They also said a number of targets of the proposed charter, already incorporated in Bangladesh's poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP), should be avoided.

They were speaking at the seminar on 'Implementation of the Citizen's Social Charter: Bangladesh' organised jointly by South Asia Centre for Policy Studies (SACEPS), Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Nijera Kori.

The objective of the seminar is to deliberate on the findings of a recent study on the progress achieved in Bangladesh with regard to various goals and targets put in the Citizen's Social Charter for South Asia.

The charter set targets in the areas of poverty alleviation, women empowerment and their well-being, protection of rights of children and aged population, development of youth, environmental degradation and ecological imbalance and development and utilisation of human resources.

Industries Adviser Sultana Kamal attended the seminar as chief guest, while CPD Trustee Member M Syeduzzaman conducted it.

In her speech Sultana Kamal said that she has found it too difficult to earmark even a small amount of fund from the budgetary allocation for the jute growers, though the industries ministry spends a lot every year, as the existing system is not a supporting one for the cause of human rights.

"The country as well as the south Asian region is full of resources and potentials, so fulfilling targets will not be difficult, if such potentials can be utilised in social development," she observed.

Khushi Kabir, coordinator, Citizen's Social Charter Preparation Task Force, and Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, chairman of Unnayan Onneshan, presented the keynote papers on the issue.

Ahmed Mushtaque Reza Chowdhury, deputy executive director, Brac, Ainun Nishat, country representative, IUCN, Faustina Pereira, advocate, Bangladesh Supreme Court and also a director of Ain-o-Salish Kendra, took part in the discussion.

Taslim Siddique, deputy director, DFID, Assaduzzaman, research director, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Jafrul Hasan, joint secretary, Bangladesh Jatiytabadi Sramik Dal, also discussed in the open session.

The discussants urged the charter writers to incorporate the issues that are not getting priority in other local or regional fora.

They underscored the need for incorporating environment and trade union issues in the charter on priority basis.

Dr Ainun Nishat said ecological perspective is directly related with integrated development of the society, but the water and river issue is not incorporated in the charter.

Criticising the country's environmental policy, he urged the government to rewrite the policy in line with international conventions.

Jafrul Hasan said despite having all-out pressure and staging upsurge to increase readymade garments workers' wages, it could not be enhanced at a satisfactory level.

He urged the authority to incorporate the workers' welfare in the civil society charter.