Rikada is a 16 year-old girl from a rural tribal area in north-east India. She is also deaf and communicates via sign language. She was one of three children from the Edmund Rice Network in India who recently visited Geneva to lobby on behalf of a group of eighteen children who wrote a submission for the UPR of India which is due to take place next month.
Their submission highlighted the stories of vulnerable children that they had collected in a series of ‘Children’s Hearings’ in a journey across India late last year.
Their submission contains recommendations to the Indian government in relation to child labourers, Adivasi (tribal) children, Dalit (low caste) children, girl children, disabled children, children living in poverty in both urban and rural settings and the children of minority communities (including Christians). The recommendations addressed issues of access to education and health services (the major focus of the Nine is Mine campaign in which the children were also involved), discrimination, poverty and child safety.
Whilst in Geneva the children met individually with representatives of the Permanent Missions of Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Slovenia and Switzerland, addressed an assembly of representatives of other Permanent Missions and made presentations to NGOs.
Almost universally the children’s message was very well received, although an interesting example of another response that perhaps demonstrates the potential of the UPR system to help bring about change, was shown by the reaction of an Indian woman (not a representative of the Indian Permanent Mission) who suggested that it was wrong for him to expose situations that cast India in a poor light in front of others! A reminder that embarrassment in front of the international community can be a powerful motivation for States to take action.
I had the opportunity to meet with these wonderful children, they are the most inspirational people I have ever met.