United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), 1989

The UNCRC is a human rights treaty that establishes children’s political, civil, economic, social, cultural, and other rights, which the members must abide by. The Convention has 54 articles that check this outline numerous children’s rights as well as the actions that governments should take to ensure that these rights are available to children. In 1989, the United Nations approved the CRC. After getting the required 20 ratifications, it became effective in 1990. All UN members have approved it, with the exception of the US. All parties are obligated under the convention’s provisions to make sure that children’s fundamental needs are met and that they can realise their full potential.

Types of child labour
Industrial child labour

Children under the legal age of 18 are most frequently employed in the industrial sector in India. Over 10 million children, including over 4.5 million girls, between the ages of 5 and 14 labour in unorganized sectors.
Some of the major employers of children are small businesses, such as the garment industry, brick kilns, agriculture, fireworks industries, diamond industries, etc. Such businesses occasionally run out of people’s homes, which makes it challenging for the government to take necessary action.

One of the largest and most prominent employers of children in India is the unorganized industry. Children can be easily spotted working on roadside dhabas and cafes, tea stalls, or grocery stores. Here, children are preferred since they are manageable and simple to fire.

Domestic child labour
In India, 74% of child domestic workers in India are said to be between the age group of 12 to 16. They include both boys and girls who work as domestic help for rich families to take care of their daily chores.
At a time when they ought to be in school and playing with friends, these children have no choice but to help other families out. In most cases, the primary cause is poverty.

Typically, parents consent in the hopes of receiving financial support and a secure home for their children. Most of the domestic employees in the statistics are girls, and nearly 20% of all domestic workers hired are under the age of 14.
These children labour for the family as live-in servants, doing chores including cooking, cleaning, taking care of the family’s pets or young ones, and other duties.

Bonded child labour
A child who is forced to work as a slave to pay off his parents’ or guardian’s debt is said to be engaged in bonded child labour.
Although the prevalence of bonded child labour has significantly decreased in recent years as a result of strong government oversight and legislation outlawing it, it still occurs covertly in outlying areas.

Children who live in rural areas and work in agriculture are more likely to be subjected to this kind of labour. Poor farmers who are heavily indebted to lenders sometimes agree to hire their siblings as labourers for rich lenders.
Up to the last ten years, there were thousands of bound labourers employed in a variety of businesses, but today those numbers have sharply declined, and the government asserts that there are no longer any bonded child labourers.