'Natl Commission for Children to be set up soon'

New Delhi, Jun 15: The government will soon set up a National Commission for Children to protect their rights and ensure their welfare and holistic development.

''For long, children have been bundled with the women welfare.

This would now be corrected with the setting up of the first National Commission for Children,'' Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhary told sources.

She said that the Commission, to be set up within the next three months, would identify the problems of children and endeavour to solve them and protect their rights. It would be set up on the lines of the National Commission for Women.

Ms Chowdhary said that her ministry has already finalised the proposal and now it was pending with the Law Ministry for clearance.

Parliament had already passed a bill last year for setting up of the National Commission for Children at the centre and State Commission for Children in various states.

About the other initiatives taken by the newly created ministry, Ms Chowdhary said that the immoral Trafficking Act is being amended to facilitate prosecution f male clients as well.

''Generally only the women indulging in sex work are charged under the act. This only compounds the problems of women who are already a victim of circumstances. Now with the new amendment, men who generally demand young girls and indulge in paedophilia would also be charged. This would act as a deterrent in curbing human trafficking,'' she said.

Moreover, the ministry is also working on improving the nutrition level of children, Ms Chowdhary said.

It has been found that most of the children in this country lack basic and vital micro nutrients in their diet. This is true not only for the children of poor families but even a study at posh schoolsin the national capital has shown that children from affluent families also lack vital micro-nutrients in their diet, she pointed out.

To prevent this nutrition deficiency among children the ministry is planning to embark on an ambitious programme focusing on increasing awareness among parents about how to improve the nutritional status of the families by using simple and easily available nutrition sources.

UNI