The newly formed Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights of the 13th parliament held its first meeting on Thursday, focusing on stronger parliamentary initiatives to protect children's rights through child-friendly laws and adequate budgetary allocations.

The meeting, held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, was chaired by caucus President Sherin Sultana MP, with Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal attending as the chief guest and patron of the caucus.

During the meeting, the caucus members discussed the effective role of lawmakers in protecting children's rights and implementing national and international commitments, including the formulation of child-friendly laws and policies, budget allocations and ensuring accountability.

They also discussed ensuring education, healthcare and nutrition for girls, children with disabilities, children from marginalised communities, children in hilly areas, orphans and disadvantaged children as priority areas for child rights protection.

The meeting emphasised that children should receive proper education on morality, human values and religious teachings.

The caucus members proposed strengthening parliamentary initiatives, policy discussions and oversight mechanisms by engaging development partners and relevant stakeholders to ensure the protection of children's rights.

Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal said lawmakers, alongside relevant stakeholders, must play an effective role in protecting children's rights through active participation and cooperation.

He said Bangladesh has many laws on children's rights and protection, but their proper enforcement and implementation are the most important.

Kayser Kamal stressed coordination among laws, budgets and relevant stakeholders, alongside the adoption of short- and long-term action plans.

He said there should be no division based on political affiliation, class, profession or geographical location, including the plains and hilly areas, in ensuring children's rights.

Everyone must work together to ensure the rights of every child, the Deputy Speaker said, adding that the government was sincerely working to prevent violence against women and children and establish children's rights.

Caucus President Sherin Sultana said the current government had undertaken various public welfare programmes.

She called for collective efforts to ensure that the benefits of these programmes reached people's doorsteps, stressing effective coordination among all relevant parties to ensure the overall protection of children and establish their rights.

Representatives of the National Girl Child Advocacy Forum, UNICEF Bangladesh, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and various development partners and organisations attended the meeting.

Caucus members Morshed Milton MP, AKM Fazlul Haque Milon MP, Sk. Zahangir Hossain Helal MP, Anna Minj MP and Madhabi Marma MP attended the meeting.

Representatives of the National Girl Child Advocacy Forum, UNICEF Bangladesh, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and various development partners and organisations were present at the meeting.