Growing up and working for human rights in Bangladesh, Shahanur
noticed that people often become victims of their own ignorance and
lack of resources vis-à-vis the criminal justice system.
Shahanur holds a Masters in Laws (LL.M) with a focus on human rights
law, and has about ten years experience working in the fields of human
rights, peace advocacy, criminal justice and good governance. His
experiences gave him technical and managerial skills covering a wide
range of development areas, including designing and implementing
projects related to human rights, criminal justice, peace and good
governance; providing legal support and counseling to victims of
violence (focusing on ethnic and religious minority women and
children); initiating and carrying out projects to strengthen local
government; networking with different NGO’s; facilitating trainings,
seminars, and workshops on human rights issues as a trainer and
moderator; and lobbying at both the national and international levels.
Shahanur also has experience providing direct legal support to the
Bangladesh Court for Criminal Justice, and is currently the Executive
Director of the Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR).
The Problem
Bangladesh's
legal system is fraught with problems, making justice essentially
inaccessible to most of its citizens. The government has been accused
of committing human rights violations. Ethnic and religious minorities
are particularly vulnerable, and are often targets for violence and
domestic problems, not only by average citizens but also by law
enforcement officials. When someone of an ethnic or religious minority
reports a crime, it is common for the police to refuse to file the
complaint or investigate. Shahanur offers three fundamental reasons for
the denial of legal rights: it takes too long for cases to be tried in
court, people cannot afford to pursue their cases, and the legal system
is too complex for the average citizen to understand.
The Innovation
Shahanur’s project aims to confront each of
these problems by providing support for torture victims and by teaching
professionals and the general public about human rights. The goal is
primarily to raise awareness among citizens, law enforcement officials,
and those involved in the judicial process. Shahanur's project is
twofold. First, he wants to create a center or network to provide a
form of legal redress for people, particularly women and children, who
have been tortured. His team would seek out torture victims and help
them go after the perpetrators. The team would do this by raising
“urgent action appeals” to the proper authorities and to human rights
organizations around the world. It would also provide some economic
support to facilitate the victim's legal recourse. Secondly, Shahanur
wants to offer human rights training to lawyers, law enforcement, civil
society and judges, focused on the rights of detainees, women and
children, and ethnic and religious minorities. A few selected
professionals would then educate the general public in their respective
communities.
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