BANGLADESH SHISHU ADHIKAR FORUM (BSAF)
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Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum: A Profiles

 

A Number of NGOs were already engaged in organizing and offering services for the welfare and development of disadvantaged children. The passage and adoption by the general assembly of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child gave the impetus to the concerned NGOs in Bangladesh to focus their attention on ensuring the rights of children as embodied in the CRC. Preparatory to participation in the World Summit on Children in September 1990 the Government involved the NGOs in a number of workshops on preparation of necessary documentation for the Summit. Poor condition and extensive deprivation of children, the convention, the World Declaration (PL see Bellow) later, the congenial environment with heightened awareness about the need for joint action to promote child rights led to the formation of the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum.

Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum is a national network of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) actively engaged in child rights work. It was formed and launched in 1990, following the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by Bangladesh (31-Aug-1990) and its coming into force on 2 September 1990. The World Declaration on the Survival, protection, Development and Participation and the Plan of Action for its implementation as adopted by the World Summit on Children in September 1990 and subsequent Declarations (Colombo 1992, Rawalpindi Resolution 1996) provided the framework for its operational objectives, which seek to ensure services and rights to children as provided in the CRC, particularly the disadvantaged children. Twenty-three NGOs were the founding members of the Forum. The membership of the Forum has since grown steadily, rising to 263 in May 2008, and a good number of applications for membership are under review. Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum continues to be firmly committed to protect and promote the rights of the children.

The goal of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum is to promote the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
To establish a healthy, child-rights enriched society, free of abuse, exploitation and discrimination for the disadvantaged children of Bangladesh.
Pursued directly and through the network, the mission of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum is to:
  • Include organizations working with children in Bangladesh into the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum network.
  • Stop child abuse and exploitation.
  • Stop child labour
  • Stop child trafficking.
  • Education for all without discrimination.
  • Eliminate gender discrimination.
  • Provide adequate recreational facilities.
  • Participation of children of the development process.
  • Social security.
  • Pollution free environment
  • Create and expand superstition-free environment for the disabled (physically and mentally handicapped) children.
Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum's key activities include awareness raising, advocacy on child rights, building capacity of member NGOs, research on key issues, representing and lobbying in favor of the interests of children as well as it and its members, providing information and developing a resource base pertaining to child rights issues.
Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum has a General Body (GB), an Executive Board, and a Secretariat to carry out its mandate and activities. Presently, 263 NGOs are members of the general body. Any Bangladeshi NGO working and engaged in child rights activities is eligible for membership of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum’s general body. The general body meets at least once a year to review Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum activities of the past year and approve plans and budget for the coming year, among others.
An eleven member Executive Board (EB) is elected at the Annual General Meeting for a period of two years. The Director and chief executive of the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum Secretariat works as the ex-officio Member-Secretary of the Executive Board (EB). It is mandatory for the EB to meet four times a year. It can also meet sooner or as often as needed. The EB formulates policies, approve action plans, monitors project activities, mobilize resources and review the coalition’s overall activities. The EB is accountable to the general body.
Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum has two Advisory Committees. One is the Children Advisory Committee with nine members, constituted with representatives of participants of programs of General Body members, who are under 14 years of age. The Committee actively participates in the formulation of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum action plans. The second nine-member Advisory Committee is formed by the EB with prominent non-partisan personalities, child rights activist and outstanding professionals, has a life of two years and meets at least twice a year. The Committee is consulted and gives opinion on Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum plan of action and program strategies.
An Advocacy Group comprising parliamentarians, representatives of International NGOs, civil society members, opinion leaders and academics, also exists. Its objectives are to raise awareness about the child rights issues and implement the CRC in their respective fields of work. This group also works as a pressure group.
The forum regularly collaborates with the relevant government agencies, UN and bilateral agencies, and international NGOs working and dealing with child rights.
Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum has a secretariat comprising a director and seven-eight staff members. For effective discharge of the functions the secretariat’s work is divided into the following units:
i) advocacy training cell, ii) support services, iii) information/documentation & research and iv) Program, policy and monitoring.
Through a participatory process and with the active involvement of children, Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum has developed a strategy paper on the major issues affecting and infringing the rights of children, identified as protection, child labor, and trafficking and sexual abuse of children. The Forum’s present programs are focused on these issues.
Concerns are increasing, both nationally and internationally, over the problems of child labor, trafficking and sexual abuse of children. Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum member NGOs through committed to tackling these problems of children in Bangladesh, cannot alone address the problems, which are already enormous and growing rapidly in size and ramifications. Thus the challenge ahead calls for greater mobilization and collaborative effort among all the stakeholders, within and outside the coalition.
To this end Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum has developed and is implementing a project titled “Networking and Advocacy for Child Rights in Bangladesh”, designed to develop networking and advocacy mechanisms to minimize exploitation of children, with particular focus on the girl child, through awareness raising and social mobilization, capacity building of member NGOs, strengthening of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum’s resource base and its institutional setup.
It is implementing another project titled “Child Labor Information Resource Center” with objectives to create a well-equipped child labor information resource center, support NGOs implementing child labor programs with relevant data, maintain an up-to-date data bank on child labor, and assess and raise the level of knowledge of different stakeholders to formulate effective intervention strategies in dealing with child labor issues.
The child cannot wait. Tomorrow may be too late. There is an urgent need to initiate action to meet other challenges to the child’s right to a better future and a healthy life.
Over the last decade Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum depended on funds from different international sources such as Radda Barnen (Save the Children Sweden), Red Barnet (Save the Children Denmark), ILO, Royal Danish Embassy, UNICEF, OXFAM, Plan International, Save the Children-USA, Save the Children-Australia, International Secretariat of Global March Against Child Labour, Government of Bangladesh, Royal Norwegian Embassy, US-AID, Bangladesh Freedom Foundation and TdH Netherlands etc. for financing the operation of the secretariat and to undertake specific projects. The ‘Networking and Advocacy for Child Rights in Bangladesh’ project funded by the Royal Danish Embassy, Radda Barnen and ILO-IPEC is the first and the largest comprehensive project. UNICEF is supporting the Child Labor Information Resource Center project. Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum more confident to getting support from these potential donors in future.
  • Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum has established a strong network of NGOs for advocating and promoting child rights.
  • Assisted in placing child rights issues on national agenda.
  • Assisted Government of Bangladesh in preparation of National Plan of Action for Children (1997-2002).
  • Continuous mobilization of government agencies, the civil societies and NGOs for ensuring protection and participation of child and the child rights.
  • Prepared through a participatory process, and submitted two Alternative Reports on progress of implementation of CRC to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva in 1997 and 2001.
  • Advocated and assisted the Government of Bangladesh ratifying the ILO Convention-182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
  • Initiated Observance of the " Elimination of Child Labour Week" in every year; and
  • Institutionalized Girl Child day in September every year.
  • Inadequate financial and material support for Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum and its member organizations.
  • Inadequate access to and linkages with the international community for support and assistance.





  • District Monitoring Committee (DMC)

    Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) formed 30 monitoring committees in 30 districts of Bangladesh. The objectives of forming these committees were to create awareness among mass people, prevent children from abuse, help the child victims, and identify the root cause of abuse, to work as to how to reduce child abuse and to monitor the cases of child rights violation in the light of NPA and PRSP. The committees were formed comprising 10 members including children representatives, media, NGO representatives, lawyer, human rights activists, teacher community and civil society representatives. The Directors of the responsible organizations will be acting as facilitators. BSAF will monitor and supervise the activities of the monitoring committees, give financial assistance, prepare and distribute guidelines, do advocacy with the issues identified by the committees and provide training as and when necessary. The responsible organizations will coordinate and collaborate with the Govt. and other stakeholders, assist in the helpline operation, organize quarterly meeting and create awareness among mass people through different programmes in their own districts. They will mediate and follow-up in resolving problems of the children in their working areas. If any children is victimized or abused they will rescue the children, give legal aid support and other necessary help to the victim. District monitoring committees will work voluntarily in operating BSAF helpline. They will inform BSAF about abused children, street children, abandoned and missing child, child labourer, children working in factories, disabled child, AIDS affected child, and drug addicted child, mentally disabled child and children subjected to natural disaster found if any.

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