The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
implementation of program interventions in the education sector and
serves as the secretariat of Education Watch. Education Watch 2003/4
has recommended the elimination of all charges for poor children as
well as compensatory educational measures for them. Neither of these
measures seems to have been placed on the government’s agenda as yet.
4.
Recommendations
The Government of Bangladesh has taken various measures in realizing
the ESC rights in line with its human rights obligations. However, it is
still clear that more could be done within available resources to improve
the situation of the ESC rights within the country. In particular, this study
recommends:
To endorse a revised National Housing Policy securing the rights of the
poor to shelter.
To prevent eviction of slums without prior rehabilitation and resettlement
of the slum dwellers in conformity with guidelines of the High Court.
That violations of the right to food should be documented and treated
as human rights violations.
To undertake nationwide water-quality testing in a systematic, regular
and coordinated way.
To ensure the implementation of the Proposed Water Act 2012.
To adopt an explicit policy to address special situations (like aila, floods
or other forms of disaster) and the specific situation of special groups
(dalits, women, slum dwellers etc).
To implement the policies and programs enumerated in various
government documents to provide better health care facilities.
To create employment opportunities, income generation, and more
production of food and services to reduce disparity between the rural
and urban areas, the male and female gap, rich and poor and equity in
access to food, health care facilities and other ancillary services.
To bring out explicit actions of various inter-sectoral cooperation on
different development practices, as well as various intra-sectoral efforts
in the field of health, family planning, drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical
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education and research, agriculture, food, water supply, sanitation,
drainage, housing, education, rural development, social welfare and
women's development, in order to put human rights and the health
agenda on a path of right to development.
That Bangladesh should undertake labour force surveys on a regular
basis with the objective of measuring current levels of employment and
unemployment and the corresponding changes. To review the National
Labor Policy (Draft) 2010, especially the implementation part as a
priority basis and finalize the draft policy within a short period. That the
state should take effective measures to implement the National Labor
Policy through enacting a Law on Employment (some provisions of the
policy, for example the rights in the workplace, have already been in the
Labor Law which could be revised if needed in line with the policy, but
the provisions related to Right to Work requires legal recognition for
enjoyment/ enforcement. Moreover, the word ‘labor’ should be changed
as it means for economic survival solely). And the Law on Employment
has to incorporate the provisions related to migrant workers.
That the state should ensure employment guarantee/unemployment
benefit for at least 180 days for the people who have entered the job
market/jobless.
That the state should recognize the Right to Food or the Right to be
free from hunger as a right in the constitution and the state should
acknowledge the three obligations- respect, protect and fulfill, with
regard to the right to food.
That the state should take the initiative to establish a food bank which
will ensure food supply when necessity arises.
To enact a National Food Rights Law to implement the National Food
Policy 2006.
Existing legislation on land issues should also be reviewed, revised and
harmonized in order to improve protection of the land rights of the
poorest, minorities and women, including improving access to khas
(Government-owned) land and challenging the illegal acquisition of
land.
To Increase co-ordination between implementing agencies of the ‘Safety
net Programme’ to avoid overlapping of the programme. Review the
existing programmes, and institutional arrangements for more efficient
distribution and use of limited resources.
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