, social and economic life adapted to local living conditions, successful adaptation strategies to environmental changes. What should be taken for granted is being called into question by the depredation of natural resources and the progressive environmental and the climate crisis. Children and young people are particularly affected by these developments. World Earth Day, World Environment Day are observed and lots of activities are carried out to create awareness about the problems faced by children and youth and also some symbolic activities are performed. To see information about the programmes organised and activities carried out by some of the partner organisations.
Please click on the links below:
National Youth Convention Report
Youth Network
Terre des hommes Germany has been campaigning on the ecological rights of children intensely during the year 2011 in Germany and other countries. A meeting of about 30 young people from different people was organised in Germany to discuss the issues around ecological rights of children. This group of youth have come up with a declaration on their demands.
Click here to view declaration
International Youth Day Celebrations
Celebrating children: 30 years of the UNCRC
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the UNCRC – children from TDH projects across Pune came together to talk about ecological rights and how it impacts their lives. The event provided a platform for these children’s voices to be heard through dance, puppet shows, theatre, posters, banners and other displays.
The event also saw the launch of a child friendly version of a report on the status of children in India. This report currently in English would be translated into multiple languages and help children across the country understand their rights.
The release was presided over by Edgar Marsh – President of TDH – Germany and Mini Shrinivasan who wrote this version of the report. Children from TDH projects also joined them to launch the report.
You can read the report here