Source: The Imphal Free Press
Imphal, June 26:
The children who form the CORE network of indigenous children, during the observation of UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture today at Yaiskul Police Lane called upon the government of India to immediately ratify and implement without any reservation or condition the standards of the UN Convention Against Torture, which it signed four years ago.
During the observation held under the aegis of the Centre for Organization Research and Education (CORE), the children also adopted resolution stating that their voices demanding their basic rights should be heard, by the government and its agencies, by non-government tinned groups, by the civil society and non-government agencies, in Manipur, in India, at the United Nations and all over the world.
According to another resolution of the children, the children in Manipur are being tortured in many different ways.
They are targeted by different agencies due to armed conflict between government and non-government forces, and they are targeted in situations of communal and inter-tribal conflict.
They are being sexually abused and violated, they suffer ill-treatment in government and educational institutions and they are compelled to live with the horrors of conflict-related violence from day to day because this is where their homes are.
They suffer from permanent feelings of insecurity and fear because of what they see around them and experience every day.
In order to enable the children to realize their hopes and dreams with which they came into this world, the children stressed the need to create a world in which they will not be tortured or exposed to violence.
The programme included a brief introduction to the UN Convention Against Torture, a discussion with children and youth of CORE Network of Indigenous Children (CNIC) with Dr Koijam Shantibala of the India Psychiatrist Society, Manipur branch, with special focus on the theme for the year "Working Together Against Torture".