Ms. Mikiko Othani, the United Nations Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child listened to more than 300 children from over 140 schools and NGOs across India, as they presented their recommendations on the draft of UN General Comment 26 (GC 26) that seeks to articulate the environmental rights of children.
The students from schools and NGOs across India representing diverse socio-economic-linguistic and regional backgrounds, as well as those from varied abilities and disabilities, had joined the fortnight-long ‘Inclusive YoUth Negotiations’ (IN-U.N) to unearth the evolving GC 26 which the world member states of the United Nations are scheduled to adopt in September 2023.
The children as part of the national child-led advocacy initiative called NINEISMINE, consulted with COP 27 participants, UN Officials, Earth and Child Rights specialists, and students from numerous schools to fine-tune the ADvocal charter. The charter was generated with the support of 3000 children who hailed mainly from vulnerable communities who are likely to be impacted more by the consequences of climate change and environmental pollution.
Ms. Otani stated that “I was greatly inspired and impressed by the children. I appreciate children the knowledge each one of them have on GC26 and child rights which even adult lacks.” She further mentioned that all the recommendations proposed by children indicated what children actually want. She also stated that she will study all the recommendations carefully and submit it to the committee
Earlier in the day key students interacted with the UNICEF India Country office officials to design a new campaign on Climate Change where the children engaged with the team on various child rights and earth rights challenges at local and national level.
The participating schools ranged from Rajikiya Ucchtar Madhyamik Baal Vidyalaya, Uttar Pradesh in the north to Atkinson Senior Secondary school Andhra Pradesh in south India. From Holy Cross High School from Goa in the west, and Little Flower School in Assam in the north east, various states and Union territories were represented. The NGO children participated in their own mother tongues including Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil. There was also sign interpretation to make the whole programme more inclusive.
Ruksar Rehman, President of the National Inclusive Children’s Parliament and a girl hailing from a slum community, a government school, and a Muslim community, an animal lover, and an advocate for the rights of sexual minorities said ‘I seek the right not just for women or the poor, for animals and for persons who seek to express varied sexualities but I seek all rights for all. Since only then it will be Alright for all.’
The young earth citizens participating on this platform insisted on renaming this document as their ecological rights rather than their environmental rights towards the recognition of their status as interconnected members of the one big earth community.
During the preparatory sessions, the students analyzed the draft of the General Comment 26 document with the help of multiple rights-based perspectives such as the United Nations Child Right Convention, the UN Environment Framework Principles, and the Human Rights Criteria checklist.
Kartik Verma (17) climate and child rights activist from Bhadohi district in Uttar Pradesh, the Child Advisor to GC 26 representing South-Asia and member of the NINEISMINE campaign will formally be taking these recommendations virtually to all the ongoing UN negotiations.
Further, he will table the same at the Office of the High Commission on Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva this September when this document will be tabled on the ground and adopted by the Permanent Missions by all the member states. The final and formal statement of the IN-U.N. will be officially submitted to the OHCHR as it has announced a deadline of the 15th of February for all non-diplomatic submissions.
Some students from Sacred Heart Girls’ High School, Bangalore drew on the need to connect literally with Mother Earth with their hands by seeking organic and natural framing experiences for all child citizens. Animesh and Palak from Shri Mahaprabhu Public School in Pragyaraj the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers underlined that the High Court of Uttrakhand has recognized Ganga and Yamuna as ‘Non-Human Persons’. They seek this status to be given constitutionally to all members of the earth community, to prevent the abuse and exploitation of any living or non-living. Further, drawing on the image of the river Saraswati they sought the inclusion of the right of children to connect with Mother Earth with their hearts and spirit and not just through their heads.
12 child-world record holders from across the world and associated were present to listen to the evolving recommendations and to give their inputs into the same.
Steve Rocha, the Director of PRATYeK and the NINEISMINE National convener said, ‘There was so much energy, enthusiasm and edutainment from the students who demanded that they and no other child be left behind in this dialogue around their ecological rights. It is important to recognize the innocent, innate, intuitive, and inclusive wisdom of child earth citizens that added valuable inputs into the draft GC 26 that even the Global experts, World leaders, and UN rapporteurs had overlooked.’
The campaign attempts to Host a follow-up IN – UN GC 26 where the students will represent the 193 nations of the world and study their traditional arguments and frameworks of these nations while advocating with all to adopt their child-centered charter of green demands.
