State Reports - CRC - Bangladesh - CRC/C/3/Add.38 (1995)

Distr.

GENERAL

CRC/C/3/Add.38
7 December 1995

Original: ENGLISH

Initial reports of States parties due in 1992 : Bangladesh. 07/12/95.

CRC/C/3/Add.38. (State Party Report)

ENGLISH ONLY

COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION

Initial reports of States parties due in 1992

Addendum

BANGLADESH

[15 November 1995]

CONTENTS

		Paragraphs
	I. BACKGROUND	1 - 3
	II. INTRODUCTION	4 - 13
	A. Land and people	4 - 6
	B. General legal framework	7 - 13

	III. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION	14 - 152
	A. General measures of implementation	14 - 41
	B. Definition of the child	42 - 46
	C. General principles	47 - 62
	D. Civil rights and freedoms	63 - 80
	E. Family environment and alternative care	81 - 105
	F. Basic health and welfare	106 - 126
	G. Education, leisure and cultural activities	127 - 140
	H. Special protection measures	141 - 152
	Appendix: Children's laws of Bangladesh
	List of references consulted*

* Available for consultation in the files of the secretariat.

I. BACKGROUND

1. Bangladesh was one of the first countries to ratify and sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Bangladesh has accepted all of the provisions of the Convention, but has expressed its reservation to article 21 which deals with the adoption of children. For practical reasons Bangladesh is against intercountry adoption of children. Intercountry adoption of Bangladeshi children is not permitted by law. It was legal before 1982. Immediately after liberation in 1971 some war babies were placed for intercountry adoption. However, in later years widespread abuse of the law resulted in its repeal by the Government in 1982.

2. Bangladesh has also made an observation with regard to article 14 (1) of the Convention which states that the "State Parties shall respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion". While Bangladesh recognizes the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religious practice, the society believes that a child, being immature by definition, is not in a position to consider such complex issues clearly and is consequently unable to make a free and voluntary choice of its own. The child, on the other hand, is likely to act in such cases under the influence, or even pressure, of others, neither of which is conducive to its normal, natural and healthy growth.

3. This is an updated report on the status of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Bangladesh as required under article 44 of the Convention. The report has been prepared by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, in consultation with concerned agencies working for children in Bangladesh. The report has been prepared following the general guidelines issued by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/5).

II. INTRODUCTION

A. Land and people

4. Land. Bangladesh lies in the north-eastern part of South Asia. The country is bounded on the west, north and the north-east by India, on the south-east by Myanmar and on the south by the Bay of Bengal. The area of the country is 143,999 sq. km. Except the hilly regions in the north-east and the south-east and some areas of highlands in the north and north-west, the country consists of low, flat and fertile land. Bangladesh generally enjoys a subtropical monsoon climate. A total of six seasons in a year are recognized; three of them, namely winter, summer and the monsoon, predominate.

5. Population. The population of the country stood at 111.4 million in March 1991. Of these 57.3 million were males and 54.1 million were females, i.e. there were 106 males for every 100 females. The annual growth rate of population (1991) was 2.17 per cent. The density of population as of March 1991 was 778 persons per sq. km. The population is fairly evenly distributed throughout the country. In 1991 the urban population comprised 15.2 per cent and the rural 84.8 per cent of the total. The literacy rate of the country was then 32.4 per cent for the population of age 7 years and above. Life expectancy at birth in 1991 was 57.1 years (male 57.4 and female 56.8). The population was predominantly young with some 16 per cent under 5 years of age and about 44 per cent under 15 years. There were 20.1 million households in the country with an average household size of 5.44. Of these, 15 per cent families were headed by women.

6. Economy. At present the per capital GNP is US$ 220 and the overall annual rate of economic growth of the country is 4 per cent. Bangladesh's GDP at constant factor cost of 1984/85 stood at Tk 469,151 million in 1989/90. In 1992, real GDP grew by 4 per cent as compared with 3.4 per cent in 1991 when the country's economy was adversely affected by a severe cyclone, the Gulf war and political instability in the country. The country is still predominantly rural and agricultural, but this is slowly changing. The agricultural sector's share of GDP declined from 55 per cent in 1970 to 36 per cent in 1991. The share of industry has, on the other hand, increased from only 9 per cent in 1970 to 16 per cent in 1991. The service sector at present is the largest sector of the economy. In 1970 it accounted for 37 per cent of GDP, and this rose to 48 per cent in 1991.

B. General legal framework

7. Administrative set-up. Bangladesh is governed by a parliamentary system of government. The Prime Minister is the chief executive of the country. He/she is selected by the President from the majority party. He/she has a council of ministers to assist him/her in the discharge of his/her duties. For the convenience of administration the country is divided into five administrative divisions, each of which is placed under a divisional commissioner. Each division is further divided into districts. There are 64 districts, each headed by a deputy commissioner. Each zila (district) consists of several thanas and each thana is subdivided into several unions.

There are 460 thanas and 4,451 unions in the country. Each union is the focal point of local administration in the country and the union parishad, a local government body, is headed by an elected chairman.

8. Legislature. The Constitution provides for a unicameral legislature which is called the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament). It consists of 300 members directly elected by universal adult franchise. The members of Jatiya Sangsad elect another 30 female members. Thus, the total number of Jatiya Sangsad members is 330. The Jatiya Sangsad is vested with all powers under the Constitution to make laws for the country. Elections to the present Fifth Jatiya Sangsad were held on 27 February 1991.

9. Basic human rights laws. The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is the supreme law of the country. All laws in the country take their validity from the Constitution. Part II of the Constitution contains an elaborate list of fundamental principles of State policy. These principles describe the rights relating to the individual's socio-economic and cultural activities. These rights are non-justiciable and serve only as general guidelines for State policy.

10. The fundamental rights listed in Part III of the Constitution are justiciable and the Supreme Court has been entrusted with the power to enforce them. The fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution are the following: equality before the law; non-discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth; equality of opportunity for public employment; right of protection against arrest and detention; protection against forced labour; protection in respect of trial and punishment; right to free movement; right to assembly; right to association; right to any profession or occupation; right to practise any religion; right to property; right to protection of home and correspondence.

11. Besides the Constitution, the principal source of the law in the country is through legislation. Legislation consists of laws made by or under the authority of Parliament and may comprise statute laws or "statutory instruments" which are orders, rules and regulations made by a government ministry under the authority of a statute, or by-laws made by local government or other authorities exercising powers conferred upon them by the legislature.

12. Judiciary. At the top of the hierarchy of courts is the Supreme Court of Bangladesh comprising the Appellate Division and the High Court Division. The Appellate Division has both civil and criminal jurisdiction. The High Court Division enjoys a constitutional jurisdiction commonly known as writ jurisdiction. The functions of the two divisions are distinct and separate. Separate appointments are made for each division. The judges of each division sit exclusively in the division to which they are appointed. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is appointed to the Appellate Division and is constitutionally known as the Chief Justice of Bangladesh. The hierarchy of civil courts consists of the Court of the District and the Additional District Judge, the Court of the Subordinate Judge and the Court of the Assistant Judge and the other lower courts.

13. The existing legal aid procedures provides for assistance in both civil and criminal proceedings. The Civil Procedure Law of 1908 enables persons who are too poor to pay court fees to initiate suits without such payment. In criminal proceedings undefended accused persons in capital-punishment trials are provided with a defence lawyer by the State.

III. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION

A. General measures of implementation

14. Public commitment to children's welfare and children's rights has a long tradition in Bangladesh. Since early in its statehood Bangladesh has formally focused its attention on children. Article 28 (4) of the country's Constitution adopted in 1972, the Bangladesh Children's Act of 1974 and the Bangladesh Shishua Academy Ordinance of 1976 bear testimony to such early special attention. Currently, the Government is deliberating on a comprehensive national policy on children. In the private sector, the existence for a long time of some notable children's organizations with elaborate child development objectives and programmes testify to the society's concern for children's welfare. Since the ratification of the Convention, the Government of Bangladesh, together with national and international NGOs, has been developing programmes to facilitate the implementation of its provisions.

1. Measures taken to harmonize national law and policy

15. The Government's social policy attaches the highest priority to the survival, protection and development of the children in the country. The Government has taken up a number of activities that have a direct bearing on the welfare of children. The Ministry of Social Welfare (MSW) has been assigned to play the key role of overseeing all welfare activities pertaining to children in the country. To give more importance to the development of children, the Ministry of Women's Affairs has been renamed the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs. This Ministry is responsible for the National Council for Children Affairs, the National Awards for Children and matters relating to the Bangladesh Shisua Academy, leaving child welfare and coordination of activities of other ministries and organizations in connection with social welfare, UNICEF and other concerned international bodies/foreign agencies dealing with social welfare and administration of the Children's Act of 1974 with the Ministry of Social Welfare. MSW initiates and manages its own programmes as well as monitors programmes initiated by other government departments and NGOs. Important government programmes and actions as well as important programmes initiated by the NGOs are highlighted below.

16. National policy on children. The most important step of the Government towards harmonizing national law and policy with the Convention has been the formulation of the National Policy on Children. The draft policy is awaiting approval of the Government. The principal objectives of the policy are to formally harmonize all child development activities in the country with the provisions of the Convention. It declares six general objectives in the light of the Convention objectives. These are related to: (a) safe birth and survival; (b) proper educational and psychological development; (c) ensuring

family environment for development; (d) providing assistance to children in difficult circumstances; (e) ensuring the best interest of the child; (f) protecting children's legal rights and thus protect them from discrimination.

17. To achieve these objectives, the specific measures elaborated in the policy document are to be taken. The application of these specific measures to government development activities as well as other children-related welfare activities will be monitored by a proposed National Council for Children. The Council will be the highest police body working for children in the country. The Minister in charge of the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs will be the ex officio Vice-Chairperson of the Council and the Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs will be the member-secretary. The functions of the Council will be as follows:

(a) The Council will act as the highest policy-making body on child welfare and development;

(b) It will take all necessary steps to protect the interests of all children in the country;

(c) It will ensure the effective enforcement of all laws of the country relating to child rights and interests;

(d) It will work for the enactment of new laws and the formulation of appropriate rules if required;

(e) To fully safeguard the rights of children, it will decide on timely amendments, additions and alterations to the existing laws;

(f) It will ensure the implementation and monitoring of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

18. Bangladesh Action Plan for the SAARC Decade of the Girl Child. Acknowledging the generally vulnerable state of children in SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries, the SAARC Summit of 1986, held in Bangalore, India, placed child development issues on its agenda. At that meeting the members agreed to include the topic as a regular agenda item at all future summit meetings. As a follow-up to this decision, the SAARC Summit of 1988 in Islamabad requested member States to observe 1990 as the SAARC Year of the Girl Child. In view of the enthusiastic response and to maintain momentum for sustained action required for the development of the girl child, the Male (Maldives) SAARC Summit of 1990 declared 1991-2000 as the SAARC Decade of the Girl Child. A SAARC Decade Regional Programme for Children was subsequently prepared and endorsed at the Colombo Summit in 1991.

19. In pursuance of the above commitment by the Bangladesh Government to achieve the objectives of the SAARC Decade of the Girl Child, the Ministry of Social Welfare, in cooperation with an interministerial committee, has formulated the Action Plan for the Decade of the Girl Child. Members of this committee include representatives from the Ministries of Women's Affairs; Health and Family Welfare; Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; Religious

Affairs; Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives and Foreign Affairs. The MSW is the coordinator of the committee. Members also include representatives of NGOs, child rights activists, children's organizations and UNICEF.

20. The Action Plan for the decade is one of the most important programming activities taken up by the Government of Bangladesh in order to improve the rights and privileges of children, especially that of the girl children. By addressing the special needs of the girl child and assessing her problems, the Action Plan seeks to establish programmatic efforts focused on the girl child and to ensure that they are well integrated with other development activities. The Action Plan lays special emphasis on: (a) basic education; (b) sanitation; (c) health and nutrition; (d) legal and social support. The responsibilities of concerned ministries/agencies to implement the Action Plan have been clearly specified in the plan. The efforts of the Government will be harnessed with those of the NGOs to ensure broad-based social participation. The Action Plan is known as samata (equality).

21. National Programme of Action for Achieving Goals for Children. The National Programme of Action (NPA) aimed at achieving the goals for children and development for the 1990s was launched by the Prime Minister on 2 June 1992. The NPA has drawn up specific targets regarding the well-being of children in the areas of: (a) health and nutrition; (b) water and environmental sanitation; (c) education; (d) social welfare, including children in especially difficult circumstances. The process of the preparation of the NPA was initiated by a joint government and UNICEF advisory group (JGUAG) in March 1991. The JGUAG was set up at the Planning Commission long ago with the aim of overseeing and coordinating children's development activities supported by the Government and UNICEF. The committee members included representatives from various government ministries and departments and representatives from UNICEF. The Chairman of the committee is the member for programming, socio-economic infrastructure and the planning commission and the member-secretary is the deputy secretary of the Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance. The name of the NPA is progoti (progress).

22. Bangladesh Shishu Academy (Bangladesh Children's Academy). Established in pursuance of constitutional obligations regarding the children and youth of the country, the Bangladesh Shishu Academy was set up in 1976. This is an autonomous body, now governed by the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs, has become one of the country's major public organs working for child development and child rights. The main purpose of the Academy is to promote cultural, scientific and recreational activities for children. The objectives of the Academy include the development of patriotic feelings, a sense of discipline and love for the national heritage among children. To achieve these objectives the Academy organizes literary and cultural activities and competitions for children, and runs training facilities for developing children's cultural skills in areas such as dance, music and painting. It also has a publications programme and a foreign tour programme for children. The publications programme supports children's journals and books. Through the Academy's foreign tour programme, children are given an opportunity to present their talent in foreign countries.

23. Recently, the Academy has widened its activities by starting pilot programmes: (a) for imparting preschool education to disadvantaged children and disabled children; (b) for educating parents on proper nutritional and mental growth requirements of children; (c) for informing the masses about the rights of children incorporated in the Convention. Recognizing the usefulness and the importance of the Academy's programmes, the Government has recently allocated an amount of Tk 100 million for the establishment of 44 new branches of the Shishua Academy in all the remaining district headquarters.

24. Review of existing children's laws. The laws for the protection and welfare of children in Bangladesh are not contained in one statute, but are scattered over a multitude of laws and statutes enacted at different periods. There are a number of laws in force in Bangladesh which contain specific provisions dealing with the protection, maintenance and well-being of children. Some of these were enacted during the British rule of the undivided India and later during the Pakistan years. These were found to be consistent with the Bangladesh Constitution and validated to remain in force in Bangladesh. New laws were also enacted after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.

25. More concerted attempts to review the children's laws of Bangladesh with the aim of identifying their anomalies or inconsistencies with the Convention are on the active agenda of the Government. There is a subcommittee on child legislation within the MSW whose terms of reference are to review the existing child laws and make recommendations for their amendment or for the introduction of new laws. The subcommittee is authorized to seek advice from expert lawyers in the field in the course of its work. The committee has commissioned a number of reviews of existing laws relating to children. These reviews are broad surveys that mainly identified laws concerned with children. The Shishua Academy has published one of these reviews both in Bangla and in English. The MSW has also prepared a review of legislation affecting the girl child. A list of these laws concerning children in Bangladesh has been appended to this report.

26. Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) (Bangladesh Child Rights Forum). The formation of the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum represents the most important development in the NGO sector towards harmonizing national policy with the Convention. This forum has been organized to coordinate child rights activities of various NGOs working for children in Bangladesh. The forum works as a network of organizations and people in the country. The present membership of BSAF stands at 53. By maintaining links to national and international bodies, this forum aims at upgrading the rights and privileges enjoyed by children, especially the disadvantaged children in the country. The new forum has been conceived in the backdrop of the ratification of the Convention by Bangladesh.

27. The BSAF works through an Executive Board and three working groups: the Legal Group, the Media Group and the Programme Group. The objective of the Media Group is to raise public awareness of children's rights. In fulfilling this objective, the Group has met with editors of national newspapers, produced films and information packs and issued regular newsletters. The Legal Group's objective is to formulate a legal framework for the protection

of children's rights. Its workplan includes: research and workshops on various subjects, legal literacy programmes, lobbying for the adoption of new legislation on children's rights, networking to initiate legal reform movements, organizing non-formal workers, legal counselling and legal aid to disadvantaged children and their families, monitoring violations of children's rights and implementing child laws. The objective of the Programme Group is to increase the access of disadvantaged children to basic services. The full range of the programmes planned at present includes training, research, networking with other organizations and advocacy. The training programmes are to focus upon the policy-makers, supervisors and field workers in child development activities. The research programme is to support primary studies on topics such as child abuse, child labour, etc. as well as making extracts and inventories of existing studies for their wider dissemination. The networking programme will aim at enhanced interaction between NGOs and the setting up of common children's service centres.

28. The BSAF's relationship with the Government is one of partnership. It aims at complementing the Government's efforts and to create a social demand for children's development. With the programmes described above, the BSAF is expected to become one of the focal points in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention in Bangladesh. There are, however, other children's organizations in the country which are not members of the BSAF. These bodies have also taken up, both individually and collectively, programmes for child development and welfare.

2. Allocation of resources and international cooperation

29. Bangladesh is now at the end of its Fourth Five Year Plan. Poverty alleviation, growth with equity, employment, human resource development and women's development received special attention in the Fourth Plan.

30. Fourth Five Year Plan allocations. It is difficult to quantify exactly the amount of national resources that will specifically benefit the children of the country. However, a large proportion of the resources allocated to the areas of education, health, family planning, youth and women's development and social welfare will benefit the children of the country. Table 1 below shows the amount of resources allocated under these headings in the Fourth Five Year Plan. A review of sectoral allocations reveals that about a tenth of the overall allocations are made to these sectors. Herein lies an indication of the difficulties faced by the planners of the country in allocating the scarce national resources to competing sectors. While all sectors demand attention, the Government has to give priority to the more immediately required economic development, employment creation and poverty alleviation programmes.

Table 1. Sectoral allocations during Fourth Five Year Plan (1990-1995)

Sector	Total allocation (taka in crore)	Per cent
Agriculture	18 233	26.45
Industry	8 540	12.39
Energy	9 350	13.56
Transport/comm.	653	15.45
Physical planning	7 455	10.82
Education	3 289	4.77
Health	1 248	1.81
Family planning	1 818	2.64
Socio-economic	612	0.89
Scientific and technological research	76	0.11
Manpower and labour	76	0.11
Public admin.	130	0.19
Block allocation	3 120	4.58
Trade and others	4 294	6.23
Total	68 930	100.00

31. The social infrastructure sector, however, is growing steadily and it is hoped that once the investments in economic development sectors such as agriculture and industry begin to yield results, more resources will be available for the social and human development sectors. It should be noted that the allocations in human development sectors have progressively increased over successive Plan periods.

32. International cooperation. The international cooperation in the field of children in Bangladesh is mainly through the activities of UNICEF, on a bilateral basis. Other United Nations agencies such as United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture, World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization and international NGOs like Care, Caritas, Concern, Oxfam, Radda, Barnen, Save the Children Fund, Enfants du monde and many others also have child development programmes.

33. The process of preparation of the National Programme of Action for achieving the Goals for Children described earlier involved full cooperation between Government and international organizations. The NPA programmes anticipate a high degree of cooperation between Government and its various international development partners in its successful implementation. Areas involving international cooperation include primary education, child health and nutrition, and development in the field of water and sanitation. The General Education Project on primary education, which costs US$ 310 million, involved the participation of international partners including International Development Association, the Asian Development Bank, UNICEF, UNDP, Swedish International Development Authority, Norwegian Agency for International Development and United Nations Population Fund. Besides, European Economic Communities, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Inter-American Development Bank are involved in flood and cyclone rehabilitation projects in the primary education subsector. In the health sector all the major programming activities of the Government have international support. A World Bank-led consortium of donors - Australia, Belgium, Canada, EEC, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom - is funding the current Fourth Population and Health Project of Bangladesh. While the main objective of the project is to upgrade health facilities in general, it also has many specific child-targeted projects. Major United Nations organizations like WHO and UNICEF are also significant contributors. The project will cost approximately US$ 605 million, of which the Government will provide 27 per cent. The project accounts for over 70 per cent of the total funds allocated to the health and population sectors in Fourth Five Year Plan. Water and environmental sanitation programmes in Bangladesh have been supported for many years by funds from Danish and Swedish international development agencies. Many of these projects have specific components aimed at improving facilities for rural children.

34. Regional cooperation. Bangladesh has been very active in developing joint programmes on child development with its regional neighbours through the SAARC umbrella. It has reaffirmed its commitment to the objectives and goals of child development and child rights and has pledged to cooperate with other countries of the SAARC region for the survival, protection and development of children. Bangladesh took an active part in the SAARC Ministerial Conference on South Asian Children held from 16 to 18 September 1992 in Colombo at which the Colombo Resolution on Children was approved by member countries.

3. Monitoring implementation of the Convention

35. An official monitoring mechanism for the implementation of the Convention in Bangladesh is being evolved. The proposed National Council for Children will ensure implementation of the provisions of the Convention. Being a national-level committee, the Council will have the full authority to monitor the activities of various government departments as well as the activities of NGOs. To this end, the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs, as the secretariat of the National Council for Children, plans to establish a Child Rights Monitoring Cell (CRMC). Once the cell comes into operation, it will become the national databank and source of information on all activities directed towards the implementation of the Convention.

36. The process of preparation of the present report provided an opportunity for reviewing the current status of implementation of the provisions of the Convention in Bangladesh. In preparing this report, the MSW organized several interministerial review meetings and workshops. Besides the MSW, the other ministries attending these review meetings included the Ministries of Home; Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; Health and Family Welfare; Education; Women's Affairs; Labour and Manpower; Youth and Sports. Representatives from the NGO bureau under the Prime Minister's secretariat also attended. Non-governmental attendance at these meetings and workshops included representatives from leading NGOs and international organizations working with children in the country. Input from these deliberations have been extensively incorporated into this report. The BASF has also organized a full-day workshop for NGOs to review the draft report and to provide additional input.

37. The basic research for preparation of this report has also revealed that there is an information gap about the state of children in the country. While there is no dearth of information regarding the goals, policies, objectives and intentions of various governmental, non-governmental and other agencies on children, quantitative information and indicators on many aspects of the existing situation of children is lacking. The research has revealed that valuable primary information is regularly collected by government departments as routine work. Sporadic and anecdotal information is available on issues such as the state of street children, child labour, child prostitution, child abuse and other related aspects. To collect and store relevant information regarding children the necessity for the establishment of a Survey, Research and Information Cell at the Ministry of Social Welfare/Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs is urgently felt.

4. Information and training

38. The dissemination of information regarding the Convention in Bangladesh has been carried out mainly through publications, workshops and Child Rights Week programmes. Government, international agencies and NGOs have actively cooperated in this activity. The publications programme of the Government included printing of half a million copies of the Bangla version of the Convention. Four hundred and twenty thousand of these are in the form of a pocket-size booklet. Copies of this booklet have been distributed among head teachers of all 50,000 primary schools of the country. Copies of the booklet were also sent to imams (religious prayer leaders), development workers, scouts, Chairmen of union parishads (4,451 elected local government councils), mother's clubs, children's organizations, relevant government officials and NGOs throughout the country.

39. On the eve of ratification of the Convention in 1990 the Bangladesh Government organized a three-day National Workshop on Children. The main purpose of the workshop was to make various sections of the people in the country aware of the rights and well-being of the child and inform them about the Convention. The forum provided the first comprehensive interaction among people working in the country in the children's field. At the workshop the participants discussed a wide variety of subjects relating to the situation of children in Bangladesh and how it might be improved. This resulted in a series of recommendations. The workshop also expressed its strong support for the ratification of the Convention. Following the workshop, a full report of the proceedings was published, including the papers presented and the recommendations. Child Rights Week was observed nationwide by joint Government-UNICEF efforts in September-October 1992 inaugurated by the Prime Minister. The BSAF was an active partner in the observance of the Week. The programme included a children's rally and paintings by street children. Programmes on other days of the week included a seminar on child rights and the handing over of a memorandum on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention to the speaker of the Parliament by representatives of street and working children. The nationwide observance of Child Rights Week has now become an annual event.

40. The Training Academies of the Ministry of Social Welfare have included the Convention in their regular curriculum. All other training institutes and academies of the Government have been requested to include the same in their curricula.

41. Large-scale awareness of the Convention has resulted from numerous publications like the Samata, the Progoti, or the National Plan of Action for Children. The Bangladesh Shishu Academy with its network of district branches is gradually becoming a powerful medium for the dissemination of the Convention provisions throughout the country. Children's organizations of Bangladesh, including BSAF, have included advocacy for the Convention in all their activities. Their members are being made aware of the various provisions of the Convention.

B. Definition of the child

42. As in many other former British colonies, the statutes of Bangladesh include laws and regulations that were enacted long before its independence. These laws were enacted at different times and in response to different situations. The concept of "child" has thus been given varied definitions by different acts and statutes in force in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Majority Act of 1875 defines a person below the age of 18 years to be a child. The Guardians and Wards Act of 1890 states that if a child is made a ward of court then he/she will remain a ward until 21 years, thus defining him/her as a child up to that age.

43. The legal system in the country also makes a distinction between boys
and girls in defining a child. This is especially apparent in the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929. In this Act the age of majority, defined in terms of contracting a valid marriage, has been placed at 21 years for boys but 18 years for girls. Under Muslim law a child becomes an adult upon attaining puberty, which varies with gender. An average female child ceases to be a child upon attaining puberty at the age of 12 years and an average male child on reaching 15/16 years of age.

44. The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act of 1933 regards a person below the age of 15 years as being a child. The Employment of Children Act of 1938 prohibits the employment of children of 12 years in regular jobs. It has, however, provided labour by children of 12 years of age by restricting
certain jobs for children over 12 years and again certain jobs
between 15 and 17 years. The Bengal Vagrancy Act 1943 considers a person below the age of 14 years as a chid.

45. The Factories Act of 1965 defines a child as a person who has not completed 16 years of age. It prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory. The Children's Act of 1974 states that a child is a person below the age of 16 years.

46. The wide range in age in the legal definition result from the fact that these laws were framed at different times and were responding to different social situations. The policy makers in the country are aware of the anomaly in the definition of child in the country and have taken measures to examine it.

C. General principles

47. The formal laws of the country attempt to safeguard its citizens against all forms of discrimination through a number of constitutional and legal instruments. Legal protection for each citizen is guaranteed by the Constitution of Bangladesh. Articles 27, 28 and 31 of the Constitution lay down the general principles regarding the protection of children and others from all forms of discrimination.

48. Article 27 of the Constitution provides that protection by declaring that "all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law".

49. Article 28 of the Constitution provides that: (a) the State shall not discriminate against any citizen solely on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, (b) women shall have equal rights with men in all spheres of the State and public life, (c) no citizen shall solely on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to access to any place of public entertainment or resort or admission to any educational institution.

50. Article 31 specifically entitles a citizen to the right to protection by law. It states that "to enjoy protection by the law and to be treated in accordance with the law, and only in accordance with the law, is the inalienable right of every citizen, whatever they may be, and every other person for the time being within Bangladesh, and in particular no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law".

51. The broader religious and cultural traditions of Bangladeshi society do not consciously sanction discrimination in any form. All members of the society are to be treated equally. Social inequality and differential treatment of persons or groups, however, results from a variety of economic, social and cultural factors. The large population and limited resources of the country result in uneven spatial and social development. In the social and cultural sector preference for particular family norms or the preference for particular life styles leads to discrimination against groups or classes. The following paragraphs in this section attempt to elaborate upon these and other related points.

1. Non-discrimination (art. 2)

52. Against girl children. As in many other South Asian countries a boy child is often preferred to a girl child. The laws of Bangladesh do not discriminate on the basis of the sex of the child. The reasons why a girl is less welcome than a boy in Bangladesh are many. There is a misconception that the potential of the girl child for emerging as a member of the productive labour force and contributing to the economic advancement and social security of the family is limited compared to that of a boy child. Marriage of a female child often entails a considerable financial burden on the parents, and it is often perceived that investments made in the education of the girl child may not benefit her own family but the family of her husband and in-laws.

53. The desire for the boy child results in lesser emphasis on a girl child's rights. The literacy rate of the girl child, in the rural or urban setting, is lower than that of the boy. Seventy per cent of girls enrol in primary schools compared with 81 per cent of boys. Ten per cent of girls in the age group 10-14 attend school. The corresponding figure for boys is 23 per cent. One out of 10 girls goes to secondary school; in the case of boys the figure is one out of four. Most girls receive 20 per cent fewer calories than boys.

54. The Government is aware of the above situation and, as stated earlier, has launched a Decade Action Plan for the Girl Child 1991-2000. The Action Plan puts special emphasis on education, health and nutrition, and legal and social support for the girl child in order to remove the effects of the particular discrimination practised by the society. A quota for entry into government jobs is also proving to be an incentive in the right direction. Side by side with the rise in the literacy rate, general awareness of human rights and the emergence of a free press are leading to the exercise of due rights by women. The process is irreversible.

2. Best interests of the child (art. 3)

55. A review of the provisions contained in the laws relating to children in Bangladesh reveals that the laws are designed to encourage and ensure the best interest of the child. In fact, the various anomalies revealed in the definition of a child in various legislation in the country appear to have been the result of a conscious attempt by legislators to ensure the best interest of the child in different situations.

56. The Children's Act, 1974 and Children's Rules 1976, in spirit and intentions, appear to have been framed to safeguard the child's best interests during all kinds of legal processes. The provisions of the Act and the Rules constitute a comprehensive set of guidelines for maintenance of the best interest of the child. It advises the court to have regard to the character and age of the child and the living circumstances and other related factors in passing any order under the Act. Specifically, any joint trial of adult and child offenders is forbidden by this Act even if the offence is committed together with an adult. The Act provides for separate juvenile courts to be set up if possible and practicable in different locations from the courts where usual proceedings take place. The court is empowered by this Act to send a homeless child or one without any subsistence to an institutional home or to entrust him or her to a relative.

57. Among other pieces of legislation, section 90 of the Penal Code provides, for example, that a consent given by a person under 12 is in the eye of law no consent at all. Similarly, sections 10 and 11 of the Contract Act of 1872 provide that a minor is not competent to enter into any contract. The

Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 makes marrying a child, defined in the case of a male as a person under 18 years of age and in the case of a female as under 16 years, punishable.

58. Furthermore, the principle underlying article 3 of the Convention is best expressed in the Guardian and Wards Act where the Court, in appointing a guardian, must look after the support, health and education of the minor. The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 was enacted keeping in mind the welfare and best interests of the minor. The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act 1933 prohibits the pledging or bonding of the labour of a child below 15 years in the best interest of the child. Most labour laws, i.e. the Employment of Children Act, the Shops and Establishment Act, Factories Act and Mines Act, all have provisions regulating the working hours of child workers, prohibition of certain kinds of work, and day care facilities for small children who cannot be kept away from working mothers.

59. As for the guidance for maintaining the best interest of the child in formal institutions, standards are yet to be established. The judgement of the concerned official is relied upon in such cases. This judgement depends largely on the training, education and experience of the individual. The probation officer responsible for a child offender shall be under the guidance of the juvenile court which has committed the child to the institution or special care (under the Children's Act of 1974). He or she is to visit or receive visits from the child at reasonable intervals. He or she is to see to it that the relative of the child or the person to whose care the child has been committed observes the conditions of bond. The officer is to report to the court as to the behaviour of the child. He or she is to assist and befriend the child and, where necessary, endeavour to find him or her suitable employment.

3. The child's right to be heard (art. 12)

60. Bangladesh represents a traditional society where only a small percentage of the population is urbanized and modernized. A strong patriarchal extended family system dominates the society. In this family environment, the views of elders normally set the mode of behaviour in the family. Children are expected to comply with and follow these rules and mode of behaviour. Children are seen as minors, lacking proper maturity to take any major decision of a practical nature, their views are given little or no importance. The chid is the ward of his/her parents or guardians, who take most decisions for him or her. The choice of type of education, educational institution, place of residence or kind of life style to be followed is usually determined by the parents or guardians.

61. However, in educated urban middle class and upper class families the views of elder children are normally taken into consideration. Their views about the choice of education, career and cultural aspects are accorded increasing importance by these families as the children grow older.

62. In legal proceedings a child's views with respect to the case in question are to be taken into consideration. The Evidence Act of 1872 allows the acceptance of a minor's evidence and opinion. Under the Guardians and Wards Act, the court must take the child's views, especially in relation to his choice of residence with his choice of guardian, into consideration. Many social workers, however, feel that children's views are given little importance in legal proceedings.

D. Civil rights and freedoms

1. The right to name and nationality (art. 7)

63. Registration of all births is regulated under the Act of 1886. Even though legislation has existed for a long time, most births are still unregistered due to lack of awareness. The urban residents of the country usually record births. But in the rural areas most births remain unregistered due to lack of consciousness and facility. Whenever a record is needed, locally elected officials may certify a person's name, age and nationality. Certificates provided by schools are also widely in use for the school-going population. Recently, the Government has made provision to ensure the registration of all births and deaths through union and thana-level workers. This activity is being monitored by the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

64. Every child after birth is named as per accepted social norm. The name of the child may or may not include his or her father's family name as the last name, as there is not yet a custom of having a fixed family name in Bangladesh. Illegitimate or out-of-wedlock births are rare in Bangladesh.

65. In Bangladesh a person can acquire citizenship/nationality by birth, by descent, by migration and by naturalization as per citizenship order.

2. The right to identity (art. 8)

66. The usual method of maintaining legal identity in the country is to have a name and an address. Children are identified by their name and their father's name and address. Names are not usually changed. However, one can legally change one's name through a legal affidavit and an accompanying newspaper notification. The urban dwellers in the country usually have two sets of legal addresses, i.e. the permanent and the local address. Local address implies place of present residence/work. The permanent address refers to one's rural, village or the family address. Local address implies the place of present residence/work. Everyone has the right to have a name and an address.

67. Under the Constitution and citizenship rules, no Bangladesh citizen who is or had been domiciled in Bangladesh may be deprived of his citizenship except when he has obtained it through providing false information or if he has expressly renounced it. In the case of minors it has been prescribed that citizenship is to follow that of the father.

3. Freedom of expression (art. 13)

68. The basic rights and liberties of the Constitution apply to all citizens, including children as well as adults. Every citizen is assured of freedom of expression - the liberty to convey information and express thoughts, opinions and feelings in speech, writing or images or by any other means. Furthermore, every citizen is assured of freedom of information, i.e. the liberty to obtain and receive information and generally to be apprised of the utterances of others. Freedom of expression in writing is specially regulated by the Freedom of the Press Act. Press freedom means a right without prior review to publish writings and the liberty to express in writing one's thoughts and opinions without any restrictions other than those following from general provisions.

69. With urbanization and development the traditional Bangladesh society is undergoing a rapid change. The traditional family where respect for the elders was the norm the children's views did not matter very much. This is, however, changing. The change is occurring differently at different levels of society. The exposure to various electronic and print media in urban as well as in the rural areas is changing families. In some families children and minors now can express their views relatively freely.

70. Children in Bangladesh have no restriction on publishing magazines or journals if they can afford it. Children's groups usually publish such journals and are helped by adults in this endeavour. A number of children's journals are regularly being published in various cities. The contents of these journals ranges from general interest articles to specialized areas like literature, science and travel. Almost all schools and colleges publish annual magazines. There are also regular issues of supplements in daily newspapers dealing with children's essays and writings. The Bangladesh Shishu Academy has been publishing a children's journal for the last 14 years. A recent survey of the publications of nine leading publishing houses in the country found that on the average 23 per cent of their publications are for children. In the government sector, the Bangla Academy, the Shishu Academy and the Islamic Foundation are the main publishers of children's books. The Shishu Academy has so far published about 100 books for children while on average the other two organizations devoted about 14 per cent of their publications to children. Private publishing companies/houses and other private organizations also published magazines/books for children.

4. Access to appropriate information and ideas (art. 17)

71. At present the majority of the children of the country leave the educational system early in their lives. Many never reach the system at all. In this situation, children's access to information is mainly from informal sources. The family, friends, radio, TV, cinema, newspapers, books and periodicals and video shows are the avenues through which all kinds of information is passed on. The formal publications and other media productions are monitored through various regulations and agreed guidelines. No specific standards for children, however, have yet been evolved. Parents or guardians do usually monitor and control access to materials not meant for children.

72. Information originating in other countries are accessed through books, journals, video/audio cassettes, TV programmes and radio programmes. There are no restrictions or laws controlling their entry into the country except some provisions in the import regulations which restrict the import of books, magazines, films, video/audio cassettes that are considered pornographic, subversive or liable to hurt the religious feelings of any group within the country.

5. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 14)

73. The provisions concerning the rights of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion refer to rights which in Bangladesh are guaranteed to every citizen through various provisions of the Constitution. Article 39 of the Constitution guarantees (a) freedom of thought and conscience; (b) the right of every citizen to freedom of speech and expression; and (c) freedom of press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.

74. Article 41 of the Bangladesh Constitution states that, subject to law, public order and morality, (a) every citizen has the right to profess, practise or propagate any religion; (b) every religious community or denomination has the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions; (c) no person attending any educational institution shall be required to receive religious instruction or to attend any religious ceremony or worship if that instruction, ceremony or worship relates to a religion other than his own.

6. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (art. 15)

75. Under article 37 of the Constitution every citizen shall have the right to assemble and to participate in public meetings and processions peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restriction imposed by the law in the interest of public order or public health. Freedom of assembly refers to the liberty of organizing and attending meetings for information, the manifestation of opinion, demonstration or similar purposes, or for the presentation of artistic productions.

76. In recent years, the people of Bangladesh have been enjoying unhindered opportunities in organizing processions and demonstrations. Children too are not very far behind in these. Various children's group have organized public meetings and demonstrations regarding the rights of the child. Regular assemblies and processions are organized on the various occasions where children take part such as the annual Children's Week, Disabled Children's Day, White Cane Day and National Independence Day. Very recently the children of Dhaka city organized a demonstration in front of the Press Club and the UNICEF office to express their solidarity with the children of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

77. Article 38 of the Constitution ensures the right to form associations. Every citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by the law in the interests of morality and public order. Associations of numerous types abound in Bangladesh. The aims and objectives of these include rural, agricultural, cultural, social, economic, religious, moral, health, sports and mental development of various sections of the society.

78. Many children in Bangladesh both in the urban and in the rural areas belong to these associations. Children's organizations traditionally were formed with the objectives of ensuring proper physical, cultural and social development of children. There are many such grass-roots children's organizations like the Kochi Kachar Ashar, the Khelaghar Ashar, the Shapla Kurir Ashar and others. These have branches in rural and urban centres of the country and their membership often runs into tens of thousands. New organizations or associations that are emerging tend to be specialized in their aims and objectives. Thus, associations advocating the rights of children, rights of disadvantaged children, science clubs, adventure clubs or writers clubs or the like are the new trend. The Government, through the Ministry of Social Welfare and other agencies, maintains good contact with these associations and organizations. Some of the larger traditional organizations receive regular government grants.

7. Protection of privacy (art. 16)

79. Protection from intrusion into individual and family privacy is guaranteed by article 43 of the Constitution. The article states that every citizen shall have the right, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the security of State, public order, public morality or public health, to be secure in his or her home against entry, search and seizure and to the privacy of his or her correspondence and other means of communications. This article applies to both adults and children. Such protection of privacy is a fundamental right in a democratic society. The privacy of children in a family situation depends upon the social and educational status of the parents as well as their awareness of the issue and their economic well-being. The privacy of children in institutional homes and hostels is guided by the rules of the particular institutions.

80. The privacy of children in legal proceedings is further protected by the Children's Act of 1974. The law requires children to be tried in special courts where the entry of the general public is restricted. Only essential personnel required in the trial and the guardians or parents of the child may be present. Any other person requires special authorization from the court to be present. In such proceedings, the law requires that no report in any newspaper, magazine or news agency shall disclose any particulars of any case which leads directly or indirectly to the identification of the child involved, nor shall pictures of such child be published. The print media of the country and the law enforcement agencies are not properly aware of the privacy rights of child offenders. On some occasions, news and reports appear in daily newspapers and periodicals where the children in legal proceedings are identified by their names and addresses and even photographs. Various press associations, therefore, need to observe these rights of children.

E. Family environment and alternative care

81. In the social infrastructure in Bangladesh the family is the basic fundamental unit. Family ties are very strong and the socialization process of individuals takes place within the family. It plays a significant role in the social development of the country. Individuals continue to maintain close linkage with families and continue to carry on family values in thought and actions. In fact, families in Bangladesh continue to exert influence on its members throughout their lives. According to the 1991 census of the population the country had 21.6 million families. The average family size in that year was calculated at 5.44.

82. Marriage is universal in Bangladesh. The major religions in the country encourage marriage. Family environment in Bangladesh for the vast majority of families in rural areas is dominated by the extended family network. All elders in the family look after all children of the family. Thus, grandparents, uncles, aunts, elder brothers and sisters all share the responsibility of looking after the children of the family. Women in the family play a special role in the upbringing of the children in their early years. In the urban areas where nuclear families predominate it is the parents who ensure a proper environment for their children. As only small numbers of mothers in urban areas work, the children are mainly under their care. With the rapid pace of urbanization and with more and more working mothers in urban areas the traditional picture is changing fast.

1. Parental guidance in the child's exercise of
his or her rights (art. 18)

83. The Government respects the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents to provide proper guidance to their children and does not interfere in these activities. The families have important socio-economic functions and it provides the basic emotional, financial and economic support necessary for the growth and development of children. While there is less awareness of the formal rights of the child, there is widespread recognition in all sections of the society of children's special developmental needs. Even very poor parents attempt to ensure the minimum developmental environment for their child. Children are now sent to schools. Recent studies in poor communities have shown that a tremendous parental interest in the education of their children exists. The alarming figures of school drop-out rates thus do not point to an absence of demand for such education, but rather result from the financial inabilities of parents and lack of institutional facilities. Large numbers of children are regularly sent to religious schools, run free through charities, where they are educated to learn the various tenets of their religion.

2. Common responsibility of parents (art. 18)

84. The well-being and the proper development of children is the responsibility of the parents. The father, in his traditional role, is the breadwinner of the family. He ensures that sufficient resources are available for food, clothing, shelter, education and entertainment of the family. The mother usually looks after the house. In the initial years mother has a crucial role to play for the child. As the child grows up the father's role expands. The Government plays no active role in ensuring the common responsibility of parents other than encouraging family life. However, government activities in the fields of health and family planning result in considerable parenting education. The information being generated and disseminated by the Government on radio, TV and in the print media on children's health, nutrition, educational needs and other developmental needs are educating previously unaware parents and making them more responsible. Bangladesh has one of the best child survival records in the world these days.

85. The Government has promoted broad policies to promote equality between men and women within families through creation of employment opportunities, the provision of skills-development training and the encouragement of planned parenthood. In promoting smaller family sizes, the government policy also aims at gender equality in the family. In the face of the traditional son preference in Bangladesh society, the slogan for family planning is "Whether they are boys or girls, two children are enough". The programme launched by the Government aims at strengthening families to discharge their responsibilities smoothly and effectively. The main objectives of the government policies and programmes are to enable the family as the smallest unit of the society to bring about a change conducive to cohesive community development which in turn will contribute substantially to overall national development.

86. While the upbringing of children is the common responsibility of both parents, it is often the mother who has to bear the bulk of this responsibility. For many families, the male member has to live at his workplace away from his children and spouse. This workplace may be in a city within the country or, as in a large number of cases now, outside the country. The high cost of living in cities forces many husbands to leave their families in the village. In the other case, people working mainly in various Middle Eastern countries in low-skilled jobs cannot afford to take their families with them. Children of these families are brought up mainly by their mothers.

3. Assistance to parents (art. 18)

87. The welfare of the family has been given top priority by the Government in its social development programmes. In promoting small family size, the government policy also aims at gender equality. As mentioned above, there are of course no formal facilities for parenting education in Bangladesh. This is acquired through family and formal associations and also as a by-product of formal promotional activities in the fields of health, nutrition and education by governmental agencies and NGOs.

88. To help families, especially those headed by women, the Government and the NGOs in the country have been running a number of targeted programmes involving areas such as credit and entrepreneurship, skills development in different trades, poverty alleviation, vulnerable group development and so on. Some of the projects worth mentioning are women's vocational training for population activities, self-reliance project for rural women, agriculture- based programme for rural women, NGO community-based programme for women and children, technology for employment of rural women, rural mothers' club project.

89. Information regarding higher risk or exposure to living conditions prejudicial to proper development of children in the country is meagre. Family problems relating to broken families, single parenthood, insufficient spacing of birth, polygamy, parental alcoholism or drug abuse are found to some extent. The society being predominantly traditional, the magnitude of most of these problems is yet small. However, with the rapid social transformation relating to urbanization and industrialization, some of these may emerge as serious problems. Thus information systems, laws and support services attending to these situations should be put in place as soon as possible.

4. Child care (art. 18)

90. Facilities for institutional child care have yet to be developed adequately. In rural areas the children of poor working mothers are normally left in the care of relatives in the extended family or neighbours. In urban areas, the situation is not very different. Working mothers from poor areas or slums mostly leave their children alone or with relatives or neighbours if they are lucky. For the small number of working mothers from the middle- and upper-class neighbourhoods, house-maids or servants often provide the bulk of the day-care requirements.

91. Institutional day-care facilities have only begun, and that on an extremely modest scale. The Government through the MSW and MWACA, run some day-care centres in the capital city. The day-care centre as an institution has yet to develop in the private sector. Some national and international NGOs also maintain day care for working mothers. The Government also runs three baby homes for destitute children and abandoned infants where a total of 225 children are cared for. These are located in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi cities.

92. The exact number of orphaned children in the country is not known. However, with the kind of socio-economic development level and the general health and nutritional status, the figure is estimated to be significant. Their numbers are on the increase due largely to accidents, natural disasters such as cyclones, floods and tornadoes and other calamities. The Government attempts to provide care to orphaned children through a network of orphanages. To provide permanent care to orphaned children, the Government, through the DSS, maintains 73 centres with a capacity of 9,500 children throughout the country. About another 70,000 orphaned children receive care in 1,270 centres run by various NGOs. Out of these 1,270 centres, 972 receive partial grants from the Government. Some of the NGOs receive food aid from the Government.

5. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27)

93. The Family Courts Ordinance, 1985 regulates the maintenance of children in case of separation or divorce of parents. A father is bound to maintain his sons until they have attained the age of puberty. He is also bound to maintain his daughters until they are married. But he is not bound to maintain his adult sons unless they are disabled by infirmity or disease. The fact that the children are in the custody of their mother during their infancy does not relieve the father of the obligation to maintain them. If the father is poor and incapable of earning by his own labour, the mother, if she is in easy circumstances, is bound to maintain her children as the father would. If the father is poor and infirm, and the mother is also poor, the obligation to maintain the children lies with the grandfather, provided he is in easy circumstances.

6. Separation from parents (art. 9)

94. According to the tradition and practice of Bangladesh society the children normally reside with their parents. In case parents fail to do their duty of proper child rearing there are legal instruments to separate the children from such parents in their best interest. The Children's Act of 1974 empowers a juvenile court to provide for the separation of a child from his or her parent or legal guardian if they are found to be habitually neglectful or cruel towards the child. The court may order such a child to be sent to a certified institute or approved home or may order him or her to be committed to the care of a relative or other fit person named by the court and willing to undertake such care, until such child attains the age of 18 years or for any shorter period.

95. The court which makes an order committing a child to the care of a relative or other fit person can require that the person execute a bond, with or without sureties, to be responsible for the good behaviour of the child and for the observance of such other conditions as the court may impose to ensure the child may lead an honest and industrious life.

96. Where a parent or guardian of a child complains to a juvenile court that he or she is unable to control the child, the court may, if satisfied on inquiry that it is expedient to so deal with the child, order the child to be committed to a certified institute or an approved home for a period not exceeding three years.

97. As for the physical facilities for certified institutions and approved homes, the Government so far has been able to provide for two correctional institutes with a total capacity of 350 children, and 22 probation service centres with a total capacity of 220 children. It has plans to expand such facilities to the divisional headquarters.

7. Family reunification (art. 10)

98. There is no specific law dealing with the right of a child to reunification with his/her parents. A Bangladeshi child is eligible to enter/leave the country on presentation of valid travel documents.

8. Illicit transfer or non-return of children

99. Illicit transfer of children is not a problem of the society at present. Kidnapping by parents is unheard of in the country. Newspaper reports of such problems, especially when one of the parents is a foreigner, do appear rarely.

9. Alternative care, including adoption (arts. 20, 21)

100. Except for the intervention of the competent court no child can be removed from his parents against their will and unless the parents are arrested. Even then, a child of tender age in the greater interest of the minor is permitted to reside with the mother in jail up to a specified age determined by the jailer, four years to six years as provided in the Jail Code.

101. The Bangladesh Abandoned Children (Special Provision) Ordinance 1970 attempted to define an "abandoned child" and provided for some kind of procedure for adoption of such child. This was repealed by the Bangladesh Abandoned Children Repeal Ordinance of 1982. Muslim law does not recognize

adoption per se. Under the Guardianship and Wards Act 1890, guardianship of a minor child is permitted by a competent court in the best interest of the child.

102. The MSW runs a baby home with 225 places to provide care and protection to abandoned and unclaimed babies. The home collects and admits abandoned babies left in hospitals, roadsides or at other places at its own initiative or on referral by hospital authorities, police and others. This home looks after the babies from birth until they reach the age of five. The babies who pass the age of five are transferred to State orphanages. Some NGOs also run baby homes.

10. Abuse and neglect

103. Children in Bangladesh are protected from abuse and neglect by law. The Children's Act of 1974 has clear specifications on penalties for cruelty to children, for employing children to beg, for being drunk while in charge of a child, for giving intoxicating liquor or dangerous drugs to a child, and for permitting a child to enter places where liquor or dangerous drugs are sold. There are many other clear instructions in the 1974 law and other laws of the country that is meant for safeguarding abuse and neglect of children.

104. Government efforts at tackling child abuse and neglect are supplemented by the efforts of NGOs.

11. Periodic review of placement (art. 25)

105. As per the provisions of the Children's Act of 1974, periodic review of children placed in the certified institutes or in approved homes is the responsibility of the concerned juvenile court. The court carries out this activity through the periodic reports of the probation officers it appoints to monitor the development of the child in the institute or home. These reviews, however, are a review of the conditions of detention.

F. Basic health and welfare

1. Survival and development

106. The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. Births are usually attended by female family members with perhaps an untrained villager or friend to help. Fewer than 10 per cent of rural births and 45 per cent of urban births are attended by someone trained in modern obstetric practices. Within hours of birth 12 children out of every 1,000 die, 8 of them from birth injuries, often caused by untrained attendants, 3 because of prematurity and 1 of other causes. Low birth weight babies have a high risk of mortality. Approximately a third to a half of all newborn babies weigh less than 2,500 grams. Maternal malnutrition, small stature of the mother, infections during pregnancy, anaemia and closely spaced pregnancies are contributory factors to low birth weight.

107. In the first week of life, of the cohort of 1,000 newborns being
followed, a further 23 babies die - 16 because of prematurity, 5 because of neonatal tetanus and the remaining 2 of other causes. Between the first week of life and the end of the first year, a further 75 per 1,000 live births
die - 11 from tetanus, 24 from acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia, 13 from diarrhoea and 27 from other causes.

108. Clean water for drinking is now available to over 96 per cent of all households. Unfortunately, little effect has been shown so far on diarrhoeal disease incidence rates because the other causal factors have yet to be removed. Over 96 per cent of the population use tubewell water for drinking purposes but only 16 per cent use it for all their needs. Given the abundance and easy accessibility to surface water, most people still use ponds and other natural waterways for washing, thereby exposing themselves to diarrhoeal and water-borne diseases.

109. The Child Nutritional Status Survey 1989-1990 of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reported that over a third of all children were severely stunted and another third were moderately stunted. Two thirds of all children were underweight and more than 14 per cent were wasted. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has already set up a National Nutrition Council and a National Nutritional Policy is under way.

2. Health and health services

110. Health care system. Broadly speaking, health-care services in the country are delivered by four distinct sectors: public, private, semi-government and traditional. The public, private and semi-government as distinguished here essentially refer to the allopathic system of modern medicine. The modern health-care delivery system is based on the primary health-care (PHC) concept which has the following five levels of service delivery: (a) home and community level; (b) union level: union subcentres/health and family welfare centres; (c) thana level: thana health complex; (d) district level: district hospital; and (e) national level/tertiary referral level.

111. The last 15 years have seen considerable expansion of the health infrastructure. In addition to district hospitals, there are now 83 functioning maternal and child welfare centres at the district and thana levels, most of which have 10 beds, a staff of two FWAs and a supporting staff. Almost all of the 460 thanas have a thana health complex each of which serves an average population of over 200,000. About 3,400 out of the 4,400 unions have either a union health and family welfare centre or a rural dispensary, each providing outpatient care to about 25,000 people.

112. Special health-care programmes. The Government is committed to achieving Health For All by the Year 2000 by adopting the primary health-care approach. As of 1989, the estimated under-5 child population of the country was about 16.5 million which represents 14.9 per cent of the total population. It is estimated that over 800,000 children under 5 die each year in Bangladesh. These children die mainly from diseases such as diphtheria, pertussis, poliomyelitis and tuberculosis. Against this backdrop, the Government

undertook a number of special programmes of preventive and promotive interventions to reduce mortality and morbidity. Some of the major programmes are:

(a) Expanded programme on immunization (EPI): EPI has made a significant breakthrough in the country with coverage increasing from about 2 per cent in 1985 to 77 per cent in March 1990. It now (1993) covers 92 per cent of children under the age of 2 years and 80 per cent of reproductive age women. Coverage levels established in 1990 have been sustained. In February 1993, 74 per cent of all children in the 12-23-month age group were fully immunized. Coverage of all six antigens (fully immunized) among the 0-11-month age group reached 50 per cent in 1992;

(b) Control of diarrhoeal diseases (CDD): Using governmental and non-governmental channels, the two basic strategies to control diarrhoeal diseases have been home based oral hydration therapy (ORT) to prevent dehydration and increasing the production and access to oral rehydration salt (ORS). The diarrhoea epidemic control programme has also received priority attention. Diarrhoea training units in medical colleges and ORT corners at health clinics have been established. While ORT awareness is high at 93 per cent the ORT usage rate is only 53 per cent. Of all who get treatment, fully half get ORS;

(c) Acute respiratory infections (ARI) disease control: Nearly 30 per cent of all deaths among under-5 children can be attributed to ARI, 90 per cent of which are from pneumonia. The remaining 10 per cent is due to measles, which is being addressed by the EPI programme. A national action programme has been developed and due priority has been given to ARI in the Fourth Five Year Plan;

(d) Maternal and neonatal health: The training of traditional birth attendants (TBA) is fully under way to ensure safe delivery. So far, 3,000 TBAs have been trained. The aim is to have a trained TBA in every village. A low-cost safe delivery kit has been prepared and marketed. NGOs have also developed programmes for TBA training. Tetanus causes 50 per cent of neonatal deaths in Bangladesh. Due to high tetanus toxoid coverage (80 per cent in 1993) the incidence of tetanus has dropped to less than half of 1986 levels (41/1000 live births in 1986 to 10-16/1000 live births in 1990);

(e) Iodine deficiency disorder (IDD): Iodine deficiency disorder is a major problem in Bangladesh. Recent unofficial reports state that 44 per cent of the population of the hilly areas suffer from visible goitre. About 36 per cent of the population (40 million people) are classed as vulnerable. Legislation for universal salt iodation was passed in August 1989. Since 1 January 1994 sale of non-iodized salt has been banned. Since October 1991, 120 salt iodation plants have been commissioned in major salt industries for the production of iodized salt. The availability of iodized salt has increased dramatically in recent years from 0 per cent in 1987 to 19 per cent in 1991;

(f) Nutritional blindness prevention programme: Nutritional blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is a serious problem in Bangladesh. More than 900,000 children under six suffer from night blindness. It is estimated that 30,000 children become blind each year and that 50 per cent of these children die within a few months of the blinding episode. The Government has initiated action to control this by distributing vitamin A. Coverage varies from 45-70 per cent in different areas of Bangladesh. Efforts are also under way to promote increased consumption of available green leafy vegetables;

(g-) Promotion of breast-feeding: Breast-feeding, with its advantage for child health, has been widely advocated and promoted. Its nutritional, immunological and mother-child bonding aspects have been emphasized. The campaign for the Protection and Promotion of Breast-Feeding (CPPBF) was established in 1989 by a group of concerned professionals. The "baby friendly" hospital initiative (BFHI) of Bangladesh was initiated by the CPPBF in 1990. In August 1992 eight hospitals were assessed by an international review team. Three hospitals were certified "baby friendly" and five received certificates of commitment. Legislation has been enacted banning the import of baby food to encourage breast-feeding;

(h) Child nutrition: The combination of poverty and ignorance has contributed to the high prevalence of severe malnutrition. Nearly one third to one half of the babies born are below 2.5 kg. The National Nutrition Council has been revised, strengthened and entrusted with the task of formulating a nutrition policy for improving the nutritional status of children. The Government has also established 20 child nutrition units at the thana level to promote nutrition information among villages.

3. Disabled children (art. 23)

113. In the Constitution of Bangladesh the basic rights of disabled persons have been guaranteed along with those of normal people. The Government is very conscious of its commitments to achieving the goals of the World Programme of Action concerning disabilities to be implemented during the United Nations Decade of the Disabled. As a result, a comprehensive national policy indicating measures for ensuring the rights of disabled persons is being mooted by the Government. The policy will aim to equalize their opportunities in education and training for their skill development and rehabilitation. Measures will also be taken for the creation of employment opportunities, income maintenance and social security. The accessibility of the disabled to the physical environment, public information (through Braille, sign language, audiovisual aids) will be enlarged. To increase their employment opportunities the policy will provide incentives to employers, fixed quotas for employment, as well as provide for the detection, treatment and prevention of disabilities. The policy is being prepared jointly with relevant government departments and NGOs.

114. Keeping in view the main goals of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, 1983-1992, i.e. prevention of disability, rehabilitation of disabled persons and equalization of opportunities for people with disabilities, a number of measures have already been initiated in the country to identify the causes of disability and difficulties/obstacles to its prevention, and rehabilitation and equalization of opportunities for the people with disabilities.

115. While a national policy for the welfare of disabled people is being prepared, certain provisions for ensuring some of the basic civil rights of disabled people in a limited manner have been introduced in the country through different programmes and activities undertaken both at the government and NGO levels since the early 1960s. To promote the employment of disabled persons, including orphans and destitutes, 10 per cent of jobs (in the non-gazetted category) have been kept reserved in all government employment suitable for them through administrative decision of the Government.

116. National Development Plans have consistently taken up projects and programmes which directly benefit disabled persons and the required funds for these projects and programmes have been arranged from local, national and international sources. In this context, it may be mentioned that the Second, Third and Fourth Five Year Plans of Bangladesh specifically included welfare and development of disabled persons as one of their main activities. The Department of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Welfare successfully implemented the projects and programmes included in the Second and Third Five Year Plans (1980-1990). The projects undertaken in the Fourth Five Year Plan are also being implemented on schedule. Table 2 indicates the number of projects taken up in each of the plan periods with their financial allocations:

Table 2. Number of projects and allocations for the disabled

Plan period	No. of projects	Allocations (Tk. million)
Second plan (1980-1985)	8	63
Third plan (1985-1990)	4	139
Fourth Plan	7	110
Total	19	312

Programmes

117. The Government, with the assistance of UNICEF and several NGOs, has taken a number of preventive measures including: (a) the expanded programme of immunization (EPI); (b) distribution of vitamin A capsules; (c) treatment for diarrhoeal diseases; (d) breast-feeding; (e) nutrition supplements to pregnant mothers for minimizing death as well as some disabilities among the children.

118. Special education and other services provided by the Government: The MSW is responsible for planning and implementing different programmes for the protection, care, education, training and rehabilitation of the disabled. These are:

(a) Physically handicapped centres: There are three composite physically handicapped centres where education up to primary level along with prevocational training for children with hearing and visual impairment is provided. Residential facilities are available for students;

(b) Schools for hearing/visually impaired: There are three primary schools for hearing impaired and one secondary school for the visually impaired. All these schools have partial residential facilities. Prevocational training is also provided at the school;

(c) Integrated special education programme: There are 47 integrated units for special education for visually impaired within different secondary schools in different districts run by the Government. In order to assist these students to catch up with general students the Government has arranged one resource teacher and one resource room in each of these schools. Special coaching to teach Braille, abacus and mobility are being provided there. The students are also supplied with Braille books, teaching and other aids. The total capacity of the institutions for the disabled is 1,140 at a time; 3,195 students have so far been admitted to these institutions out of which 2,456 graduated successfully and were rehabilitated through jobs and self-employment;

(d) Vocational training and employment facilities: During the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons, the Government set up the Employment and Rehabilitation Programme for the Handicapped (ERPH) with financial and technical assistance from SIDA and the Swedish Free Mission. The ERPH was established with a capacity to accommodate 105 trainees per year. The trainees are mostly selected from different government and privately run special schools according to their aptitude and interest. Some orthopaedically handicapped are also admitted there. They are trained in mechanical trades, tailoring/canvas work, woodwork, poultry raising. Within this centre an industrial production unit has been running for higher training-cum-production of plastic products where 90 per cent of the workers are disabled, mostly deaf and orthopaedically handicapped. Since a majority of the population of Bangladesh live in the rural areas a pilot rural rehabilitation centre with a capacity of 40 trainees per year has been established at Fakirhat, Bagerhat, with the same purpose. A National Centre for Special Education (NSCE) has also been established by the Government to cater for the special educational needs of the disabled.

119. Services provided by NGOs. There are many NGOs which have been rendering services to the disabled for a long time. In order to facilitate, standardize, coordinate and encourage these NGOs, the Government is helping them with legal support, needed guidelines and other support for developing the right type of programmes and mobilizing local and foreign assistance. In some cases the Government has provided financial and technical support. For example, the Government has provided physical infrastructure, including building, furniture and equipment, to two national NGOs, the Bangladesh National Federation of the Deaf and the Society for Care and Education for the Mentally Retarded, to the tune of Tk 26.64 and 15.8 million respectively for the purpose.

120. A recent study reveals that about 117 NGOs have so far been established and registered with the Department of Social Services for the welfare of disabled persons. Programmes undertaken mainly focus on the following areas: special education, training and rehabilitation of the disabled and awareness-building amongst the parents, guardians, planners, policy-makers and general people about the issue of disability.

Table 3. Number of NGOs servicing disabled children

Disability type	National organization	Branch of national organization	Local organization
Visually impaired	2	52	9
Hearing impaired	1	6	9
Mentally retarded	1	21	1
Orthopaedically handicapped	1	3	5

4. Social security (art. 26)

121. The country's economic situation at present does not allow the type of social security system that is available in the developed countries. A very limited measure of social security is available to the formal sector workers and officials in the form of pensions and various types of insurance. The vast majority of the population, engaged in the informal sector, does not have access to such facilities. The extended family system provides the only form of social security for the majority of the children in the country. The security provided by the Government in the form of the network of orphanages run by the MSW as well as the orphanages run by the NGOs is not quite sufficient.

5. Standard of living (art. 27)

122. With the very low family income it is very difficult for families to provide for the proper nutritional, housing and clothing needs. A large number of people get only 1,800 calories per day and live in very dilapidated slum conditions without any amenities or services. The improvement of the condition is related to the overall development of the country. However, the Government has, since 1986, taken up environmental improvement programmes in slum areas of large cities and towns. The Slum Improvement Project (SIP) run by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has since been extended to a total of 25 towns all over the country including the four largest urban centres. The project benefits more than 35,000 families.

123. In the rural areas the Department of Social Services operates programmes like the Expanded Rural Social Services Programme, the Thana Social Services Programme, the Community-Based Family Development Programme, and the Rural Mother's Club for Population Activities. The Expanded Rural Social Services Programme aims at overall welfare of the rural families in all thanas of the country (a thana covers 150,000 to 200,000 people on average).

6. Drug abuse

124. The use and abuse of drugs has a long history in Bangladesh. During the British colonial rule, the legal sale of opium and cultivation of cannabis was organized and supervised by the Excise and Revenue Department and codified in a number of Acts, such as the Opium Act, 1878, the Bengal Excise Act, 1909, the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930 and Opium Smoking Act, 1932. During the Pakistan regime, there was no basic change in the legal framework except some amendments to suit the need of the time. In 1984, the Government banned the consumption of opium and closed the opium vends in the country. In 1989 the cultivation, trade and use of cannabis was banned. At present, there is no legal cultivation, trade or use of opium or cannabis in Bangladesh. Hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine were unknown in Bangladesh until about 1983 when heroin was first detected.

125. The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh promulgated the Narcotics Control Act in January 1990. To fulfil the objective of this Act, the National Narcotics Control Board was reconstituted and the Department of Narcotics Control was established. During the last 1� years, the Department has shown significant achievements in mobilizing public opinion against drug abuse, apart from carrying on enforcement activities. There is no scope to feel complacent with the present performance, particularly in the backdrop of drug addiction in this part of the world.

126. A few statistics of the recent past relating to seizure, arrest, etc. in Bangladesh will throw some light on the nature of drug abuse in Bangladesh. The Department of Narcotics Control filed 1,753 cases and arrested 1,471 offenders for drug trafficking during 1990. Of these offenders, 171 were for heroin, 10 for cocaine, 10 for opium, 585 for cannabis and 530 for illegal distillation. During the period January to June 1991, 679 persons were arrested in 771 cases of illicit trafficking. During the year 1990, about 1,137 drug addicts were treated in the Central Treatment Centre, Dhaka. Of these patients, 65 per cent were in the age group of 21 to 30 years, 54 per cent were married, 30 per cent were unemployed, 13 per cent were drivers of different vehicles, 25 per cent were illiterate and the education of about 31 per cent was below secondary school level. The Bureau of Statistics has undertaken a programme for an epidemiological survey which is expected to reveal details about the drug abuse trends in Bangladesh.

G. Education, leisure and cultural activities

1. Education, including vocational training and guidance (art. 28)

127. Existing educational structure. Basic education in the country consists of five years of primary education followed by five years of secondary education and two years of higher secondary education. The higher education system comprises a two-year course for a Bachelor's degree in liberal arts or science or a three-year honours course for a Bachelor's degree or a four to five year course for a Bachelor's degree in a professional discipline. Post-graduate courses leading to the M.A., M.S.S., M.Sc., M. Phil. and Ph.D degrees are available in almost all faculties, including some specialized

post-graduate studies in professional subjects. A parallel system of religious education known as the madrasah system also exists with similarly advancing levels.

128. According to a recent government survey there were some 49,968 primary schools, 2,000 junior high schools, 8,715 secondary schools, 10 cadet colleges, 870 colleges and 9 universities in the country in 1991. There were 105 other institutions offering technical and engineering education at different levels, 65 institutions for medical (both modern and traditional) and 68 institutions for teacher training of different categories. In addition, there are a number of institutions for special types of education, such as 239 Sanskrit and Pali elementary schools, some 2,500 kindergartens, 868 madrasahs, and 58,124 mosque-based maktabs or elementary schools teaching the reading of the Holy Quran and religious education. According to a report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), the total number of students in all of the 160,574 educational institutions in the country in 1991 was 21,050,000. The total number of teachers in all these educational institutions was 583,420. As of 1991, out of 17,020,000 children only 12,869,000, or 75.6 per cent went to school, 60 per cent of them dropped out and only 40 per cent completed their primary school cycle up to grade V.

2. Aims of education (art. 29)

129. The planners in the country have put emphasis on investment in education for human resource development early on. It is significant that all the Five Year Plans in Bangladesh laid emphasis on investment in people, in primary education and human resource development and had included reduction of illiteracy as an important objective. The first Five Year Plan provided for increasing enrolment from 6 million to 8,590,000 (increase in enrolment of the age group from 58 per cent in 1973 to 73 per cent in 1978), increased participation of girls and the modification of curricula to make them "more relevant to real life circumstances in the country". The major educational objective of the Second Five Year Plan (1980-1985) was to "eliminate illiteracy and achieve universal primary education as steps for comprehensive human resource development". The Plan envisaged an increase in enrolment from 7 million to 13 million (58 per cent to 91 per cent of the age group 5-10 years) and to reduce urban/rural and male/female disparities, laid emphasis on reduction of wastage in the primary education system and aimed at a 50 per cent completion rate by the year 1987. As regards increasing the access to education, it provided for a norm of one school for 2,000 people or 2 sq. km. The Third Five Year Plan (1985-1990) also had "universal primary education and human resource development" as one of its major objectives. The Plan aimed at increasing enrolment to 70 per cent of the primary age group population to "ensure their retention for completion of the primary school cycle in order that Universal Primary Education might be achieved by the end of the century".

130. The current Fourth Five Year Plan (1990-1995), like the previous plans, aims to accelerate economic growth, but focuses on poverty alleviation and employment generation through human resource development. It has the following 11 objectives for the education sector, of which 9 may be taken to relate to basic education for children, youth and adults: (1) to introduce compulsory primary education; (2) to reduce mass illiteracy; (3) to enlarge and upgrade the base of science education at all levels; (4) to enhance the functional character of technical education and vocational training by making them more job-oriented through constant and appropriate links with the employment market; (5) to extend support to the universities to maintain an optimum size as warranted by manpower planning; (6) to develop higher institutions of learning, namely, the general and professional universities and the Bangladesh Institutes of Technology as "centres of excellence"; (7) to ensure optimum use of existing facilities at all levels and to introduce a process of accountability in the education system; (8) to utilize the multisectoral potentials of education with respect to other objectives, awareness, population planning, extension services, etc; (9) to maintain regional balance in respect of the growth of educational facilities; (10) to ensure enhanced participation of women in every possible sphere of education; and (11) to inculcate moral values in society.

131. Expenditure on education. The index of public sector expenditure on education at constant prices, both development and revenue outlays taken together, increased from 100 in 1974/75 to 446.9 in 1989/90 showing a growth rate of 10.5 per cent per annum. From the commencement of the Third Five Year Plan in 1985/86 to 1991/92 this rate escalated further at a rate of 18.61 per cent per annum. Public expenditure on education had increased from 1.1 per cent of GNP in 1975 to 1.5 per cent in 1980, 1.6 per cent in 1985 and 1.9 per cent in 1990. Although this is indicative of significant efforts on the part of the Government, the resources available to this sector are still short of actual requirements and far below the Asian average of 4.5 per cent of GNP (1987).

132. Yet it is to be reckoned that in the original Fourth Plan, out of the total allocation of Taka 23,627.3 million for the entire education sector, Taka 12,138.9 million (51.38 per cent) were earmarked for the primary education subsector and Taka 447.5 million (1.92 per cent) for mass education. In the Three Year Rolling Investment Programme (TYRIP), fiscal year 1993-1995, the allocation for primary education was increased to 59.93 per cent of the total education sector. Budgetary allocations to the education sector, both from the revenue budget and the annual development plan allocations, have been continuously increasing. Between 1988/89 and 1991/92, the revenue budget allocation to the education sector increased from 13.7 per cent to 14.0 per cent and in the same period the development allocation increased from 5.96 per cent to 8.65 per cent. During the same time, the share of primary education out of total education increased in the development budget from 47.1 per cent to 73.7 per cent and in the revenue budget from 45.9 per cent to 46.8 per cent.

Significant education projects

133. Primary education. The attempt to universalize primary education started during the Second Five Year Plan and during the Second and Third Plans the Government implemented the First and Second Primary Education Projects. Both these projects had different components to strengthen the primary education subsector aimed at improvement of management, simplifying curriculum, revising textbooks and providing teachers with better training, etc. It was decided that similar activities should continue during the Fourth Five Year Plan. The bulk of the Fourth Plan was allocated to two programmes: (a) Development of Primary Education in Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna divisions at a cost of Taka 7,636.7 million; and (b) Development of Primary Education in Chittagong at a cost of Taka 2,751 million. These two programmes provide a model for undertaking multiple interlinked activities to strengthen the primary education system. The programmes, together known as the General Education Project (GEP), aims to increase the enrolment in primary schools and finding new methods to attract and retain poor and disadvantaged girls. The cost of primary education per pupil is expected to be reduced through reduction of drop-outs and repetitions and more efficient deployment of teachers. The total project cost is US$ 310.2 million. The GEP aims at increasing equitable access, improving the quality of education and strengthening the management quality of primary education. Components of the project include physical construction and repair of school buildings, operating satellite schools, non-formal education programme, female secondary school scholarship programme, training of primary school teachers, curriculum and textbook development.

134. Non-formal education. In Bangladesh children who cannot or do not get enrolled in primary schools, those who drop out from schools, adolescents who relapse into illiteracy or youth and adults who have never benefited from any schooling receive non-formal education. Recognizing the importance of non-formal education, during the current Fourth Plan a project entitled Integrated Non-Formal Education Programme for the age groups 4-5, 6-12 (drop-outs and never enrolled in schools) and adult has been undertaken. Through NGO initiatives and government programmes a variety of night schools, community literacy centres, pre-primary feeder schools, satellite schools and mosque-based maktabs have been operating to provide non-formal education. These efforts have achieved encouraging results even though their coverage is very limited. Most leading NGOs have literacy programmes in the field, such as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Swanirvar Bangladesh (SB), Village Education Resource Centre (VERC), Proshika Manabic Unnayan Kendra (PMUK), Bangladesh Association for Community Education (BACE), Underprivileged Children's Educational Programme (UCEP), Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM), Jagoroni Chakra and many others. Since a large number of children are not enrolled or drop-outs, some NGOs pioneered systems of non-formal education designed to reach those children who are outside the government system. BRAC, for example, has 12,000 schools covering 360,000 rural children, and plans to expand to 50,000 schools by 1995. The drop-out rate is as low as 2 per cent and about 70 per cent of the students are girls. Over 95 per cent of their graduates join formal primary schools in grades IV and V. Thus, BRAC's non-formal education acts as a feeder and complementary system to the formal stream. The teachers in most cases are women.

135. The most successful community-supported schools are those run by BRAC, a voluntary organization established after the war in order to help destitute women and families. BRAC started its experimental programme in 22 villages and by late 1989, the number of schools reached 2,500 and another 2,000 were to be established by 1991. The main idea is to provide basic literacy and numeracy for children from landless families in a three-year period by professional teachers (somewhat like barefoot doctors in China) selected from the local community. One of the main goals is also to attract female children and employ female teachers. There are two primary school models - non-formal primary education (NFPE) and primary education for older children who have never gone to school. These schools have tried to remedy some of the deficiencies of the formal school system, e.g. through community participation in management of school, flexible school time for working children, a carefully developed curriculum to match the socio-economic environment of the poor families, etc. It has been found that parents are eager to send their children to school and, contrary to popular belief, economic activity of children is not a constraint to children's attendance in school.

136. The Underprivileged Children's Education Programme (UCEP) has made a modest but noble effort to help working children attain basic literacy and vocational skills. UCEP began its operations in 1972, with two distinct programmes - the General School Programme and the Technical Education Programme. The former is designed to give underprivileged (working) children an opportunity for basic education. Within the four-year period the children complete the curriculum which covers language (English and Bangla), mathematics, social studies, physical and environmental science. UCEP provides for general (basic) education up to completion of grade VIII. It runs two academic sessions, each having 135 school days, in a calendar year. The lessons are specially focused on learning skills, and the utilization of a shortened school year is optimized by keeping the syllabus contents relevant to the practical needs of the students.

137. The UCEP Technical Education Programme takes in as many children as possible from the UCEP general school to train them in a technical trade. Graduates are in good demand in the employment market. Trade courses, with practical training, are of 1-3 years in duration and enable graduates to have skilled jobs. Usually, girls are fewer in the technical schools, but UCEP's policy is to promote girls' participation in technical education. Some specific trades such as making garments, knitting and basic electronics are aimed at increasing marketable skills among the girls.

138. There are 23 general schools with more than 11,000 children and three technical training schools with 1,100 students participating at a given time in three cities, Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna. UCEP is mostly donor funded. It may seen to be an expensive endeavour, but in fact it is cost effective. All expenses for education and training of the poor children and adolescents are borne by UCEP. Eventually, the children are turned into adult semi-skilled and skilled workers through the UCEP non-formal education and training programmes.

139. As a part of the efforts to improve the socio-economic status of the poor working children, UCEP facilitates, through its employment support component, proper employment of its target group following their education and training. For this purpose UCEP establishes "dynamic linkage" with employers, especially in the private sector.

3. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities

140. The Government is highly aware of the recreational and cultural needs of the children. There are various types of facilities, both institutional and non-institutional, for recreation and cultural activities. Private groups as well as government organizations provide facilities for recreation. There are children's organizations also. One leading organization in the government sector is the Shishu Academy. The SA organizes countrywide cultural activities through its national headquarters and its district branches. These cultural activities include songs, dances, drama, children's films and others. The Academy also organizes countrywide competition in all these activities. The Academy maintains a children's library and publishes a children's magazine. Besides the Academy, other private children's organizations such as the Kochi Kachar Ashar and the Shapla Kurir Ashar also organize cultural activities. Schools and colleges are also important institutions for organized games and cultural activities for children in the country.

H. Special protection measures

1. Child refugees and asylum-seekers (art. 22)

141. Instances of large-scale child asylum-seeking has not been experienced by Bangladesh to this date. The large number of Myanmar refugees seeking asylum in Bangladesh involved a large number of children. Everyone was given asylum and properly taken care of with the help of the Government's own resources as well as with the help of United Nations agencies and national and international NGOs.

2. Children in conflict with law (arts. 40, 39, 37)

142. The treatment and the rights of children in conflict with law in Bangladesh is guided by the Children's Act of 1974. This law was enacted with the aim of consolidating and amending the laws relating to the custody, protection and treatment of children and the trial and punishment of youthful offenders. The law empowers the Government to establish one or more juvenile courts for any local area.

143. When a juvenile court is established in a local area, all cases in which a child is charged with the commission of an offence shall be tried in that court. The law also requires that no child shall be jointly charged with or tried for any offence together with an adult. In the trial of a case in which a child is charged with an offence the court, as far as practicable, is in a building or a room different from that in which the ordinary sittings of the court are held, or on different days or at different times. Information or photographs identifying the child involved in the court proceedings cannot be published in print or any other media.

144. The law further provides guidelines for consideration of the court, e.g. character, age, circumstances of the child, report of the probation officer and other matters in the interest of the child. Bail for the juvenile offenders has been encouraged and if not bailed out he is required to be detained in a remand home or a place of safety. Immediately after arrest the law requires that the police officer request the probation officer to obtain information regarding the background and other circumstances of the child.

3. Torture, capital punishment and inhuman treatment

145. The Children's Act of 1974 categorically prohibits the death sentence and a sentence of life imprisonment against a child can only be given in very

special circumstances. Generally, certified institutions have been recommended for detention of youth. Children are also protected by this law from abusive parents and guardians.

4. Child labour (art. 32)

146. In an agrarian economy such as Bangladesh, the connotation given to child work may be problematic because children take part in various activities and for different reasons. Children perform purely household activities, various productive work within the family enterprise and also work as wage labour outside the household. They work either to assist their parents or to learn certain skills or purely for reasons of survival. Whether such activities should be considered deleterious to their physical and mental development depends on the length, intensity and the nature of the work. Light household work may not be harmful but beneficial to the extent that work does not interfere with school attendance.

147. However, in poor households, children's participation in household work often constitutes an integral part of the household's survival strategy because it enables the adults to perform productive work. In such cases, children are forced to work long hours regularly and are hindered from going to school.

148. According to the Children's Act, children under the age of 15 will not be employed or permitted to work in any occupation connected with (a) transport of passengers, goods or mails by the railway; (b) and handling of goods within the limits of any port. The existing law also bars children below 12 years of age from working in workshops. It does not, however, forbid any child from working as an apprentice or from vocational training. The Act further implies that it does not restrict child employment in agricultural activity or any other light work in the informal sector.

149. Two Acts, the Children (Pledging of Labour) Act of 1933 and the Children's Act, 1974 are more comprehensive and more applicable to all kinds of employment of both in agriculture and industry. The 1913 Act bars the employment of children in activities that are detrimental to their health and in which the contract is not terminable within a week's notice.

150. To check the compliance of the laws in the case of industrial employment, there are inspectors who supervise industrial establishments. However, formal employment in the industrial sector is limited in Bangladesh and there is such a vast supply of unskilled labourers that the inducement to use children is not very great among employers. Besides workers' trade unions can also prevent child work in order to protect their own interests.

5. Sexual exploitation and abuse (art. 34)

151. The true extent and nature of sexual exploitation that occurs in the country is not known. There has not been any comprehensive research on the subject. Sexual exploitation of teen-age girl children as prostitutes has been identified and studied. The majority of child prostitutes are girls and

are induced to take up the profession owing to acute economic necessity. With little or no education and low skills no other work is easily available. Many of these girls are kidnapped from their homes and sold to brothels.

6. Trafficking, sale and abduction (art. 35)

152. Trafficking, sale and abduction of children is a problem in the country. The Government is aware of the problem and has taken measures to stop such practices. In the absence of systematic statistical information the magnitude and nature of the problem cannot be properly understood. A recent government document estimates that their number may be a few thousand women and children who are subject to trafficking, mainly to Middle Eastern countries, for various purposes. The Penal Code of Bangladesh forbids trafficking of women and children. There are other laws that discourage dealing with women and children for immoral purposes. However, government resources are far too stretched to be effective in stopping these practices. Among the recent administrative measures to discourage trafficking is the strengthening of border check-posts through which such trafficking usually takes place. Campaigns against such activities have also began using the national media.

APPENDIX

Children's laws of Bangladesh

1. The Penal Code, 1860, under section 82 provides that nothing is an offence which is done by a child under 12. Under section 90 of the Code a consent is not a consent if it is given by a person who is under 12 years of age. Kidnapping a male under 14 years of age and a female under 16 years of age from lawful guardianship is an offence under section 361 and kidnapping or abducting a person under the age of 10 is also an offence under section 364A of the Code.

2. The Divorce Act, 1869 deals with the custody, maintenance and education of minor children while their parents are engaged in a lawsuit for separation. The court may order the maintenance, custody and education of children.

3. The Contract Act, 1872 makes a contract by a minor absolutely void. A contract of sale made with the guardian of a minor may be binding only if it were made either for legal necessity or for the benefit of the estate.

4. The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 empowers a designated court, if it is satisfied that it is for the welfare of the minor, to appoint a guardian of the minor's person or property or both. However, the court cannot appoint any person as guardian against the will of the minor.

5. The Code of Criminal Procedures, 1898 empowers a designated court to order a person having sufficient means and neglecting or refusing to maintain his wife or legitimate or illegitimate child to provide a monthly allowance for maintenance of such wife and children. Under section 562, the court can release certain convicted first offenders under 21 years of age on probation of good conduct instead of sentencing them to imprisonment.

6. The Mines Act, 1923 prohibits employment of a child (under 15 years of age) in a mine and regulates the employment of those above 15 years but below 17 years.

7. The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 provides punishment for a male adult marrying a child (below 16 years of age). It also prescribes punishment for the parent or guardian concerned in a child marriage.

8. The Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act, 1933 provides for punishment for forcing a girl under 18 years into prostitution. Abetment by one having custody or charge of the girl is also a crime.

9. The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933 provides for penalty for parent or guardian making agreement to pledge the labour of a child and also for employing a child whose labour has been pledged.

10. The Employment of Children Act, 1938 regulates the employment of children in specified industries and occupations and provides for punishment of the employer contravening the provisions of the Act.

11. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1939 regulates the employment of women for certain periods before and after childbirth and provides for the payment of maternity benefit to them by the employer.

12. The Maternity Benefit (Tea Estate) Act, 1950 prohibits the employment of women in tea gardens or processing factories for certain periods before and after childbirth and provides for the payment of maternity benefits for the period.

13. The Minimum Wages Ordinance, 1961 prohibits employers from payment of juvenile (below 18 years of age) workers below the minimum rates fixed by the Board set up under the Act. This also provides for punishment for contravention.

14. The Shops and Establishment Act, 1965 prohibits employment of children not having completed 12 years of age, in shops and commercial establishments. It further regulates the hours of work for those below 18 years of age.

15. The Factories Act, 1956 lays down regulations aimed at ensuring secure and healthy conditions of work for a child or adolescent. It also provides for facilities (rooms) for children under six years of age of women factory workers.

16. The Children's Act, 1974 provides for the custody, protection and treatment of children, and trial and punishment of youthful offenders by juvenile courts. It also deals with care and protection of destitute and neglected children. It provides, among other safeguards, for the punishment of special offences such as cruelty to children, employment of children for begging, and exploitation of children employees.

In addition to these formal laws, there are a number of personal and religious laws which mainly relate to social customs such as marriage, divorce, guardianship, adoption and inheritance, according to religious prescriptions. These also affect children and some of these have been modified by special legislation to provide somewhat greater rights to women and children.

�1996-2001
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland