Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Bangladesh (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Committee of International Labour Standards (TU-ILS) Bangladesh, received on 11 October 2024 and the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF) communicated with the Government’s report.

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. Projects on elimination of hazardous child labour. The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that the Eradication of Hazardous Child Labour Project (fourth phase) has been completed in June 2024 and that the National Plan of Action (NPA) to Eliminate Child labour (2021–2025) has been revised and published.

The Committee notes that the fourth Implementation Status report by the Ministry of Labour and Employment on the National Action plan on the labour sector of Bangladesh 2021–2026, indicates the following results that were achieved within the framework of the NAP to eliminate child labour 2021–25: (i) ratification of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), on 22 March 2022; (ii) updating the list of hazardous work prohibited to children and introducing five new sectors; (iii) implementing special yearly plan of action to eliminate child labour from Keraniganj area; (iv) conducting 40 training courses and seven workshops for labour inspectors; (v) filing 571 cases related to child labour and resolving 205 cases; and (vi) conducting the National Child Labour Survey 2022. This report also indicates that a mega project entitled “Elimination and Rehabilitation of Child Labour” is under preparation.

The Committee further notes that within the framework of the ILO Asia Regional Child Labour Project to reduce the vulnerability of children to child labour and enhance the protection of children from exploitation, a Child Labour Monitoring System was developed and piloted in the district of Thakurgaon. A total of 1,192 children who were identified as involved in child labour were removed from child labour through school enrolment and vocational training, or transfer to non-hazardous work, resulting in the district being declared as child-labour free (Final report of the ILO-ARCL project, 2024). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the concrete measures taken to eliminate the worst forms of child labour within the framework of the NPA to Eliminate Child Labour 2020–2025, and the results achieved, including the number of children withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests the Government to provide information on the adoption and implementation of the “Elimination and Rehabilitation of Child Labour” project.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that it is taking various initiatives to ensure quality primary education for all children. At present there are almost 22 million students in primary schools, where 51 per cent are girls and 49 per cent are boys. The Government indicates that the Bureau of Non-formal Education (BNFE) under the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, is entrusted with the implementation of the Out of School Children (OOSC) programme under the fourth Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP4).

The Committee, however, notes that according to the information from the UNICEF document of 16 June 2022, entitled, Education-Helping all children to reach their potential, Bangladesh faces a number of challenges in providing accessible and quality education to all children and adolescents. Despite Bangladesh’s success in near universal enrolment in primary education among both girls and boys, data suggests that the older they get the more children drop out of school. This document also indicates that nearly 20 million children in Bangladesh are seriously exposed to climate hazards, with floods, cyclones, extreme heat and droughts frequently disrupting their education. Recalling that education is key in preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure access to free basic education of all children through measures aimed at increasing school enrolment, attendance and completion rates and reducing school drop-out rates at the primary and lower secondary level. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard as well as statistical information,disaggregated by age and gender, on the results achieved with regard to increasing school enrolment rates and reducing school drop-out rates and the number of out-of-school children.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Refugee children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted from a report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime that human trafficking, including children, is on the rise in the sprawling 6,000-acre refugee camp (Cox’s Bazar) and requested the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to protect refugee children from the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee notes the information from the press releases of the UNICEF of 1 May 2022 and 23 July 2023 that there are over 400,000 school-aged Rohingya children in the Bangladesh refugee camps, of which approximately 300,000 of these children are learning through the Learning Competency Framework Approach (LCFA) which is an informal learning system created as an emergency measure for Rohingya refugee children. Since the launch of the Myanmar National Curriculum in 2021, the formal curriculum has been expanded and a record of 300,000 children, including teenagers and girls, are enrolled for the 2023–24 school year to receive formal education based on the national curriculum of their home country. The Committee, however, notes that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, in her report of 28 April 2023, expressed concern at the situation of Rohingya children and young people in street situations in Cox’s Bazar, who are at an increased risk of trafficking for sexual exploitation (A/HRC/53/28/Add.1, para. 65). The Committee requests the Government to continue to take effective and time-bound measures to protect refugee children from the worst forms of child labour, including through providing access of all children to formal education. It also requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken and the results achieved in this regard.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. 1. Trafficking. Following its previous comments concerning the measures taken to combat trans-border trafficking of children, the Government states that the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs adopted an implementation guideline for Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, a pact agreed between Bangladesh and India, which serves as a practical and handy tool for investigating agencies in obtaining evidence on cases related to trafficking. In addition, it refers to the Common Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) developed by Bangladesh and India to address cross-border human trafficking cases. The Government indicates that in 2023, 344 women and children were repatriated from India. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that Bangladesh is an active member of several regional and international forums such as the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and related Transnational Crime and the Sub-Group on Human Trafficking under the joint working group on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (JWG-CTTC) in The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). The Government states that Bangladesh is now working with BIMSTEC to finalize a multilateral Convention on human trafficking titled “BIMSTEC Convention against Trafficking in Persons”.

The Government also refers to the various specialized training provided to police personnel focusing on laws and regulations related to trafficking in persons, investigation procedures, case supervisions as well as support and assistance to victims of trafficking. According to the information from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), many initiatives were undertaken within the framework of Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants-Bangladesh (GLO.ACT-Bangladesh) project, including (i) organizing the First Stakeholder Consultation Workshop on the scope of an assessment on border management to address Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) and an additional stakeholder consultation meeting on data collection for the assessment on border management on 18 October and 27 December 2023, respectively; and (ii) facilitating a two-day session on TIP and SOM as part of the UNODC Global Maritime Crime Programme’s Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) Course for the officials of the Bangladesh Coastguard.

The Committee notes that the First National study on Trafficking in Persons in Bangladesh, 2022, highlighted that regionally long and porous land borders of Bangladesh are conducive to international transfer of trafficking victims. Traffickers also make use of the same sea routes as migrant smugglers, with victims leaving from the ports along the southern sea border in the Bay of Bengal (page 12). The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to enhance international cooperation to combat the sale and trafficking of children for labour and sexual exploitation and to protect and assist the victims of these worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard including within the GLO.ACT project and the results achieved in terms of the number of child victims of cross-border trafficking who have been rescued, repatriated and rehabilitated.

2. Elimination of poverty. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that massive social safety net programmes are being implemented for poverty alleviation and its coverage is increasing gradually. Since child poverty is a cross-cutting issue, multiple ministries are working on the various aspects of child welfare and that a Child-Focused Budget has been specifically adopted since 2015–16. The Social Protection Schemes have contributed substantially in reducing inequality along with increased economic growth. The Committee notes the statement made by the BEF that the Government should ensure wider coverage of the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) to reach more vulnerable families, particularly those at risk of child labour as well as to implement conditional cash transfer programmes to enable children from poor families to attend school and thereby reduce the need for income from child labour. Noting the Government’s statement that the existence of child labour in Bangladesh is closely linked to poverty, the Committeestrongly encourages the Government to strengthen its efforts to reduce poverty, including by effectively implementing and extending the coverage of the NSSS, the social safety net programmes and all other such initiatives, so as to eliminate child labour and its worst forms. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken or envisaged in this regard and the results achieved.