Enakshi Ganguly Thukral is a human rights activist and child rights advocate, researcher and trainer for the past three decades, working on wide- ranging socio-legal issues such as development induced displacement, women in the unorganised sector, reproductive health, child labour, child trafficking, laws and policies governing women and children, education, violence against children and juvenile justice.

Since co-founding HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, in 1998, she has been working in focused manner on children’s rights. Working on children and governance, and child protection, HAQ is actively engaged in monitoring government’s performance, public education and advocacy on children’s rights. It works as a resource and support base providing information, referral service, legal aid, strategic litigation, training and capacity building of all those working with children or on issues concerning them, and the children themselves. It was one of the organisations that had intervened in Supreme Court of India against the plea for lowering the age of juvenility.

Enakshi has been part of drafting committees of laws, polices and plans of the government of India including the for the government’s Five Year Plans. She is the president of Society for Rural and Tribal Initiatives (SRUTI), Delhi, on the board of several organizations including the National Gender Centre of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Government of India; member of the Editorial Board of “Children, Youth and Environments”- A Journal of Research, Policy and Applications, University of Colorado; the thematic group for the World Congress on Juvenile Justice, Geneva, January 2015. Enakshi has authored and co-authored a number of books, articles, manuals and handbooks on a wide range of issues; been invited as a technical expert on issues related to children, presented papers at various national and international meets, worked closely with the UN system. She has been awarded the Ashoka Fellowship in 2002 in recognition of HAQ’s work on children.

In 2014 she received the IJJO's 'Juvenile Justice Without Borders' International Award in representation of a coalition of Indian NGOs, honored for their struggle against the non-respect of internationally accepted principles, in particular lowering the age at which children are deprived of liberty in India and the introduction of a waiver system for 16-18 year olds committing serious offences, and for its advocacy work against introducing the retributive justice approach in juvenile justice legislation.

As a co-founder of the organisation, could you tell us a bit about the history and vision of HAQ: Centre for Child Rights?

HAQ: Centre for Child Rights was started in October, 1998 and was formally registered under the Societies Registration Act in June, 1999.

HAQ seeks to focus on children in a holistic way – as Actors in our society, as Citizens of Today and as Adults of the Future. Our main effort at HAQ is to mainstream children’s rights in all areas, governmental as well as non-governmental, and put this concern on the centre-stage of national debate.

HAQ seeks to recognise, protect and promote all rights for all children. It believes that there is a need for the realisation of human rights of children through policy, law and action.

The recognition, protection and promotion of three rights form the cornerstone of HAQ’s work. They are: Right to Survival, Right to Childhood and Right to Equal Opportunity. For HAQ, these rights form the basis of every other right. We believe that by ensuring these, the other rights of the child can be assured.  Needless to say, young girls in India need special attention.

HAQ is therefore working towards the following goals:

•Building a holistic understanding of child rights and exploring areas of concern that impact on children and their rights.

•Giving children a voice.

•Placing children’s rights on the centre stage of public debate to influence those in positions of power.

•Generating a wider ownership for the cause through a strong child rights movement.

To carry forward its mandate, HAQ undertakes research and documentation. It is actively engaged in public education and advocacy on children’s rights. It also seeks to serve as a resource and support base for individuals and groups dealing with children at every level. It not only provides information and a referral service but also training and capacity building of both state and non-state actors working with children or on issues concerning them, and the children themselves. HAQ has also actively engaged with the juvenile justice system and is providing legal aid and counselling to children in distress.

As well as developing skills for quick and incisive scanning of policy documents and  commenting on them, creating databases through documentation and research, this work has required working with existing networks, building of alliances, building partnerships with other actors/stakeholders such as bureaucrats, parliamentarians, judges and lawyers, police and media.

For HAQ’s history visit http://www.haqcrc.org/haq-centre-child-rights-journey

When receiving the IJJO’s Juvenile Justice without Borders’ International Award you spoke of the challenges of advocating for the rights of juveniles in the highly charged atmosphere created after the ‘2012 Delhi Gang Rape’. What would you say are the main hurdles that you encounter in your advocacy work?

- Societal attitude: how does one counter a justified emotional outburst with logic and evidence, given that we have not invested in this research in the past.

- Lack of tools to address juvenile offending: risk assessment tools, behaviour assessment tools and their non-application.

- Police attitude towards juveniles: they are the main advocates for lowering the age of majority.

- Judicial attitude and its incapacity to deviate from the regular criminal justice system: judicial attitudes either reflect societal attitudes or interprets the law in a manner that does not fulfil the purpose of holding the offending child. accountable, thus further fanning the flames of public perception that juveniles who offend get it easy and walk free.

- Lawyers misguide the children into giving false information, making reform a challenge.

-The reform and rehabilitation is weak:

· Lack of individual care plans (one size fits all attitude).
· Poor infrastructure and the lack of trained personnel (counsellors, probation officers, social workers, caretakers etc) which does not enable the reform process to take place in the manner it should.
 No link with education and skill development.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2014, is making its way through the Indian Parliament. The Indian Coalition is well known for its opposition to the headline provision is allowing for, in certain circumstances trying 16 and 17 year old as adults. Could you tell us what are the main action lines that the Coalition is taking in its current opposition strategy?

1. Litigation (Public Interest Litigation)

2. Media advocacy

3. Working to influence legislators

4. Creating public opinion

5. Online campaign (see http://www.noprisonforchildren.com; also see HAQ facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HaqCentreForChildRights) and that of the other members of the coalition

6. Online discussion group called “Prochild” (a lot of the submissions are made as Prochild)

7. Organising workshops and meetings

The aforementioned provision is just a part of the Bill; could you elaborate on what else is included?

That would be a very long essay on the law. In short, the proposed JJ bill (as is the case with the current law) deals with children in need of care and protection (CNCP) and Children or Juveniles in Conflict with the Law. It also addresses adoption of children.

Other than issues relating to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Bill 2014, what does HAQ feel is the most important problem facing the protection of children in conflict with the law in modern India? How does HAQ work to address this issue?

HAQ’s work on juvenile justice began in 2005 with providing legal aid to children in conflict with law. Over the years HAQ, with the support of other stakeholders, has been able to ensure the presence of legal aid lawyers in the Juvenile Justice Boards. Since then, HAQ’s intervention in the boards has been largely confined to providing counselling to children in conflict with law. Children needing counselling are referred to HAQ through orders of the magistrates.

HAQ has been engaged in the process of law making in juvenile justice since 1999, leading to the enactment of the current law. HAQ was part of the drafting committee set up to draft the rules for the implementation of the law on juvenile justice, both at central and provincial levels.

HAQ’s research on Juvenile Justice (Blind Alley by the HAQ team and My God is a Juvenile Delinquent written by a HAQ Volunteer, Ruzbeh Bharucha) has been widely referred to and has impacted on the implementation of the JJ system in the country. These publications have been recommended as essential reading for judicial officers in the country by the National Legal Services Authority of India.

Following the controversy around the juvenile justice Act in the country, HAQ has led the legal interventions in the Supreme Court leading to judgements on upholding the law.

HAQ has worked closely with judicial mechanisms to monitor and implement the law and is called upon to develop training materials and also train judicial officers, police and other functionaries in the JJ system.

In April 2013, HAQ organised an International colloquium on Juvenile Justice, the first on this subject in India. The participants included experts from Africa, Europe, Australia, the United States of America, South East Asia and South Asia. (The conference report is available at www.haqcrc.org/publications/international-colloquium-juvenile-justice-report).

Could you explain the twin pillars of HAQ; ‘Children and Governance’ and ‘Child Protection’? What are the major challenges facing you in these regards?

HAQ works through its two main programmes- Children and Governance and Child Protection.

Through its Children and Governance programme, HAQ has developed innovative tools for monitoring the state’s performance in fulfilling its obligations to children’s rights such as child budget analyses, monitoring parliamentary questions and producing status of children reports.

HAQ began its Budget for Children (BfC) work in 2000, and was the first organisation in the country to have undertaken such an analysis when it published its analysis of the decade, in 2001. HAQ’s work on analysing the Budget for Children (BfC) has been recognized as “pioneering work” by the Government of India. In 2005, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, decided to henceforth undertake Child Budgeting following HAQ’s methodology. Even internationally, HAQ’s BfC work has received recognition and has been used as a resource on the subject for various groups in Asia, Europe and Africa.

While undertaking BfC work at the national level and in Delhi, HAQ has trained other NGOS and published BfC reports in 6 states (Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam). HAQ’s budget reports are used by both NGOs as well as Governments, especially the Government of India. 

HAQ has published three Status of children in India reports and also has undertaken a 20 year analysis of the implementation of the UNCRC in India. These reports have been used in the course of the development of the Five Year Plans, as well as for writing shadow reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the child and the Universal Periodic Review. HAQ has also published a Child Rights Index (2011) which ranks the states of India according to several child related indicators.

Capacity building and training of stakeholders and implementers to strengthen governance has been an integral part of HAQ’s work. It has been engaged in the training of police, judiciary, teachers, service providers and NGO workers on several aspects of child rights, laws and programming. HAQ is invited by both government and non-government agencies to undertake training on child rights issues.

HAQ has developed a number of training manuals and handbooks on a range of issues such as child trafficking, child protection, children and housing. HAQ has developed child protection handbooks for teachers and panchayats (local assemblies), and one on child marriage for the Government of India.

It has also undertaken training of children themselves. As a part of British Council’s programme on empowering children, HAQ has developed a training module on “child rights through art”, which was successfully used with large groups of children in Delhi, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. 

HAQ has been part of several expert and advisory committees of the government for drafting laws, programmes, polices and plans including the Five Year Plans. It has also assisted the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and other State Commissions when called upon to advise them on issues, undertake training and be part of fact finding teams.

Through its Child Protection programme, HAQ runs a legal resource centre and provides legal information and training for NGOs, networks, teachers and principals of schools, police and others who work or deal with children. HAQ provides legal aid to children with the help of its in-house lawyers as well as through a panel of lawyers, and gives counselling to children with the help of its counsellors. Over the years, HAQ’s work with the juvenile justice system has come to be recognised nationally and internationally. It has worked very closely with Delhi High Court’s Juvenile Justice Committee to bring about changes in the implementation of juvenile justice in Delhi.

HAQ’s work on strategic litigation by filing Public Interest cases, assisting and supporting interested parties to go to court, or intervening in existing cases, etc. has grown over the last three years. At present, HAQ is involved in court cases in the High Court as well as the Supreme Court.

HAQ has been at the forefront of legal advocacy and even part of government’s drafting committees for laws, policies, programmes and schemes. What perhaps makes HAQ’s interventions somewhat significant is its capacity to link child rights to other developmental issues. Therefore, apart from advocating and providing inputs on child related laws and policies, HAQ has also been engaged in providing inputs on the torture bill and the mining bill under discussion.

HAQ has evolved as a resource centre and support base for children and their families. For HAQ, legal aid and counselling intervention is a tool to monitor the role of the judiciary, without leaving children to fight for justice with no support.  Where possible, with its limited resources, HAQ has therefore been providing legal aid, counselling and rehabilitation support directly to children in distress. Over 600 children have been reached through legal aid and counselling in the last five years. Many cases are referred to appropriate agencies for necessary support.

HAQ has also provided medical and education support to victims of child sexual abuse in an effort to rehabilitate them into normal life. There have been instances when support has been facilitated for the family to strengthen the family support for the child.

HAQ has been undertaking research and documentation on a wide range of issues including child labour, child trafficking, children in emergency situations, children and mining, juvenile justice, education, etc. These form the basis of HAQ’s advocacy initiatives. With as many as 38 publications, HAQ’s reports and training and IEC materials have been in huge demand for advocacy by other actors. “Every Right for Every Child – Governance and Accountability”, is a recent publication in collaboration with Routledge, which draws on international experiences from 6 countries and is another one of the many firsts for HAQ and on child rights.

Over the years, HAQ has been part of several campaigns and networks. HAQ hosted the National Secretariat of the Campaign against Child Trafficking (CACT) for almost 5 years and has been a member of the Campaign against Child Labour (CACL).  It was a charter member of the India Alliance for Child Rights in 2000 and is a founder member of the Working Group on Human Rights to the UN (WGHR).

The biggest challenge that HAQ is facing with regard to its children and governance work is that, although recognised as important and as HAQ’s expertise, we are finding it very difficult to raise funding for this work-especially related to children and budgets.

Research forms the bedrock of HAQ’s advocacy work, what would you highlight regarding your current research projects?

HAQ is currently engaged in:

- Budget analysis at the national level and in selected states

- Implementation of the Protection of children against Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012. This is being undertaken in Delhi and Mumbai

- Child marriage prevention and its impact on girls in our project areas in 2 states

- Developing a district index based on protection related indicators

- A national study on Child trafficking in India

Could you please share what HAQ has learnt from its experiences providing counselling to youth who come into contact with the law?

- Children cannot be counselled in isolation. The families must be counselled too. Often it is sufficient bonding with the families that is critical and missing. Once that is established, reform is easier

- Educational  or skill related support is a must for long-term sustainable reform

- Follow-up is critical- JJ Boards/ courts need to take counselling reports seriously and include them in their orders

- The lawyers need to be made to understand the value of counselling. They treat it as just another way to take the child out of the system, often telling them that it is a formality.  This affects the counselling process

HAQ provides training to Indian police in an effort to build their capacity. What is included in your training?

Training includes:

- Principles of child rights and juvenile justice (concepts of diversion and restorative justice)

- International standards and laws

- The law and how it is to be applied

Besides working with the police, what other training does HAQ provide?

Training of judicial officers, probation officers, care takers and other service providers and NGOs

You have collected, in the name of the Indian Coalition, the IJJO’s ‘Juvenile Justice without Borders’ International Award. What does this kind of accolades mean to your organisation’s work?

The Juvenile Justice Without Borders Award from the IJJO is very important for us. It tells us we are not alone and validates what we stand for and motivates us to keep going. Luckily more and more organisations and individuals are joining this struggle. This award is also particularly important because it is an acknowledgement of a collective effort in a largely fractured Human Rights environment where branding and funding are challenges. In fact it provides us with an international platform to share our concerns and seek international solidarity on our position vis-a-vis juvenile justice.