Press Release

Political Parties Sign Child Rights Manifesto, Pledge Investments and Policy Reforms in Response to Children’s and Young people’s Call for Action

11 December 2025

The Child Rights Manifesto, co-created by children and young people and supported by UNICEF, positions the upcoming elections as a moment to secure measurable national commitments from the political parties to protect every child’s right and well-being

01 December 2025

Dhaka, 01 December 2025 – In a historic moment for the nation’s children, political parties have united to sign a Child Rights Manifesto, responding to the powerful voices of children and young people who have demanded a future where their rights are better respected and protected.

At the launch today, the Child Rights Manifesto was signed by 12 political parties for the upcoming 2026 national elections(Amar Bangladesh Party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Socialist Party of Bangladesh Communist Party of Bangladesh, Gano Forum, Ganosamhati Andolon, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiyo Party, Khelafat Majlis, Nagorik Oikya and National Citizen Party), pledging action to address ten priority commitments designed to put childhood back on track in Bangladesh.

The Manifesto is the result of an inclusive, multi-phase process engaging children, adolescents, and young people - including marginalized groups, those with disabilities, and indigenous communities - through digital platforms like U-Report and in-person consultations. Findings were validated with academia, civil society, private sector, and development partners, before briefings on the data and evidence and the draft commitments were presented to political party leaders to secure public commitments ahead of the national elections.

It outlines practical goals that when implemented, will address the country’s most urgent child rights priorities, addressing the challenge to ensure that every child in Bangladesh survives, learns, and is protected. The commitments include: strengthening quality education, skills, nutrition, and primary healthcare, creating safer communities free from violence, abusive practices, and hazardous child labour, tackling child poverty, ensuring coordinated leadership and monitoring on critical issues, and addressing climate challenges that threaten their future. By signing the Manifesto, political parties commit to embedding these priorities into their policies and election agendas, and to act decisively once elected. Underpinning each commitment is verified national data that highlights those areas where the rights and well-being of Bangladesh's nearly 35% child population are most at stake.

“Children have spoken loudly and clearly: their future cannot wait. Today’s signing of the Child Rights Manifesto is a promise to turn words into action, and action into hope. The Manifesto outlines clear, achievable change for children today that drives human capital development and will result in a stronger Bangladesh tomorrow. The most recent data tells us with urgency and clarity where children are being left behind. With UNICEF support, the leadership of the political parties has studied the data and the evidence on critical challenges facing children in Bangladesh, they have debated the gaps, and where the investments are needed, and today they are not making a hollow commitment, they are signing publicly to express a new era; a revamped agenda for children. Unlike other manifestos, these promises are rooted in evidence and are based on a call from the most vulnerable and often least heard. Today’s signing represents a lifeline for millions of children whose futures depend on the right decisions and investments the political leaders will make,” said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh.

The 10 non-negotiable commitments are grounded in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and prioritize structural reforms across key sectors to transform the situation of children in Bangladesh:

1. Closing the Gap in Child Survival

Strengthen and reduce fragmentation of primary health care services in rural and urban areas, addressing child wasting, including by the provision of locally-produced specialized therapeutic food.

The rise in wasting from 9.8% to 12.9% and the low rate of early antenatal care (46%) show critical gaps in primary health and nutrition services that directly threaten child survival. These findings reinforce the urgency of strengthening primary health care and expanding access to specialized therapeutic food to prevent malnutrition and save lives.

2. A Safe Bangladesh for Children

Make communities safer, including by removing exceptions to child marriage law in line with the UNCRC, strengthening law enforcement and systems to end violence against women and children and acting immediately to eradicate hazardous child labour.

The rise in child labour to 9.2%, the persistently high rate of child marriage (47.2%), and the alarming prevalence of violent discipline (86%) reveal how unsafe many environments are for children in Bangladesh. This data underscores the urgent need to protect the dignity of girls and boys, protecting them from the abuses that are evident in child marriage by removing legal loopholes the allow this cultural practice, strengthening law enforcement and protection systems, and taking immediate action to eliminate hazardous child labour.

3. Quality and Inclusive Education for all children

Ensure nine years of free, quality, compulsory education, along with one year of free and compulsory quality pre-primary education; to close learning gaps, bridging the digital divide, and strengthening transferable skills. Increase opportunities to acquire skills for employment.

With only 28.6% of children in Grades 2–3 able to read and just 21.2% demonstrating basic numeracy, the learning crisis is deep and widespread. Sharp drops in attendance after primary school further highlight the need for nine years of free, compulsory, and quality education, supported by digital access and skills development, to ensure every child can learn, progress, and thrive. Efforts to end child labour are rooted in improved and compulsory education and strengthened skills for employment.

4. Social Protection Coverage for every child

Address poverty by introducing a child grant for the most vulnerable children aged 0-6 years.

It is critical to address fragmentation and improve the reach and targeting of social protection, including expanding the Mother and Child Benefit Programme to cover all adolescent mothers under 20 and increasing total beneficiaries by 50% by 2027. The commitment underscores the urgent need for a stronger, more inclusive social protection system. Introducing a child grant for vulnerable children aged 0–6 would complement this expansion, supporting parents to care and protect, ensuring that the youngest and most at-risk children are protected from poverty and have a fair start in life.

5. A Climate-Resilient Bangladesh for Children

Protect children affected and displaced by climate hazards by ensuring access to safe, climate-resilient, and low-carbon schools, healthcare, water, and sanitation services & reducing pollution and heat exposure.

With around 20 million children in Bangladesh exposed to climate shocks and hazards, and one in ten households experiencing disruptions to drinking water due to natural disasters in the past year, the climate crisis is also a child rights crisis. Ensuring access to safe, climate-resilient schools, healthcare, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services is critical to protect children and safeguard their well-being.

6. Better Water and Sanitation Services

Unify all water and sanitation functions under one accountable ministry, with responsibility for infrastructure upgrades, water recycling, and safe sanitation for every child, with special attention to health & education facilities.

The high levels of contamination, over 80% of household samples testing positive for E. coli, highlight the urgent need for improved water safety. Limited access to safely managed drinking water (39.3%) and basic sanitation coverage (73%) underscores the importance of unifying water and sanitation functions under one accountable ministry to ensure safe WASH services for every child, especially in schools and health facilities.

7. A future of opportunities for every child in Bangladesh

Review and address access to quality social services for vulnerable populations, including indigenous and minority groups. For Rohingya refugee children and young people, provide portable skills as they prepare for a safe, voluntary, and dignified return to their homeland.

For Rohingya Refugee Children and Youth, it is key to protect education, ensuring accreditation and continuity of learning, while maintaining humanitarian support and protect child services, and investing in skills, livelihoods and community resilience, including vocational training for adolescents and youth, including young women, to enhance self-reliance and preparedness for return.

For Children in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Other Minority Communities, it is key to promote equitable access to quality education and child-centered social services in Health, Nutrition, WASH and Protection.

8. End Invisible Children in Bangladesh (Birth Registration)

Improve the process to access birth registration for children in Bangladesh without charge to ensure every child has an identity and access to every service.

With only 59% of children under five registered and just 47% having a birth certificate, millions of children in Bangladesh remain invisible. Ensuring free and accessible birth registration is essential for every child to claim their identity and access vital services.

9. A budget that reflects children needs

Prioritize social sector allocations, reaching overtime 5% of the GDP for each of the following sectors: education and primary healthcare.

Current investment for children in Bangladesh’s social sectors falls short of global recommendations, with 4–6% of GDP suggested for education and at least 5% for health. Evidence also shows that investing in child protection yields significant returns—each dollar invested produces ninefold social and economic benefits, highlighting the critical need for a child-focused budget that reflects these priorities.

10. Reporting on Children and Youth Commitments: Conduct a review of the Children´s Act, with a view to identifying contradictions, existing gaps in laws and implementation of policies affecting children to be conducted over the first year of the new Government to ensure they are in accordance with the UNCRC.

An annual parliamentary reporting through a child rights scorecard will ensure transparent monitoring of progress, especially for the most vulnerable children.

The Manifesto comes at a critical time, aligning the country's need for an essential focus on human capital development with the powerful call made by youth during the students’ movement in July 2024, for transparency, fairness, and accountability in national policies and governance mechanisms.

UNICEF, along with its partners, thanks all political parties and key stakeholders for formally reflecting the commitments of the Child Rights Manifesto in their party policies and priorities, in their calls for action, and in standing accountable for driving children’s rights, creating a more equitable and fair Bangladesh, in the months and years after the dust of the upcoming election has settled.

Notes to Editor:

You can download photos from here.