'A cross-sector body to protect child rights is imperative'

It is urgent to form a cross-sector body in coordination with government and private organizations, to protect child rights and to address the problems of street children, said incumbent Deputy Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad, Shamsul Haque Tuku, at a seminar on child rights on Sunday.

The child who is born today will be the owner of the state, so children cannot be left out on the street. The number of floating children is increasing with population growth and the government is working on turning floating children into human resources, he said as chief guest at the national seminar on "Establishing a cross-sector body for ensuring street children's rights in Bangladesh," in the LD Hall of the Jatiya Sangsad.

"However, the responsibility falls on all of us to develop children as resources," Shamsul Haque Tuku, chairman of the Parliamentary Caucus, added.

Deputy Secretary of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, Ariful Kaiser, Additional Director of Social Services Department, MM Mahamudullah, Joint Inspector General of DITF of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Matiur Rahman, and Dhaka Ahsania Mission General Secretary, Engineer AFM Golam Sharfuddin, were present as special guests at this national seminar jointly organised by Dhaka Ahsania Mission and Scan Bangladesh. 

Dhaka Ahsania Mission Vice-President, Professor Dr Kazi Shariful Alam, presided over the seminar and Executive Director of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Md Shajedul Qayyum Dulal, delivered the welcome speech. 

Kazi Shariful Alam said, the main challenge is to bring every child into the mainstream. He sought the cooperation of the deputy speaker in this regard.
 
Scan Bangladesh General Secretary Moniruzzaman Mukul presented the concept of a cross-sector body at the event. He said, currently the number of street children in the country is about 15 lakhs. Around 85% of those children are addicted to drugs, 80% are struggling for food, and 46% are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.
 
With the financial support of the Commonwealth Foundation and Consortium for Street Children (CSC), United Kingdom, Dhaka Ahsania Mission's "Words To reality: Promoting Street Children's Rights in Bangladesh" project has been working for the past few years on forming a cross-sector body to implement street children's rights.
 
Dhaka Ahsania Mission Education Sector Joint Director, Md Moniruzzaman, Project Coordinator and Member of the Street Children Task Force (as a representative of street children) Zulfikar Matin, and representatives of different government and private institutions also attended the event.