Monitoring committees should be formed in every locality to keep a tab on any violation of child rights and the civil society needs to come forward for the initiative.

This was the suggestion of Bihar State Human Rights Commission chairperson S.N. Jha on the final day of the national seminar, Child Rights and the Law, on Sunday.

Patna High Court judge Anjana Prakash, Patna University faculty member Vinay Kanth and Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) vice-chancellor A. Lakshminath also spoke on the concluding day of the evet. Chief Justice of Patna High Court Rekha M. Doshit also attended the programme. She was the chief guest.

CNLU had organised the seminar in collaboration with Unicef and Bihar State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

Jha, who chaired the technical session, emphasised on the need of an emotionally secure environment for children. “Emotional security of a child is a must for his or her proper growth. A child should also be given a fair chance in education and sports. These are required for his or her mental and physical growth. Every child should be treated as an individual,” he said.

Jha stressed the need of an effective implementation of laws to ensure child rights. “Media has a big role to play in ensuring child rights in society. Apart from the media, the civil society also needs to work in this regard,” added Jha.

He also said the discussions at the seminar should not be confined to the venue but the suggestions should be implemented.

Patna University faculty member Vinay Kanth said non-government organisations should spread awareness on child rights. “The state also needs to play a big role in ensuring child rights. It (the state) cannot escape from its responsibility, it needs to ensure the effective implementation of laws that ensure child rights,” said Kanth.

High court judge Anjana Prakash spoke on Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 — the laws that ensure child rights.

Chief Justice Rekha M. Doshit said adults were responsible for the violation of child rights. “Children are our precious wealth. Let us not waste it but bring the best out in our children,” she said.