Independent commission must for protecting child rights

In a country where majority of the children, who account for over one-third of the population, are vulnerable to violation of rights, an independent commission and monitoring organisations are essential to protect their rights, told a meeting yesterday.

The meeting on the draft of proposed National Child Rights Commission Act, 2015 was organised by Ain o Salish Kendra, and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with support from Save the Children at LGED building in the capital's Agargaon.

Shamsul Alam Bakul, deputy director, Child Rights Governance, Save the Children, said civil rights bodies had been advocating for the appointment of a “Children's Ombudsperson” for almost two decades but a commission would be a more democratic organisation than an ombudsperson.

Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation, said checks and balance should be included in the act to keep it free from all kinds of influences, especially political influence. She also expressed her concern about the increased incidence of drug addiction and access to pornography through the internet among children.

Syeda Munira Sultana, national project coordinator of International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, stressed the need for a research cell within the commission to study child related issues and maintain database.

Kazi Reazul Haque, NHRC's fulltime member, said the commission should get the budgetary allocation directly from the parliament instead of it being sent by a secretary of a ministry.

Justice Md Iman Ali, Supreme Court judge, drew attention to the fact that whether the proposed commission would be able to hold institutional bodies like police, juvenile correction centres, ministries working with children, and educational institutions accountable, if their actions violated child rights.

Advocate Tapos Bandhu Das presented the draft of the proposed law, which the civil society would advocate to the government.