Between April and October 2023, in the framework of a larger project implemented by the Marist Foundation for International Solidarity (FMSI) with the support of the International Catholic Center of Geneva (CCIG), several actions were undertaken to advocate for the rights of children living in the tea gardens of Sylhet.
Based on the priority human rights concerns expressed by local children’s rights defenders in their UPR submission to the UN and its executive summary, 57 State delegations were reached out to raise awareness on critical issues such as corporal punishment, child labour and child marriages, as well as access to quality education. Based on the recommendations made in the previous UPR cycle and the general interest shown for the UPR of Bangladesh, the targeted States were kindly requested to consider raising such issues during the upcoming UPR session. In parallel, the CCIG also continued its capacity building efforts by providing ad hoc counseling to the local partners in Bangladesh to enable them to approach embassies and advocate at the local level.
On 13 November 2023, the UPR session of Bangladesh took place in Geneva. The delegation of Bangladesh was headed by the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Anisul Huq, who presented the efforts made by the Country in the last four years to address the most pressing human rights issues.
Afterwards, other States representatives took the floor to ask questions and address specific recommendations. In total, 110 delegations made a total of 301 recommendations. In particular, 22 recommendations were addressed to Bangladesh on child labor and access to education, which confirms the relevance of this issue in the country, in line with our UPR submission. Moreover, 40% of these recommendations were addressed to Bangladesh by States reached by our advocacy efforts.
Moreover, the only UPR recommendation focusing on corporal punishment was also made by one of the states reached through our advocacy efforts. This recommendation was accepted by Bangladesh, which therefore committed to implement it.
On forced child marriage, 12 recommendations were addressed to Bangladesh and 2 of them specifically correspond to key issues raised by our local partners.
Bangladesh accepted most of these recommendations, which makes the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) a concrete opportunity to increase the enjoyment of human rights throughout the country.
To watch the UPR session of Bangladesh, click here.
Related article in FMSI website is available here.
Image copyright © 2023 Marist Foundation for International Solidarity