The chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Mizanur Rahman, on Tuesday said that the commission would investigate the incidents of extrajudicial killing and disappearance of people after being picked up allegedly by law enforcers.
‘We have recruited 28 persons, who will investigate incidents of extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearance,’ Mizanur told reporters when asked whether the NHRC was going to probe such cases.
‘See, it is impossible to say whether or not some law enforcers are responsible for the incidents of missing persons, as there is no particular cell to investigate the incidents and come to a conclusion. Nonetheless, these incidents need to be probed and the commission will work to do so,’ Mizan declared at a seminar titled ‘Perceptions, Attitudes and Understanding: a Baseline Survey on Human Rights in Bangladesh’.
The seminar was organised by the NHRC in collaboration with the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust and Data Management Aid.
Claiming that the human rights situation across the country has improved, Mizan said that the Rapid Action Battalion has become more observant of human rights and more ‘tolerant’, although they are yet to reach the ‘ideal’ standard.
Mizan, however, expressed concern over the NHRC’s baseline survey’s findings, saying that half of the respondents have not heard the expression ‘human rights’, and a substantial number of those who had heard the term were not able to say what it means.
Law minister Shafique Ahmed said that the state has to honour the ‘constitutional obligation’ that ensures equality and access to justice for all citizens.
Mentioning the establishment of legal aid centres by the government across the country, he said that the government is sincere in trying to fulfil its electoral pledges and honouring its constitutional obligations.
UNDP’s country director Stefan Priesner, Campaign for Popular Education’s director Rasheda K Chowdhury, NHRC’s
secretary Sheikh Abdul Ahad and member Niru Kumar Chakma spoke at the seminar, along with others.
The baseline survey has been done by human rights expert Greg Moran, Sara Hossain, Mirza M Hassan, Kazi Saleh Uddin and Maqbul Bhuiyan. The themes of the report were violence by state mechanisms, the situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, gender-based violence, migrant workers, socio-economic rights, child rights, access to justice and climate change.
More than 80 per cent of the people opposed extrajudicial killing by the law enforcement agencies, according to the survey.
The survey also said that 80.9% opined that the price-hike of the essentials was a major problem in their life, and issues like domestic violence and lack of security were also highlighted by the respondents.
The survey also made several recommendations, including the launching of a campaign by the state mechanisms to reduce violence, bringing about changes in the laws that help the police and RAB to enjoy ‘impunity’, making changes in the Children Act 1974 in line with the Convention on Child Rights, and the initiation of a targeted campaign to ensure the rights of adivasis and women.
Source: newagebd.com/newspaper1
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