Children's rights to information ignored in RTI Act

Speakers tell roundtable

3 July 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

A roundtable on 'Children's right to information in Bangladesh in the light of Right to Information Act 2009' was held at BIAM auditorium in the city yesterday. Save the Children Sweden-Denmark and The Daily Star organised the discussion.Photo: STAR

Issues of child rights and children's rights to information have been completely ignored in the Rights to Information Act 2009, speakers said at a roundtable discussion yesterday. They urged to revise the law in the perspectives of the children's right envisaged in the various international conventions or charters that our government has signed from time to time. The roundtable discussion on 'Children's right to information in Bangladesh in the light of Right to Information Act 2009' was jointly organised by Save the Children Sweden-Denmark and The Daily Star at BIAM auditorium in the capital. They suggested introducing child-friendly version of all documents and 'special information unit' for children in district or upazilla level for children's easy access to it. Shameem Reza, who conducted a study on the issue for Save the Children said, special mention of children's issues in the act would create access for children to receive information on health, education, shelter, legal protection and other issues about their protection, development and survival. Quoting government sources, the paper presented at the roundtable said about 47 percent of the population in Bangladesh are under the age of 18. Reza said information would help empower this vast population who are the most vulnerable group. He stressed that children are also the worst victims of natural disasters. Accessing appropriate information by children is vital for disaster preparedness, emergency aid, treatment and rehabilitation, he added. Referring to a study conducted in Sidr affected area by himself in 2008, Reza said there is a lack of specific and targeted information for children either on audio-visual media or any other communication channel in the pre- and post- disaster periods. Mentioning the provision that exempts eight security and intelligence agencies from the RTI Act he said, non-military aspects should not be exempted as they may be related to issues such as trafficking or other forms of child abuse. Information Commissioner Prof Sadeka Halim said there are inconsistencies in some Bangladeshi law about who would be identified as children. This needs to go first, she added. She also said our society raises children in a manner that they do not understand anything or they do not feel the need for information that affects their lives. Lawmaker Obaidul Quader, chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information, said the committee is currently working on matters related to RTI Act. Criticising the bureaucracy he said they are still not open to the idea of sharing information. There is a need to bring a change in the work style which is at once uncoordinated and slow. They are a barrier to implementing decisions. He also said that most laws often remain unimplemented in Bangladesh for the thinking pattern of Bangladeshi politicians. Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, said the law should incorporate issues that are directly involved with the welfare of children. He also said RTI Act can be a great weapon against corruption and misuse of power and can improve the level of governance. Attended by around 20 national NGOs, Birgit Lundbak, country director of Save the Children Sweden-Denmark, Shamslul Alam, deputy country director, Brig Gen (Retd) Shahedul Anam Khan, editor, Defence and Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star, Prodip Acharjee, programme coordinator of Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts, Shamim Ahsan, communications and public relations officer, UNESCO, Ihsanul Karim, chief editor of BSS, Abul Khair, programme coordinator of Disha, Moslema Bari, executive director, Community Participation and Development of also spoke.