Unicef, Save the Children hail passage of child bill

The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and Save the Children have welcomed the passing of the Child Bill 2013 by Bangladesh's parliament, and said the new law was based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
The passing of the bill is a great milestone for children in Bangladesh, Unicef Representative in Dhaka Pascal Villeneuve said in a statement. “The law now recognises that a child is defined as any person below the age of 18 years old, providing a universal and internationally recognised definition for a child.”
The CRC is the first legally binding international instrument, which spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have, according to the Unicef website.
Villeneuve said, “For the first time, the law has a provision for child victims and witnesses cementing legal instruments for their protection, including compensation for victims....the law reinforces the importance of the juvenile justice system meaning that children accused of petty crime...will no longer be unnecessarily detained.”
“The confirmation that everyone under the age of 18 years is legally a child must stimulate action to ensure that existing laws on child labour and child marriage are strictly adhered to,” said Save the Children Country Director Michael McGrath.
The bill was passed on Sunday.