Rights Investigation
Ensuring freedom of expression for
children living in institution
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Photo: depdcblog.wordpress |
Oli Md. Abdullah Chowdhury
No sooner had we attempted to recover from the horror carried out by a female madrasa teacher who allegedly burnt legs of 14 students as punishment, incident of a government-run orphanage in Sirajganj district was revealed. Authorities not only have expelled seven of its inmates on charges of what they called 'indiscipline and obstruction in government work'; Deputy Commissioner himself took part in disciplining children living in the institution.
Even if a group of inmates of the orphanage err, they are entitled to lawful treatment. It has been stated in Article 31 of the constitution, “To enjoy the protection of the law, and to be treated in accordance with law, and only in accordance with law, is the inalienable right of every citizen, wherever he may be, and of 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”. However, children had little relief available for them in the orphanage.
Bangladesh is one of the earliest signatories of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and committed to provide children deprived of family care adequate protection. “A child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment, or in whose own best interests cannot be allowed to remain in that environment, shall be entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the State”- said in Article 20(1) of the CRC. There are apparent violation of the rights of children living at orphanage and other similar settings and few of the incidents were addressed.
Children have the right to express their views regarding the matters affecting them. It has been stated in Article 12 of the CRC, “States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child”. In lieu of weighting their views, Deputy Commissioner and others attempted to silence children inclined to express their views in the government-run orphanage in Sirajganj.
In order to silence the protest, authority handed over a total of 7 juveniles to police. However, imprisonment should only be considred at the last stage even if there is a complaint against juveniles. It has been said in the Article 37(b), “No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time”.
The Children Act of 1974 also provides several alternatives other than imprisonment. First, the police must grant bail as of right if the offence is bailable, as described in Schedule II of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In case of a non-bailable offence, the police under section 48 of the Children Act may release the child on bail, if sufficient security is forthcoming, unless this would bring him into association with any reputed criminal, or expose him to moral danger, or where his release would defeat the ends of justice. If the child is not released on bail, the police shall cause him to be detained in a remand home or a place of safety until he can be brought before a Court.
Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust (BLAST) among others has written a letter to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) requesting them to investigate the incident occurred in the government-run orphanage in Sirajganj district. Several incidents took place in other orphanages where authorities dealt with children harshly when they opened up their mouths. Unless perpetrators are brought to book, children living in those institutions would continue to suffer.
The writer is a human rights worker.
