haka, Jul 31 (UNB) – Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed Saturday gave a broad hint at banning the politics of Jamaat but hastened to add that the Election Commission will decide whether or not it would cancel registration of any religion-based political party.

“The EC is a constitutional body and it will uphold the supremacy of the Constitution,” he told reporters at CIRDAP when asked whether Jamaat politics will be banned or not.

Barrister Shafique said the Election Commission as an independent body would decide which party it will allow to do politics or cancel registration with it.

He said Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic and the EC will take its decision considering the constitutional rules and regulations.

The Law Minister said Article 38 of the Constitution specifically described whether a political party can use religion or not in pursuing its politics.

He said anytime the Election Commission could cancel registration of any religion-based political party.

The Law Minister went to CIRDAP to attend a national consultation on ‘Child Justice System in Bangladesh’. National Human Rights Commission chairman Dr Mizanur Rahman also spoke at the consultation.

Save the Children, Children Justice Network (CJN) and the Shishu Shurokkhai Amra (SSA) jointly organized the consultation to explore the possibilities of comprehensive children justice system in Bangladesh. 

The Law Minister said benefits could be found if the restorative justice system is adopted in the country to deal with the children cases.

He said when children cases are lodged with police stations, concerned police officers can request petitioners, guardians of accused children and local elites to resolve the cases without adopting the cases for trial.

The Law Minister said disputes resolution concerning the children through arbitrary system could help prevent the children from being criminals at the beginning of their lives. “It should not be sent for trial but should be resolved.”

Emphasizing on prevention, Barrister Shafique said adequate facilities for sports and recreation as well as education should be in place to ensure children’s entertainment, which could keep them away from committing offences.

He said the government is giving maximum budgetary allocation for education to build a welfare state, a non-communal, democratic and socialist country following the four pillars of the Constitution.

Justice Imam Ali of the High Court Division presented a keynote paper at the meeting where he said presently a large numbers of children in Bangladesh are deprived of their basic human rights due to unacceptable health, nutrition and education as well as social condition.

“It leads children to confront violence including sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking, neglect or other gender based violence at home, in work place, in institutions and other public places,” he said.

Human Rights Commission Chairman Mizanur Rahman said social attitudes toward children between the rich and the poor families should be changed to ensure children justice in the country.

Emphasizing on increasing budgets on primary education, he said proper measures will have to be taken for the distressed children loitering in cities and rural areas.

“It’s responsibilities of the State to be aware of those who are not getting any job,” he said.

Representatives from development partners, NGOs and civil society took part in the discussion.

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