Bangladesh 63rd in global ranking

Bangladesh ranked 63rd among 197 countries in terms of providing court access to children to protect their rights, according to the first ever global ranking by the London-based Child Rights International Network (CRIN).

Among Bangladesh's South Asian neighbours, only India fared better securing the 43rd position. Nepal was ranked 78th, Bhutan 85th, Pakistan 119th, Sri Lanka 123rd, Afghanistan 149th and Maldives 189th.

Belgium, Portugal and Spain were the top three countries of the list, while Kenya was the only country outside Europe to make the top ten. Relegated to the bottom of the pile were Palestine, Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea.

“The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) does not take precedence over national law [Bangladesh], but national law is interpreted in a manner consistent with the CRC and other human rights obligations,” said the CRIN report yesterday.

The CRC has not as yet been directly incorporated into national law, but some provisions have been incorporated in response to directions of the Supreme Court, added the report.

“Bangladeshi courts have regularly referenced the CRC and other international human rights conventions where relevant to a matter at hand.”

The Children Act guarantees children's right to participate in all stages of court proceedings, said the report titled “Rights, Remedies and Representation”.

Salma Ali, executive director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association, said the country has a good legal infrastructure as well as partnerships between government and non-government organisations in providing legal aid to protect child rights.

However, lack of victim protection law, slow progress of investigations of cases, lack of strong monitoring and sometimes involvement of law enforcers and political elites impede the due legal procedures, she told The Daily Star.

CRIN Director Veronica Yates said: “When we think of children and justice, the first image that comes to mind is usually one of children breaking the law. Rarely do we consider children and their right to use the legal system to protect their human rights or to seek redress when their rights have been violated.”

The research took into account whether children can bring lawsuits when their rights are violated, the legal resources available to them, the practical considerations for taking legal action, and whether judges apply international law on children's rights in their rulings, said the rights body in a press release.