PART- II: CRC AND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL OBLIGATION OF BANGLADESH 5. Bangladesh signed the CRC on 26 January1990 and ratified it on 3 August 1990. While ratifying the CRC, the Government of Bangladesh placed a reservation to articles 14(1) and 21 of the CRC which concern the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as system of adoption respectively. The BNHRC reiterates that the Government should withdraw these reservations. 6. Bangladesh is also a signatory to: (i) the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography; and (ii) the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. During the 2nd Cycle Universal Periodic Report, Bangladesh accepted the recommendation that it should accede to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure.3 PART- III: DOMESTIC LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CRC 7. Like other common law countries, Bangladesh follows the doctrine of incorporation which means that international treaty provisions will not be automatically incorporated and applied in the domestic legal system until a statute has been enacted to give the treaty provisions effect at domestic level. A. Legal System & General Legal Framework 8. From the domestic legal viewpoint, the Constitution of Bangladesh is the supreme law of the land. The Constitution makes specific reference to children in two separate articles. Article 17 of the Constitution provides for establishing a uniform, mass oriented and universal system of education and extending free and compulsory education to all children. Article 28 of the Constitution allows the legislature to enact special provisions in favor of children. 9. It deserves mention that Bangladesh enacted a progressive legislation on children namely, the Children Act 1974, long before the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention in November 1989. The Children Act 2013 has replaced the earlier Act of 1974. Some statutes, such as the Children Act 2013, expressly give effect to the CRC’s provisions. Other laws also include provisions that match obligations under the CRC, namely: a) The Prevention of Cruelty to Women and Children Act 2000 (Referred to as ‘the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000’ in the State Party report) The Narcotic Control Act1990 The Rights and Protection of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2013 The Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act 2012 b) c) d) 3 See U.N. Doc. A/HRC/24/12 dated 23 July 2013. 8