Human rights group calls for urgent action amid fears of trafficking, kidnapping and criminal exploitation…reports Asian Lite News Desk
Nearly 16,000 children were reported missing across Bangladesh in the first seven months of 2026, sparking alarm among human rights groups and raising fresh concerns over child safety and security in the country.
Police Headquarters data showed that 15,917 children were reported missing between January and July, prompting the Germany-based International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) to call for urgent action.
The figures mean that, on average, more than 75 children were reported missing every day during the seven-month period.
“Behind every missing child is a family living with uncertainty, fear, and emotional distress,” the ISHR said, stressing that such cases should not be treated simply as routine missing-person reports.
The organisation said every disappearance represented a serious threat to a child’s safety, dignity and fundamental rights.
According to the data cited by the rights body, 1,768 children were reported missing in January, followed by 1,392 in February and 1,708 in March. The figure rose to 2,660 in April.
June recorded the highest number of cases, with 3,163 children reported missing, according to the statistics.
The ISHR said families had raised concerns that investigations and rescue operations were not always launched with sufficient urgency, warning that delays during the crucial early hours of a disappearance could severely reduce the chances of locating a child.
“Every report of a missing child must be treated as an emergency requiring immediate and professional action,” the organisation said.
Citing crime experts and human rights activists in Bangladesh, the ISHR said possible factors behind the disappearances included organised trafficking networks, kidnapping for ransom, forced begging, criminal exploitation, family disputes and other forms of organised crime.
The organisation said the scale of the crisis also pointed to wider concerns surrounding organised crime, drug-related criminal activity, weaknesses in law enforcement and delays within the justice system.
“Children are among the most vulnerable members of society,” the ISHR said, adding that rising insecurity can leave them particularly exposed to exploitation and violence.
The rights group called for stronger institutional responses, stressing that protecting children was not solely a policing issue but a fundamental human rights obligation.
Every child, it said, has the right to live safely and be protected from exploitation, violence and other threats to their security.
