Third and Fourth Periodic Report on CRC - Unicef

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<strong>Third</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Fourth</strong> <strong>Periodic</strong> <strong>Report</strong> 9.2 Involvement of children in armed conflict Bangladesh has signed <strong>and</strong> ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (ICAC) on 6 September 2000. The initial report by the State Party on the status of the implementation of the ICAC was submitted on 27 January 2004. The Concluding Observations <strong>and</strong> Recommendations on the Initial <strong>Report</strong> of Bangladesh on the Optional Protocol to the CRC (CRC/C/OPAC/BGD/1) at UN Committee’s 1083th meeting held on 9 January, 2006 <strong>and</strong> adopted at its 1120th meeting, <strong>and</strong> responses by the State Party to the issues raised by the Committee on the initial report as well as the Concluding Observations dated 27 January, 2006, have been taken into consideration in different sections of this <strong>Periodic</strong> <strong>Report</strong>. The State Party reiterates that the minimum age for recruitment <strong>and</strong> deployment in all branches of law enforcement <strong>and</strong> defence is in conformity with the Optional Protocol <strong>and</strong> there is clear government direction in this regard. The Government need not have a separate legislation in this respect. The Government is working towards better coordination of children’s activities <strong>and</strong> MoWCA has proved this through timely submission of all recent child-related international reports, preparation of the NPA for Children, NPA SEACT, children’s section in the PRSP <strong>and</strong> National MDG <strong>Report</strong>, 2005 in a participatory manner. Effective children’s participation was ensured in all these events. NGOs <strong>and</strong> international organizations have been included in the CRC St<strong>and</strong>ing Committee <strong>and</strong> this enabled non-government entities to provide inputs into all important processes. Stakeholder participation in major activities is regularly ensured through consultation meetings <strong>and</strong> workshops. With regard to the consent of parents or legal guardians for the recruitment of under-18, the State Party does not think it is necessary since the actual induction of persons in different forces are done only when the person attains the age of 18. The training period is not considered to be the service period <strong>and</strong> not a violation of the provisions of the Optional Protocol. The State Party does not believe that there are a any major issues around possible military training that children undergo in any part of the country including the "madrasahs". This is illegal as per the law of the l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> the government takes stern actions against anyone found involved in this kind of activities. Recently, the government tried a number of persons involved in these activities <strong>and</strong> gave the highest punishment, death sentence, to them which was also carried out. The government maintains strict vigilance against any such activities to happen in future. Children who were involved in Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict long ago are all adults by now. Since the CHT Peace Accord was adopted, there is no more insurgency in the area <strong>and</strong> all arms <strong>and</strong> ammunitions were confiscated. The Government is still working to maintain peace in the area. There is no more any fighting in the area <strong>and</strong> though some arms are still found in some small pockets are believed to be procured more recently <strong>and</strong> used for other purposes. The State Party does not believe that there is any point around disarmament, demobilization <strong>and</strong> social reintegration of victims in CHT. The State Party is working very seriously to unearth small arms <strong>and</strong> light weapons <strong>and</strong> in recent years, the report of use of these has gone down. The present government has arrested a good number of political activists who possessed unlicensed weapons <strong>and</strong> cases have been lodged <strong>and</strong> sentences have been given to many of them. The crack down on corruption, black money <strong>and</strong> unauthorised use of government property have shown positive results in the country <strong>and</strong> this will help reduce use of small arms in the country. The Government has taken initiatives in disseminating the CRC, Optional Protocols, Concluding Observations <strong>and</strong> written reports to a wider audience including the army, educational institutions, the Parliament <strong>and</strong> the NGOs. 96
Convention on the Rights of the Child 9.3 Sale of children, child prostitution <strong>and</strong> child pornography Bangladesh has signed <strong>and</strong> ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution <strong>and</strong> Child Pornography (OPSC) on 6 September 2000. The initial report by the State Party on the status of the implementation of the OPSC was submitted on 24 November 2005. The Concluding Observations <strong>and</strong> Recommendations on the Initial <strong>Report</strong> of Bangladesh on the Optional Protocol to the CRC (CRC/C/OPSC/BGD/1) at UN Committee’s 1248th meeting held on 4th June 2007 <strong>and</strong> adopted at its 1255th meeting, <strong>and</strong> responses by the state party to the issues raised by the Committee on the initial report as well as the Concluding Observations dated 8 June 2007, have been taken into consideration in different sections of this <strong>Periodic</strong> <strong>Report</strong>. The State Party has very recently received the Concluding Observations on this Optional Protocol <strong>and</strong> is still analyzing the comments. This present report covers all relevant aspects in different chapters. The Government is committed to the issues covered <strong>and</strong> will take necessary steps to address those within the shortest possible time. Two observations not covered in the report, are explained below: As regards creation of a separate Children’s Department/Directorate, the State Party’s view is that it may not benefit the children much excepting duplication of some activities other ministries are performing. Rather, a thorough analysis of the situation suggests effective coordination <strong>and</strong> implementation of children’s programmes <strong>and</strong> activities would bring better results. The coordination role of MoWCA has improved in recent years <strong>and</strong> it will be further reinforced. In future, Bangladesh Shishu (Children) Academy will be strengthened <strong>and</strong> activities will be monitored through district-level CRC Committees with the help of all sectoral ministries. Regarding setting up of toll- free help line (observation no. 38) this is to mention that in collaboration with the NGOs, a toll-free 24-hour helpline for children is in place now. In few cases, the appropriate authorities have started to take action on complains that started coming through this line. 97
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Third and Fourth Periodic Report on CRC - Unicef

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