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[13 May 2008] - Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed is set to get the ball rolling on necessary legal reforms to curb the plight of children who come in conflict with the law, sources said. The chief adviser is holding a meeting where secretaries of state for women and children affairs, social welfare, home affairs and and law, justice and parliamentary affairs have been asked to offer specific recommendations and brief him on the development of legal reforms. Bangladesh ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 which means the country is under an obligation to review and harmonise its legislation with the international standards. But more than 18 years after ratification, the country has yet to start the process of legal reform, said child rights activists. Different countries including several South Asian countries have already adopted new separate laws to deal with children in conflict with the law, and 69 countries [according to sources] have so far adopted children's code in line with the UN Convention. The Committee on the Rights of the Child that monitors the implementation of the Convention worldwide has repeatedly asked Bangladesh to carry out the legal reforms. In its periodic report in 2003, the Committee expressed concern on the unclear status of the Convention in the domestic legal framework of Bangladesh and its insufficient steps to bring existing legislations to full conformity with the Convention. Studies have identified a number of gaps in the national legal framework concerning children's rights in Bangladesh, particularly in the administration of juvenile justice.