MODERATE ADVANCEMENT

In 2013, Bangladesh made a moderate advancement in its efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Government issued a Statutory Regulatory Order identifying 38 occupations considered hazardous for children ages 14 to 18 and adopted the Children’s Act, which harmonizes national law with international standards on child protection, including extending the legal definition of a child to 18 years. The Government also increased its capacity to enforce child labor laws through the recruitment and training of an additional 39 labor inspectors, for a total of 183 labor inspectors. With support from the ILO, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics conducted a National Child Labor Survey by including a child labor module in the National Labor Force Survey. However, children in Bangladesh continue to engage in child labor in agriculture and in services. In addition, the Government’s Child Labor Unit is no longer functioning, childre