Md Abdur Razzak
We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue to be the most universally cherished aspiration of humankind.”
We the Children
End-decade review of the follow-up to the World Summit for Children Report of the Secretary-General (2001)
In an international study of children’s perception of their working lives, children were asked to describe which circumstances in their lives made them feel bad. Their answers were almost identical. An Ethiopian children reported that:
“I was punished in the classroom by my teacher, who put a pencil in between my fingers and squeezed them. It was not the pain that hurt me but the feeling of humiliation I underwent when my classmates laughed at me. That was the last day for me to be at the gate of that school.”
This is just one example that represents the agony of many children worldwide. This is how millions of children worldwide are being treated every day. We consider children as smaller and weaker version of adults. We tend to treat them in a way that often denies their existence as an independent personality with human dignity. Consciously or unconsciously we discriminate children in varying degree and context compared to an adult. They are highly vulnerable to various forms of physical and mental violence, mistreatment, abuse and exploitation.
It is equally true that children are very welcome in our personal and family life; but most adults do not have adequate knowledge about the rights of children. As a result, in most cases, adults’ behaviour towards children is not always conducive for the welfare and overall development of the children. On top of that, children are unable to voice against the violation of their rights as they are not fully empowered to do that. Therefore, the child, by reason of his physical and mental maturity, deserves special care, including appropriate legal protection, before and after birth.
Taking due account of the importance of the rights of the child, United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989 which is ratified by 193 countries all over the world till date. This is the most universally embraced human rights treaty in history containing a comprehensive set of international legal standards for the protection and well-being of children. Article 1 of the Convention, defining a child, reads as, a child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. The convention mandates that the state parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination founded on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political and other opinion, national ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or family members.
The Millennium Development Goals by 189 United Nations Members in 2000 set a series of collective priorities for peace and security, poverty reduction, the environment and human rights which are essential steps for the advancement of humankind. Though the Goals are for all humankind, they are primarily about children because six of the eight goals relate directly to children. Thus it makes clear that for the greater development of humankind, emphasis should first be laid on children who are the architects of the golden future of any nation. Significantly, the principle objective underpinning all national and international instruments protecting child rights aims at protecting the best interest of the child. The principle of the best interest of children advocates for two important basic rules. The first one is, all the decisions regarding children have to be taken in the exclusive interest of the child to ensure their immediate and future well-being. The second one is, all the decisions and acts must imperatively guarantee the child rights.
As one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its two optional protocols, the Government of Bangladesh is under an international obligation to ensure the rights of all children. It should also be mentioned that, during the early period of independence and much prior to the adoption of CRC, Bangladesh adopted the Children Act, 1974. The Constitution of Bangladesh also made provisions guaranteeing the rights of the children. Later on, in line with constitutional and international commitments, Bangladesh had adopted, revised and enacted various policies and laws. Children Act, 2013 is the outcome of such longstanding efforts. The law defines a child as a person below the age of 18 years. A new Children Policy, 2011 has been adopted highlighting children’s right to health, education, cultural activities, leisure, protection, birth registration and identity. The National Child Labour elimination policy aims at prevention and elimination of child labour especially in its hazardous forms. The government also enacted Birth and Death Registration Act, 2014 making birth registration mandatory for all. Needless to mention, there are many more laws and policies having relevance to the protection of child rights.
Despite initiatives undertaken by government and non-government organisations, there are still challenges in addressing some very crucial issues with regard to the protection of child rights in Bangladesh. These are poverty, sexual exploitation, trafficking, child marriage, forced and bonded labour, domestic violence etc. Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. Although Bangladesh achieved an appreciable progress in reducing infant mortality yet malnutrition remained as a barrier to such progress. Bangladesh has earned international appreciation in regard to its progress in primary education.
Juvenile justice system in Bangladesh is not child friendly. Juvenile offenders are often tried and detained along with adults. Indeed, the Children Act, 2013 is a very unique piece of legislation that accommodates almost all standard practices with regard to the protection of child rights. Unfortunately, proper implementation of the law is still a far cry. The law provides for establishing at least one Children’s Court along with a probation officer and a child affairs desk in every district, but this has not been materialised yet. Among others, the Act contains substantive provisions of alternative care, family conferencing, diversions, but rules are yet to be adopted as to which methods of family conferencing and diversions would be followed. The numbers of correction centers are too insufficient to meet the increasing needs. Despite being banned pursuant to a court order, many children, especially in the rural areas, are still being subjected to corporal punishment for behaviour that doesn’t constitute an offence under any law.
The main barriers towards ensuring the rights of the children include poverty, lack of proper implementation of the laws and policies, and lack of awareness regarding the majority of the people regarding the rights of the children. In order to deal with the challenges mentioned, the government should establish a separate ministry for children only with adequate financial and human resources and adopt a child-focused budgeting framework. Strong collaboration between government and NGOs is needed. The government should review all policies and law once in every three to five years in order to make them consistent with demands of the time.
To conclude, there is much to celebrate as we mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, from declining infant mortality to rising school enrolment, but this historic milestone must also serve as an urgent reminder that much remains to be done to ensure the full realisation of rights for children.
Md Abdur Razzak is a student researcher, mooter and human rights activist.
Source:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2014/nov/27/creating-child-friendly-world#sthash.BjLwtb96.dpuf
