Complaints before the Commission of interest shown by the authorities in the welfare of the innocent child resulted in depriving her of her normal childhood, which could never be regained. No amount of compensadon, the Commission felt, would be adequate for the loss she had suffered. However, in order to alleviate her suffering to some extent, the Commission recommended to the Government of West Bengal to ensure that the child was suitably rehabilitated and educated in the SOS Children's Home or sent to a reputable insUtute run by an NOG in or around the city of Calcutta, till she became a major. The Commission also recommended that a sum of F^. 50,000/- be deposited in her name through a Court Guardian, the interest of which would be paid to the institute looking after her, and the principal amount would be released to her on her becoming a major to enable her to settle in life. A compliance report from the West Bengal Government has since been received. COMMENT In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, the United Nations has proclaimed that the child is entitled to special care and assistance. Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, stipulates tliat in all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. Education of children of sex workers: Delhi (Case No. 16754/96-97/NHRC) The Joint Women's Programme (JWP) and Mashaal Mahila Sangathan (MMS) sent a petition to the Commission on 17 February 1997, complaining about the reluctance of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to allocate one additional room in the MCD Primary School, GB Road, Delhi, for the education of the children of sex workers and attempts to vacate them from the existing room which was allotted to them. Inresponse to the Commission's notice, the MCD stated that itwas not their responsibility to provide accommodation to the JWP to educate the children of the sex workers, or to provide other health programmes to the sex workers and their children. The MCD added that the terms of the initial allotment to the JWP to organize their part-time programme after school hours in room no. 9 had been violated, and that the MCD was itselfproviding education to all children in the school run by the Corporation. The MCD also said that it would be open to the children of sex workers, to get admitted in that school. In its proceedings of 7 July 1999, the Commission noted that the increased inflow of students every year compelled the JWP to commit a breach of the conditional order of allotment. The breach of the condition was neither volitional nor for any private profit motive, but to serve the public cause. The Commission was of the considered view that the breach was inconsequential. Having regard to the circumstances, the Commission 133