Committee on the Rights of the Child examines report of Bangladesh

16 September 2015

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its consideration of the fifth periodic report of Bangladesh on its implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Presenting the report, Meher Afroze Chumki, State Minister, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, said that the Government of Bangladesh attached utmost importance to ensuring that every child grew up properly with equal opportunities and became a worthy citizen in the future. In line with the Convention, the Government had formulated its national Children’s Act of 2013 with an aim of building a better future for the children of Bangladesh. The Government ensured that children from ethnic minorities were provided with equal opportunities of education and allowed to practice their own culture. The Government had also formulated its National Child Labour Elimination Policy in March 2010. To combat child trafficking, it coordinated with all relevant Ministries, and worked with all partners at the national and international level. The country targeted to end child marriage under the age of 15 by 2021 and under 18 by 2041.

During the interactive dialogue, Committee Experts acknowledged Bangladesh’s progress, and appreciated the adoption of many legislative measures, including the adoption of the new law on child protection. However, they noted that certain factors, including pervasive poverty and natural disasters, impeded the implementation of the rights of the child in the State party. Experts inquired about the measures taken to ensure the best interest of children, birth registration, and the right to education. Experts also raised concerns about the situation of refugees, indigenous rights, and discrimination. Elimination of hunger and poverty, corporal punishment, child marriage, and violence against women and children were also discussed. A number of questions were raised on education, including the current status of laws and policies, statistical data about the policy results, gender parity and the potential upcoming policies and projects to improve the quality of education.

In concluding remarks, Amal Salman Aldoseri, Vice Chairperson of the Committee, thanked the delegation of Bangladesh for gathering experts from various Ministries, and understanding the Experts’ concerns. She highlighted the need to adopt necessary measures to enforce laws.

Benyam Dawit Meymur, Chairperson of the Committee, said that he was well aware of the particular situation of the country, especially the level of poverty. However, the number of periodic reports was an indication of the commitment of the State party to the issue.

In her concluding remarks, Ms. Chumki thanked all Committee Members for their concerns and awareness on the condition of children in Bangladesh. Her Ministry would certainly take all observations and suggestions into consideration to address the issue. Bangladesh, as a Least Developed Country with a huge population, had achieved considerable progress in many areas since the submission of the fourth periodic report in 2012. Still, the implementation of plans and policies remained a challenge due the resources constraints.

The delegation of Bangladesh included representatives from the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The next public meeting of the Committee will take place at 3 p.m. this afternoon, when it will begin the consideration of the fourth periodic report of Kazakhstan (CRC/C/KAZ/4).

Report

The fifth periodic report of Bangladesh (CRC/C/BGD/5) is available here.

Presentation of the Report

MEHER AFROYE CHUMKI, Minister of State at the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, said that the goal of the current Government was to ensure that every child grew up properly with equal opportunities and became a worthy citizen in the future. Bangladesh attached utmost importance to the education and health of its children. During the budget session of the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the Ministry of Finance had produced a report titled “Budget Thoughts for Children”, which was the first of its kind in the country. The report also analysed the budget of five Ministries with respect to children, identifying the areas of allocation. Further, the Government distributed textbooks free of cost to children and provided free education. The Government also provided food assistance to poverty-stricken mothers covered under the social safety net in order to ensure that they sent their children to schools and prevented them from marrying at an early age. In that regard, the Government had allocated significant resources for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as “investment in child health”.

Noting that the Government had formulated the Children’s Act of 2013 in line with the Convention of the Rights of the Child, Ms. Chumki said that it was a unique charter on protecting and establishing children’s rights. In addition, Bangladesh had formulated its National Children Policy in 2011 with an aim of building the future of the children of Bangladesh. The Government took its national policy into consideration whilst making all national development policies, planning, programme implementation and budgeting.

Day-care centres were maintained across the country for the convenience if working mothers. Such centres provided baby-sitting and primary education services. In some cases, they were used as a place for residence where meals were served. The Government had taken measures for orphans and children with impairments. The children of ethnic communities and minorities had equal opportunities when it came to education and could practise their own culture. On the children with disabilities, Ms. Chumki noted that Bangladesh had initiated a programme for the welfare of the autistic children. Within the scope of that programme, nearly 400,000 persons with disabilities were given monthly allowances and 50,000 were given a stipend for education.

The Government had taken substantial initiatives to eliminate exploitation of child labour. Accordingly, the Government had formulated its National Child Labour Elimination Policy in March 2010. To combat child trafficking, it coordinated with other related Ministries and worked with all partners at the national and international level. Noting that the Prime Minister was strongly committed to end child marriage in the country, Ms. Chumki said that the country targeted to end child marriage under the age of 15 by 2021 and under 18 by 2041. To realise such a target, the Government had drafted a five-year National plan of Action, addressing all the relevant issues associated with the child marriage.

Bangladesh had been hosting a huge number of refugees coming from Myanmar for over three decades, without sufficient international burden sharing and any meaningful contribution from abroad. In conclusion, Ms. Chumki stated that the delegation had provided relevant data and information in the report.

Questions by Committee Experts

GEHAD MADI, Committee Member acting as Country Rapporteur for Bangladesh welcomed the progress made by Bangladesh and its adoption of the new law on child protection. Despite the Committee’s previous recommendations, there was still no concrete progress on the Article 14, paragraph 1 and Article 21 of the Convention. Was there an intention to withdraw its reservations to those articles?

Turning to the best interest of children, Mr. Madi expressed appreciation for the efforts of the State party to increasingly incorporate the best interests of the child in national policies and programmes that affected children. At the same time, he was concerned that the issue was not defined in the national legislation. Accordingly, he asked about the measures taken by the Government.

Several Experts found that the birth registration in Bangladesh was a matter of concern.
One of the Experts requested information on measures taken to ensure effective birth registration, including conducting awareness raising campaign for parents, implementation of a mobile registration system to reach remote areas and the introduction of a national electronic birth registration system.

Turning to the corporal punishment, an Expert said that it was prohibited in education. However, he was concerned about the ineffective implementation of existing laws to prevent corporal punishment. Were all forms of violence, including corporal punishment, explicitly prohibited in all settings?

On the refugee children, an Expert noted that the State party did not have any legislative or administrative provisions for refugees. What measures were taken to ensure that refugee or asylum-seeking children were provided with adequate advice, support, legal aid, and counselling? Were children born in Bangladesh to refugees registered at birth?

Regarding indigenous groups, it was said that there were about three million people living in the country and facing discrimination every day. What kind of measures had been taken by the Government to ensure their rights?

With regard to the child marriage, which was very common in Bangladesh, one Expert asked about the measures taken to eliminate such practice.

Another Expert stated that, according to a World Bank report, Bangladesh had made commendable progress with respect to the eradication of poverty and hunger. Despite progress made in the growth rate helping to eliminate poverty, about 46 per cent of all children in Bangladesh still lived below the upper poverty line. She asked whether a study had been done on eliminating child poverty.

On the subject of education, one Expert asked if the Ministry of Education had conducted any evaluation on the national programmes and initiatives.

Replies by the Delegation

The delegation stressed that the Government of Bangladesh was fully committed to realize the rights of all children of the country. In order to address the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the combined third and fourth periodic reports, the Government had taken a number of initiatives, enacting new laws and policies.

Regarding measures taken to ensure the best interest of children, the Government had undertaken serious efforts in applying the principle of “the best interest of children” to the new laws and policies. Further, a number of trainings had been provided to the Government officials and professionals directly involved with child rights issues, so that they could develop capacity to efficiently deal with children’s issues. The issue had also been outlined in the new Children’s Policy as one of the core principles.

On child marriage, the delegation noted that the legal age of marriage in Bangladesh was 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys. In a recent meeting, on 15 September 2014, the Cabinet had reviewed the updated draft Child Marriage Restraint Act, which had now been approved in principle. Despite those recent developments, a large proportion of marriages admittedly still took place before the legal age of marriage was reached. Early and forced marriage, therefore, still remained as a big problem in the country, especially among the lower income groups living in rural and hard to reach areas.

Regarding the birth registration in Bangladesh, a delegate said that tremendous efforts had been made to achieve 100 per cent birth registration during the reporting period. Currently, 85.47 per cent of the total population was registered. The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs had initiated a “Birth and Death Registration” project, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund, with the view of ensuring birth registration and providing certificates to all people.

A massive awareness programme had been carried out via production and dissemination of posters, leaflets, brochures, and promotional programmes on radio and television. Despite certain advancement, the progress had been slow in the remote areas. According to the current law, births of all children were to be registered within 45 days. To improve the current system, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs had introduced online birth registration programme with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund.

On the corporal punishment, the delegation noted that the law banned all forms of punishment in all primary and secondary educational institutions in Bangladesh. The Ministry of Education had also issued a circular prohibiting any kind of corporal punishment. In addition to development of principles and guidelines, the Government had also implemented massive awareness raising campaigns using print and electronic media. Further, the Ministry of Information had initiated awareness raising activities against corporal punishment, including the production and projection of documentary films, television programmes, and docudramas under its “Advocacy and Communication for Women and Children” project. However, prevention of corporal punishment at homes and workplaces was making a slower, but gradual improvement.

Turning to the issue of refugees, the delegation said that all the registered Rohingya refugee children had been provided with access to basic education in two refugee camps. Similar facilities were also provided for adolescents and adults. There were computer training centres and skill development centres for the adults. Children and their families had easy access to health services inside the camps, as well as in the local and secondary medical facilities. Community management and protection against violence had been strengthened through special management. Regular awareness building sessions were conducted to develop their understanding on the consequences of violence.

Regarding children with disabilities, a delegate stated that the Gender and Inclusive
Education Action Plan was being implemented. Construction of all new school buildings included ramps to make easy access for children with disabilities. At least one separate toilet for those with disabilities was being constructed in each of the new school buildings.


Questions by Committee Experts

An Expert said that there was a rise in the sexual exploitation and rape, which had impact on children. The question was how many cases had been submitted to the court, and how many people had been judged. Was there an updated statistical data on children who had been victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, including victims of trafficking, as well as the number of complaints, investigations and prosecutions in that regard?

Turning to child trafficking, the Expert asked about the progress achieved in the area of the prevention of child trafficking, in particular with regard to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between India and Bangladesh. The Expert noted that lack of available resources was one of the reasons to effectively eliminate child trafficking and all other forms of violation against children. What about the measures taken to protect girls from sexual violence, and to criminalize marital rape?

Another Expert inquired about the role of religious persons in poverty reduction and promotion of children’s rights.

Sexual exploitation of children was a serious problem which continued to grow in the State party, especially in the form of child prostitution and trafficking for that purpose. Could an update be provided on the issue?

Replies by the Delegation

The delegation said the Children’s Act of 2013 was the guideline to ensure the promotion and protection of children’s rights. On the administration of juvenile justice and minimum age of criminal responsibility, a new legal framework had been proposed to improve the administration of juvenile justice. In line with the Convention and other international standards, diversion and other alternatives to prevent deprivation of liberty of children coming in conflict with the law had been incorporated in the draft law. The draft had already been approved by the Cabinet, awaiting enactment by the National Parliament.

Juvenile courts existed in each district, and the Supreme Court of Bangladesh had asked the lower judiciary to designate one judge at each tier as the juvenile court judge. Child affairs police officers and separate courts were mandated to specifically deal with cases involving child victims, child witnesses and child offenders.

On the arrest, detention and imprisonment of children, the delegation highlighted that a national task force had been working to ensure that children did not go to adult prisons and those who were already there were released without delay. Further, child friendly police officers would be assigned to all police stations across the country, and specialized police units would be set up at the district level to deal with children in contact and conflict with the law.

Juvenile prisoners, while staying in prison, could take elementary, religious or ethnical education. They could also contact their family or relatives through letters and physical visits at jail premises, and request a lawyer from the Government if they were unable to hire one.

Turning to the refugee camps, a delegate said that children born to the Myanmar refugees living in the registered camps were covered by the compulsory birth registration. Bangladesh was not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Additional Protocol. However, the country was committed to the international protection standards. All the registered Rohingya refugee children, adolescents and adults had been provided with access to basic education through 21 schools in two refugee camps. Families were provided with health services inside those camps. The local administration and law enforcement agencies remained sensitized to provide legal protection, as appropriate.

On the sexual violation and rape, the delegation admitted that such acts were indeed taking place in the country. The problem of sexual abuse and exploitation of children had been reflected in the National Plan of Action against Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children including trafficking. The Government of Bangladesh had enacted several laws to protect children from such acts. Those laws included the Domestic Violence Act, The Human Trafficking Prevention and Repression Act, and the Pornography Control Act, in addition to the Prevention of Women and Children Repression Act.

Despite progress, there were still challenges for the Government of Bangladesh to fully prevent sexual abuse and exploitation against children for various social and economic factors, as well as legal enforcement challenges. There were several middle class families who did not seek justice through any means and kept silent to limit the scandal. There were also other families who wanted justice but were misinformed about the procedures to follow.

On the use of children in pornography, it was explained that the Government of Bangladesh had been working tirelessly with all relevant partners at the national level, including civil society organisations, to ensure that no child under the age of 18 became a victim in that regard.

Responding to the questions on breastfeeding, the delegation stated that the Government had taken various initiatives, one being establishing breastfeeding corners for mothers across the country. Noting that this new practise had already approved by the Cabinet, it was hoped that breastfeeding corners would be seen in all working places in the near future.

Turning to the vocational training, the delegation said that the Government guaranteed the fulfilment of basic rights, including education for all citizens. The Government policies and goals were to increase substantially the proportion of post-primary students enrolling in the vocational training.

On the adoption of the Optional Protocols, the delegation reiterated its points on the domestic ratifying system, which had several procedures before a decision could be reached.

The goal of the Government was to achieve sustainable improvement in the health, nutrition and reproductive health, including family planning. One of the key achievements was the increase in the access to free primary health services through community clinics. On the subject of HIV/AIDS, it was stated that different prevention strategies and activities had been undertaken, including the establishment of voluntary counselling and testing centres, blood screening centres, and the promotion of HIV-related reproductive and sexual health education for young people.


Questions by Committee Experts

Several Experts asked about the education, requesting updated information on the current status of laws and policies, including the new Education Act, updated statistical data about the results of such laws and policies, and gender parity.

Questions were asked on the number of new schools, programmes and trainings for the minority children and children with disabilities, and the potential policies and projects to improve the quality of education.

An Expert said that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh had recently mentioned a possibility of transferring refugees from the camps to another location in the country. What would the impact of that policy be on refugee children?

Another Expert said that coordinating partners in implementing policies and programmes was very significant. He asked what kind of measures were taken to ensure the coordination between partners, including the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, and others.

Replies by the Delegation

In 2000, Bangladesh had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict. There had been no such incidents in the country. Although there was an inherent assumption related to “growing trend of violence and armed rivalry”, that was not backed by any evidence. Thus, it would be unwarranted to consider the situation in the region as a conflict situation.

Turning to the questions on education, it was explained that the Government of Bangladesh was strongly committed to improvements in the education sector. Development plans with education had been given the highest priority in the public sector investments. As the Education Policy had been adopted in 2010, budgetary allocation had been increased and the quality of education had received special priority. Accordingly, the enrolment and the retention rate had improved.

Turning to the progress made in terms of increasing access to education and gender parity, both at primary and secondary levels, the delegation informed that the introduction of stipend programmes for females had a tremendous impact on girls’ education, with girls now outnumbering boys at primary and secondary schools. Transition rates to secondary and higher education, especially in the case of girls, had increased due to stipend programme. Further, the Government was revising its scholarship programme to make subsidies more equitable to boys and girls.

With regard to legal and policy options to ensure the right to education, including vocational training, the delegation noted that the Constitution guaranteed the fulfilment of basic rights, including education for all citizens. The Labour Act prohibited children from engaging in labour before completing the compulsory primary education.

The Government had taken steps to ensure the quality of education at all levels, including the revision and modernisation of the curriculum of primary and secondary level education and the improvement of the capacity for teachers.

On the Prime Minister’s statement about the Rohingya refugees, the delegation noted that the Government had not made its final decision yet. However, the plan was to transfer refugees living in the camps to another area in the country. To address the issue of refugees, the Government of Bangladesh had been working with national and international partners, taking all necessary measures to streamline the provision of humanitarian assistance to the refugees. Children in the registered refugee camps were provided protection and assistance as per relevant international norms and standards, in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Turning to the coordination of actors in the review of progress related to women and child development, the delegation noted that the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs had several mechanisms to ensure coordination between partners. The Ministry distributed guidelines to concerned Ministries and divisions. In addition, every Ministry had a focal point dealing with the issue, and monitoring the news and developments.

Concluding Remarks

AMAL SALMAN ALDOSERI, Vice Chairperson of the Committee, thanked the delegation of Bangladesh for gathering experts from various Ministries and understanding of Committee Experts’ concerns. She encouraged the State party to pay close attention to the issues raised. As a matter of urgency, the country would need to adopt measures to enforce laws.

BENYAM DAWIT MEYMUR, Chairperson of the Committee, appreciated the effort shown by the Government of Bangladesh. He was well aware of the particular situation of the country, especially the level of poverty. The number of periodic reports was an indication of the commitment of the State party to the issue. The delegation should take into consideration the Experts’ comments and suggestions.

MEHER AFROZE CHUMKI, State Minister at the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, thanked all Committee Members for their concern and awareness on the condition of children in Bangladesh. Her Ministry would certainly take all observations and suggestions into consideration to address the issues raised. Bangladesh, as a Least Developed Country with a huge population, had achieved considerable progress in many areas since the submission of the fourth periodic report in 2012. Despite remarkable progress, the implementation of plans and policies always remained a challenge due to the resource constraint. Unfortunately, it was not possible to change the established and deep-rooted views and customs of the society overnight. However, the country would continue to strive for improving the situation.

In order to achieve the level of development that was essential for the full enjoyment of human rights by the people of Bangladesh, including children, Bangladesh needed the cooperation and support from the international community as well as the development partners. It was hoped that the Committee understood and reflected the particular situation of Bangladesh when preparing its recommendations for further improvements.

__________

For use of the information media; not an official record