Child means under 18
Says draft Children Act 2012
The social welfare ministry decided to define individuals under 18 years of age as children in the draft 'Children Act 2012' after critics came down on the law ministry proposal for bringing the age limit down to 16 years.
The law ministry had suggested that, “A child is a person below 16 years…in case of 'Children in Conflict with the Law' (who is an accused or convict of any offence) and 'Children in Contact with the Law' (a victim of any offence).”
The critics, at a recent Prothom Alo roundtable on children's rights, said the law ministry's proposal went against numerous existing national and international laws which term under-18 individuals as children.
The laws include National Policy on Children, 2011; Prevention of Trafficking Act 2011; Vagrancy Act 2011; and UN's Convention on the Rights of the Children (CRC), to which Bangladesh is a signatory, they said.
CRC states that any under-18 person is a child without making any difference among groups of children, said MM Aminul Islam of Save the Children.
A deputy secretary of the social welfare ministry, requesting anonymity, said the final draft would be placed before the cabinet this month.
The draft, to ensure the protection and rights of children, was made after the cabinet repealed the Children Act-1974 on December 30, 2010, which considered under-14 individuals as children.
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