Participants at a campaign to ensure a child’s rural to urban safe
migration and prevent trafficking and abuse of children stressed on
opening registration centers at grassroots level for preserving facts
of migrated children.
This awareness building campaign in Kasura area under Charbaria and
Tumchar area under Chandramohon unions of the city-skirt on Friday and
Rasulpur area under ward-9 of Barisal City Corporation on Thursday.
The programme organised by Bangladesh National Women Lawyers
Association (BNWLA) with financial assistance of European Union and
Save the Children International under the Rural Urban Child Migration
Project (RUCMP).
It included discussion, prize giving of painting and essay writing
competition on elimination of child-labour and cultural programmes
with Jari-songs on the issue.
Advocate Manjuara Begum, divisional coordinator of BNWLA, presided
over and Masuk Kamal, RUCMP area coordinator of the project conducted
the programme addressed by local government representatives,
guardians.
The discussants said local government organisations have standing
committees on women and children welfare to properly address child
rights violations; however, they are now not working.
They suggested introducing an effective registration system for
migrant children and activation and monitoring of the steering and
standing committees at union, ward and upazila levels comprised of the
non-state actors and community representatives to take joint actions
in case of child rights violation in general and unsafe migration in
particular.
Child registration cell at the local government units will work for
issuing a numbered registration card containing photo and full
description of the child-employee with his family, education and
health back grounds, they explained.
A copy of the card would be checked and preserved by the employer and
collected data would be preserved on the computer network and provided
to all who needs, they suggested.
Participants at the programme urged for raising awareness and
capacities among caregivers, media, law enforcement agencies, civil
society, local and central government organisations to address forced
labour, sexual abuse, trafficking and exploitation of children.
-OurCorrespondent.
