Speakers at a programme called upon the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to play an active role to protect and ensure the rights of children, who comprise about 49 percent of the country’s total population.
They said as a constitutional body, the NHRC should expedite the establishment of child rights through advising and influencing the policymakers. Child protection can be ensured if the NHRC comes forward.
Human rights activists came up with the remarks at discussion titled ‘Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) networking meeting with NHRC’ at INCIDIN conference room at Mohammadpur in the capital on Saturday.
Speakers at the discussion said, “It is needed to address the unconditional worst form of child labour in policy, law and interventions and National Plan of Action (NPA) to achieve the objective.”
They also called for child-focused poverty and safety net programmes, investment in child vocational training, strengthening capacities of concerned organizations to monitor child labour, proper coordination among NHRCB, National Child Labour Welfare Council (NCLWC) and CSOs.
INCIDIN Bangladesh and WinRock International jointly organised the discussion supported by US Department of Labour.
M Rabiul Islam, deputy director of NHRC, attended the meeting as the chief guest, while Asma Akhter, executive director of Self-Development, was in the chair.
INCIDIN Bangladesh manager (policy and programme) Advocate Md Rafiqual Islam Khan; WinRock International project director AHM Zaman Khan; and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies finance secretary Rafiqual Islam, among others, spoke at the event.
