5))4+
SAARC CONVENTION ON REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE
PROMOTION OF CHILD WELFARE IN SOUTH ASIA
PREAMBLE
THE MEMBER STATES OF THE SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION (SAARC),
PARTIES TO THE PRESENT CONVENTION
NOTING that a quarter of the worlds children live in South Asia and many of them require assistance
and protection to secure and fully enjoy their rights, and to develop to their full potential and lead a responsible
life in family and society;
BEARING IN MIND that parents or legal guardians, as the case may be, have the primary responsibility
for the upbringing and development of the child;
RECOGNISING, therefore, that the family, as the fundamental unit of society and also as the ideal
nurturing environment for the growth and well-being of children, should be afforded the necessary protection
and assistance so that it can fully assume and fulfill responsibility for its children and community;
RECALLING the common proclamation of their nations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance;
REAFFIRMING their adherence to the Declaration of the World Summit for Children and their
commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
RECOGNISING the efforts of SAARC towards building a regional consensus on priorities, strategies
and approaches to meet the changing needs of children, as embodied in Rawalpindi Resolution on Children of
South Asia 1996, and noting the significant progress already made by the Member States in the field of child
survival and welfare;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT, the declaration of the years 2001-2010 as the SAARC Decade of the
Rights of the Child;
BEARING IN MIND that the development of the full potential of the South Asian child is a critical
concomitant to the regions collective march towards solidarity, justice, peace and human progress;
ACKNOWLEDGING that regional solidarity and cooperation through sharing of experience, expertise,
information and resources are eminently useful in galvanizing the efforts of the South Asian nations to fulfill
and protect the rights of children;
REALIZING further that, together, the Member States of SAARC can move towards a comprehensive
South Asian vision for the well-being of their children;
HEREBY AGREE as follows:
PART I - DEFINITIONS, PURPOSE AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Convention;
Rights of the Child shall mean the rights of children embodied in the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
Child shall mean a national of any Member State of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC), below the age of eighteen years unless, under the national law, majority is attained earlier.
1 of 5