UNB, Dhaka :
Although children constitute 45 percent of the total population in Bangladesh, but there is no specific budget for
them in the national financial plan, a child rights coalition said on Monday.
Child Right Advocacy Coalition in Bangladesh comprising 10 private sector organisations made the observation at a press conference held at the Jatiya Press Club marking the Silver Jubilee of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child.
The 10 organisations in the coalition are – Actionaid Bangladesh, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), Educo Bangladesh, Plan International, Save the Children, Bangladesh Shishu Odhikar Forum, Child Rights Governance Network, Terre des Hommes Netherlands, Jatiya Kanya Shishu Advocacy Forum and World Vision Bangladesh.
Presenting the keynote, Shishu Odhikar Forum chairperson Emranul Huq Chowdhury said 45 percent of the country’s population is children, but there is no separate ministry to work exclusively on child rights, though the Women and Children Affairs Ministry works on child rights.
He stressed implementing the initiatives taken by the government to secure child rights like child marriage restraint bill, national child labour elimination policy 2010 and education policy.
Chowdhury mentioned that the government has achieved milestones in primary
education though a number of students are still dropping out of school due to poverty, gender disparity, early marriage and child labour.
Quoting Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) report, he said some 7.9 million children in the country are still involved in hazardous works whereas they are supposed to be in school according to the Children Act 2013, National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Shishu Odhikar Forum chief said allocating specific budget for child rights development; retaining the girls’ marriage age at 18; emphasising on child safety; and further modernizing the education system can change the present situation of child rights in Bangladesh.
Shishu Odhikar Forum director Abdus Shahid Mahmood, Terre des Hommes country director Mahmudul Kabir and World Vision Bangladesh Advocacy manager Sabira Sultana Nupur, among others, spoke at the programme.
Although children constitute 45 percent of the total population in Bangladesh, but there is no specific budget for
them in the national financial plan, a child rights coalition said on Monday.
Child Right Advocacy Coalition in Bangladesh comprising 10 private sector organisations made the observation at a press conference held at the Jatiya Press Club marking the Silver Jubilee of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child.
The 10 organisations in the coalition are – Actionaid Bangladesh, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), Educo Bangladesh, Plan International, Save the Children, Bangladesh Shishu Odhikar Forum, Child Rights Governance Network, Terre des Hommes Netherlands, Jatiya Kanya Shishu Advocacy Forum and World Vision Bangladesh.
Presenting the keynote, Shishu Odhikar Forum chairperson Emranul Huq Chowdhury said 45 percent of the country’s population is children, but there is no separate ministry to work exclusively on child rights, though the Women and Children Affairs Ministry works on child rights.
He stressed implementing the initiatives taken by the government to secure child rights like child marriage restraint bill, national child labour elimination policy 2010 and education policy.
Chowdhury mentioned that the government has achieved milestones in primary
education though a number of students are still dropping out of school due to poverty, gender disparity, early marriage and child labour.
Quoting Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) report, he said some 7.9 million children in the country are still involved in hazardous works whereas they are supposed to be in school according to the Children Act 2013, National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Shishu Odhikar Forum chief said allocating specific budget for child rights development; retaining the girls’ marriage age at 18; emphasising on child safety; and further modernizing the education system can change the present situation of child rights in Bangladesh.
Shishu Odhikar Forum director Abdus Shahid Mahmood, Terre des Hommes country director Mahmudul Kabir and World Vision Bangladesh Advocacy manager Sabira Sultana Nupur, among others, spoke at the programme.
