UNICEF statement on violence against children

Dhaka, July 27 (NsNewsWire) —  “UNICEF Bangladesh expresses grave concerns on the recent incident of a 10 year old child being subjected to violence and killed in a heinous way at his work place in Narayangonj (central Bangladesh). This is a serious violation of child rights. UNICEF restates its apprehension of children being used as easy targets of violence and is concerned that child labour is still widespread both in the formal and informal sectors.

“UNICEF appeals to the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), including the Supreme Court to take speedy legal action against these violent incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice. UNICEF requests the GoB to revisit the concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Committee and commit actions to end violence against children, child marriage and child labour.

“UNICEF also strongly urges the GoB to set up and strengthen child protection systems and child rights monitoring mechanisms by activating Child Welfare Boards at national and local level as stipulated in the Children Act 2013. Monitoring formal and informal industries needs to be strengthened by labour inspectors as per the labour law. Reviewing the labour law to define light forms of work and include domestic child labour in the list of hazardous labour is crucial. UNICEF is confident that the GoB will take urgent action to strengthen child protection mechanisms.

“UNICEF has zero tolerance towards all forms of violence against children and is committed to assisting the GoB to take effective measures to end these violation of child rights. UNICEF feels that the rights of all children, especially those from marginalized groups, will be better protected through the collective effort of all concerned.”