WHILE observing the National Children Day on the occasion of the birth day of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on Tuesday, a report published in a local English daily has revealed a much shocking fact to the civic concern as more than 1100 children were reportedly murdered in the country during the last three years. Manusher Jonno Foundation, a human rights body expressed the concern over the situation claiming that the nature and extent of violence against children, irrespective of age, sex and class, is increasing day by day.
According to the Foundation, 335 children were murdered in 2013, 414 in 2012 and 334 in 2011.Besides, 103 children were kidnapped in 2013 and 6 of them were killed after kidnapping; 265 were kidnapped in 2012 and 15 of them were killed and 90 children were kidnapped in 2011 and 2 of them were killed. Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum also gave similar figure of child killing. In most cases, family enmity, personal feuds, land disputes and the failure to pay ransom and criminal activities were reasons behind such murders.
Though we have a cluster of good laws and programmes in connection with child rights and development, but nothing seems effective in this regard. Bangladesh signed the UN Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1990 as one of the first 22 countries to do so. The government last year approved the draft of the Child Bill, 2013 having as many as 100 clauses to befit the UN CRC. The highest policy making body on the welfare of the country’s children, National Children Council (NCC), the apex body to deal with child labour is so far not active due to manpower lack. A coordination gap among the concerned government ministries, departments, and organizations associated with children’s welfare and other children-related issues is blamed for poor NCC performance.
To cope with the changing international agenda and global guiding principles, child-related policies and plans need a massive thrust at national and local level. For that collaboration of GO-NGO-private sectors is highly important to get positive results. The government should therefore ban all forms of physical punishment to children and adopt non-violent approaches in handling with children in social life and academic institutions.
But the major area of concern is now the safety of children as the number of disappearance and subsequent killing shows the terrible reality in the ground. We are bewildered to see the number of killing of children and the responsibility of their safety-be it at home or outdoor–equally lies with the government. But as indications suggest that most children are victims of hostility at family level and feud on property and such other matters, the predators in most cases come from powerful quarters having political linkages. Others may also use the fragile law and order situation to commit the crime. We ask the government to take stringent measures to stop abduction and killing of children by activating the law enforcers and the punishment of criminals in courts in similar cases. We can’t see that innocent children becoming victims of elders quarrels at any level.
