Stand Up for Children in Jammu and Kashmir
- by: Care2.com
- recipient: Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
Although India has amended its national juvenile justice law in order to be consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the state of Jammu and Kashmir has not updated its law and is continuing to jail 16 and 17 year olds as adults.
17 year old Murtaza Manzoor was held for four months without being charged in a facility that was not equipped to house children, and he isn't alone.
Although the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that 16 and 17 year olds should be recognized and protected as children, Jammu and Kashmir has failed to honor this rule.
The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has admitted the need for reform in the area, but change has been slow so far. Urge the Chief Minister to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Juvenile Justice Act now.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child outlines the basic human rights that should be upheld for children, and one of those is the right to be protected. When 16 and 17 year olds are arrested and held without adequate facilities, their human rights are violated.
(Your Comments Here)
I urge you to amend Jammu and Kashmir's Juvenile Justice Act to comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as soon as possible and end the harmful arrests of Jammu and Kashmir's youth.
