Manipur child rights body warns security forces after minors injured in protests

The Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPCR) has issued a strong advisory to security forces and administrative authorities after several recent incidents in which child protesters were injured during crowd-control operations. 

The Commission expressed deep concern over reports of minors suffering lathi-charge injuries, assaults on vital body parts, and young girls fainting due to tear-gas exposure, particularly during the Pukhao incident.

Chairperson Keisam Pradipkumar said such actions constitute grave violations of child-protection laws and international child-rights norms. He reminded all agencies that the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) strictly prohibit violence, harsh restraint or coercive measures against minors.

The MCPCR stressed that children have the right to peaceful expression and must be protected—not harmed—during public gatherings. Their presence in spaces of civil unrest should not be misread as anti-state activity, but rather as a reflection of their search for safety, reassurance and stability amid prolonged conflict.

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Highlighting the continuing toll of more than two and a half years of violence in Manipur, the Commission said children remain among the most vulnerable. Findings from its Mental Health and Psychosocial Care Clinics (MHPCC), conducted across seven hill and valley districts, show that 30–35 per cent of the children assessed are suffering from severe mental-health issues requiring long-term follow-up. The Commission also flagged worrying trends, including child suicides, high psychological distress, loss of education and school dropouts among displaced minors.

Urging security personnel to exercise maximum restraint, MCPCR advised avoiding lathis, tear gas or physical force in the presence of children and adopting non-violent, child-sensitive methods of crowd management. The Commission called upon all law enforcement and security forces to incorporate child-centred, protection-focused practices in every interaction with minors.

MCPCR further appealed for an immediate, peaceful resolution to the ongoing displacement crisis so that children can return to safe, stable communities conducive to education, healing and recovery. “No child should be subjected to further trauma, harassment or targeting,” the advisory said.