Anyone under 18 years considered children in child policy draft
The government has drafted the National Child Policy-2010 with provisions for prohibiting use of children in political activities and their employment in hazardous jobs.
The draft proposes that anyone under 18 years of age would be treated as a child, updating the child policy of 1994 that set the age limit at 14.
The under 18-year old people constitute around 45 per cent of the total population of the country, according to the draft
prepared in keeping with the constitution and
international conventions.
‘We will give a final shape to the child policy in the first week of October and place it in the cabinet meeting for approval,’ state minister for women and children affairs Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said at a press briefing at her office on Wednesday.
She said the new policy will prohibit use of children in political activities like processions and pickets and prescribes measures for their overall protection on the contrary.
Shirin said the draft would be made available on the ministry’s website (www.mowca.gov.bd) for eliciting opinions from the public till the end of this month to bring about further improvement in the policy.
‘The child policy of 1994 stipulated that anyone below 14 years will be regarded as a child, but the age limit has been enhanced to 18 years in the new policy,’ the state minister added.
She said the government would take initiative to update the laws that would conflict with the policy, specially as regards the age limit which varies under various laws.
‘Unlike the previous policy, the draft suggests special measures to protect girl children during disasters… We will take programmes to help the disaster-affected children overcome the trauma they suffer from in post disaster periods,’ Shirin said replying to a query.
The new policy proposes constitution of an ombudsman for children through enactment of a law to look after child rights and implementation of United Nations Child Rights Convention. It also suggests formation of a national committee to ensure development of the children.
The draft says that the employers would have to ensure a congenial environment in the children’s work places for their physical and psychological growth. The children under 14 would not be engaged in any fulltime jobs.
The proposed policy says that all impediments, including economic repression, to the proper growth of children would be removed. It mentions that out of 6.3 crore children, 2.65 crore are living below poverty line.
The draft also underscores the need for steps to reduce the number children dropping out from primary education. It identifies poverty as a major barrier to ensuring child rights.
The policy aims at stopping all forms of discrimination against and repression on children and providing health services, education, nutrition and social protection to children with special care to adolescents.
It focuses on proper growth of the adolescents aged between 10 to 18 years.
For the protection of children, the authorities would take initiatives for probation, diversion and counselling instead of detaining them on criminal charges.
It also proposes measures so that children could grow up with clear concepts about the spirit of liberation war, nationalism, moral values and ideology of the country’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The issues of sanitation for the physically challenged children and adolescents have been addressed in the policy.
