Date of publication:
08/21/2025
Bangladesh
Do domestic laws and policies provide mechanisms to identify unaccompanied and separated children?
Assessment by population
Analysis
Domestic laws and policies of Bangladesh do not provide any legal framework for identification of separated or unaccompanied children and family tracing of refugees or asylum seekers. Bangladesh lacks a formal legal framework for refugees and asylum seekers since it is not a state party to either the 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol. However, The Children Act, 2013, which can be applied to the refugees or asylum seekers,1 includes the child whose parents, any one or both, have died or has no legal or lawful guardian within the definition of ‘disadvantaged child’. The act in section 89 has stated that the government may take necessary measures for ensuring special protection, care and development of the disadvantaged children. The act also states in section 84 and 85 about providing the children with alternative care2 or with institutional care through any of the following institutes such as government children home, baby homes, training and rehabilitation centres for the destitute children or in government shelter homes. The act further provides mechanisms to refer the disadvantaged child or any information regarding such child to the nearest police station or to the Probation Officer or Social Worker or to the Department of Social Services.
In the absence of any specific legal framework, UNHCR and other agencies working in the refugee camps provide support to the separated or unaccompanied child by following different mechanism. For the unaccompanied children UNHCR follows caregiver mechanism where the children are transferred to caregivers who are willing to look after the child. For the separated children, the nearest relative from the extended family is included in the system as caregiver. At the same time UNHCR attempts to trace the family of the unaccompanied and separated children to reunify them with their families.
- 1
Section 4 of the Children Act, 2013 defines ‘Children’ as ‘Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, all persons up to the age of 18 (eighteen) years shall be regarded as children for the purposes of this Act’
- 2
Section 2 (12) defines “alternative care” means any measures taken under section 84.
Related provisions of domestic law or policy
Act No. 24 of 2013, The Children Act
- Year: 2013
- Type: Domestic law
- Rights Category: Health, Liberty & security of person, Social protection, Family life, Documentation
- Link to external source: https://www.refworld.org/legal/legislation/natlegbod/2013/en/101794?prevDestination=search&prevPath=/search?keywords=The+Children+Act&order=desc&sm_country_name%5B%5D=Bangladesh&sort=score&result=result-101794-en
Legal provision
Section 2: Definitions
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,- (2) “legal or lawful guardian” means such a person who is, in the interest of the child, appointed or declared by the court as a guardian under section 7 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 (Act No. VIII of 1890); (3) “child in conflict with the law” means any child who is, subject to the provisions of sections 82 and 83 of the Penal Code, accused of any offence under any existing law or found guilty upon trial; (4) “child in contact with the law” means any child who has been victim of, or witness to, any offence under any existing law; (7) “Safe Home” means any certified institute or any such place or establishment, the authority of which carries out the duty of keeping, in safe custody, the child sent thereto under this Act by a Children’s Court, the Child Affairs Police Officer, the Probation Officer or, as the case may be, any other person or authority; (11) “extended family” means the family of paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, paternal uncle, paternal aunt, husband of father's sister, father's sister, mother's brother, wife of mother's brother, maternal aunt, husband of mother's sister, brother, wife of brother, sister, husband of sister, or the family of such blood relative or any relative by such kinship; (12) “alternative care” means any measures taken under section 84; (13) “diversion” means any measures taken under section 48; (14) “person” shall include any company, association, organisation or, as the case may be, any institution; (15) “Board” or ‘Child Welfare Board’ means the National Child Welfare Board, the District Child Welfare Board or, as the case may be, the Upazila Child Welfare Board established under sections 7, 8 and 9; (16) “begging” means, with a view to receiving or collecting money, food, clothes or any other article from any person, (a) to exhibit or use any child in a public place by way of dancing, singing, reading fortune, reciting holy scriptures or adopting any other tricks, whether by deceptive means or not; or (b) to cause sore, wound, injury on the body of a child or to mutilatea child through unethical means, and to show or keep such sore, wound, injury and deformity uncovered for exhibition; or (c) to cause any child to be feeble or lifeless by administering drugs or medicine, or in any other way to exhibit the child as dead; (17) “child” means any person specified as child in section 4; (18) “Children’s Court” means any court specified in section 16; (19) “Child Development Centre” means any Child Development Centre established under section 59; (20) “Child Affairs Police Officer” means a police officer in charge of the Child Affairs Desk as mentioned in sub-section (2) of section 13; (21) “Social Worker” means a social worker working in the Department, or the union or municipal social worker working under the Department, or Khalamma (aunty), or BoroBhaia (senior brother) or any other worker of similar rank, irrespective of designation, who is engaged in providing care for children;