MCPCR flags trafficking of children
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 14 2024:
Saying that some organisations and individuals have been trying to traffick internally displaced children in large number on the pretext of giving free education and accommodation outside the State, the Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPCR) has appealed to all parents, guardians and civil society organisations to be vigilant and not let the children fall prey to the ploy of child traffickers and exploiters.
In a statement signed by its Chairperson Keisam Pradipkumar, the MCPCR said that thousands of children in Manipur particularly Meiteis and Kukis have been exposed to an unprecedented, dreadful and violent situation for the last one year.
Saying that the brunt of the unresolved ethnic conflict in Manipur has incapacitated precious childhood of many children unimaginably and infringed upon the fundamental rights of the victim children, the Commission reiterated that some organisations and individuals have been trying to lure the parents and guardians of internally displaced children to traffic them in large number under the pretext of giving free education and accommodation outside the State.
Transporting children without fulfilling the set norms for verification and other legal procedures only to place them at certain religious educational places, unregistered homes and institutions instead of providing them formal and quality education amounts to child trafficking and the same is punishable under Section 70 (IPC) of the JJ Act, the Commission continued.
Further stating that available testimonies of some rescued children have shown that they were subjected to sexual, physical and mental harassment besides not giving them proper food and care, the MCPCR appealed to all, especially parents, guardians and CSOs not to solicit illegal transportation of children from relief camps and community as well.