Aftercare of Children in Alternative Care: An Analysis of the International and National Legal Framework from the Prism of Human Rights

Abstract

Aftercare is an essential element in the life after institutionalised care for a child. A good aftercare programme ensures that the children are given a chance at living a normal life. Children in institutionalised care are often discriminated and abused for their background. During their time in such institutions, they are generally shielded from such abuse but in the real world, having such a background creates many hurdles for children. Consequently, aftercare forms an integral part of a child in institutionalised care. The United Nations is the nodal body within the international framework working towards preservation and promotion of human rights of all. The General Assembly in 2010 adopted a resolution, titled, Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. In the resolution, the UN provides numerous guidelines for aftercare which may be utilised as standards for aftercare. With this background, this study is aimed at studying the concept of aftercare from the prism of human rights and the international framework in context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN resolution, Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. Furthermore, the research is aimed at analysing the legal provisions and standards provided within the Indian legal system and how far it is attuned to the international standards. This study is an endeavour to correlate the international and national provisions to understand the concept of aftercare in a comprehensive manner.