Speaking Up for Rights: Child Parliaments

Child Parliament, a national level advocacy platform of children aged between 12 and 18 years, was initiated in 2003 with the support of Save the Children in Bangladesh in response to the need to create a nationwide children’s network. Child Parliament is the advocacy wing of the National Children’s Task Force (NCTF), a Government-recognized national children’s organization. The main purpose of the Child Parliament is to influence policy makers in Bangladesh to enact child policies based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In total, 128 children (boys and girls) represent the 64 districts of Bangladesh in child parliament. They present their issues and recommendations to decision makers, including donor agencies, development partner and civil society organizations. Children’s advocacy has already contributed to policy changes in different forms based on the topic in discussion in child parliament.

This publication is part of a collection of 8 leaflets on Policy, Rights and Governance programming in Bangladesh:

The leaflets are:

1. Voices for Change: Children on Community Radio
2. Communities Fit for Children: Child Friendly Local Governance
3. Standing Up for Action: Protesting Violence Against Children
4. Speaking Up for Rights: Child Parliaments
5. Democracy in Action: The Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights
6. Money Matters: Financial Inclusion for Street and Working Children
7. Doing More, Doing Better: Social Protection for Adolescent Girls
8. KOLOROB: A “Clamour” for Change in Urban Slums