We are seeking your immediate intervention to stop the serious harassment of trade union leaders and other labor rights activists and workers in the ready-made garment (RMG) industry who have been pressing for the right of workers to organize in unions and seeking increases in Bangladesh's minimum wage regulations.
On July 29, 2010, after tripartite negotiations with government, workers, and employers, the government raised the daily minimum wage from 1662 taka to 3000 taka. However, the action angered workers who claimed the increase is less than the amount needed to meet the rising cost of living for urban-based workers and fell far short of the increase that the workers, trade unionists, and NGO activists were demanding. As has occurred numerous times in the history of Bangladesh's RMG industry, on July 30 and 31, worker anger and frustration boiled over into the streets, with roads being blocked, vandalism and attacks against factories and properties taking place, and use of force by police and security forces that resulted in scores of injuries among protesting workers. Human Rights Watch condemns instances of violence by the protesters as well as incidents where security forces may have used excessive force to quell the protests.
Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD)
Monthly Human Rights Report
Bangladesh, July 2010
GHRD is very concerned about the high number of attacks against religious minorities this month in Bangladesh, especially against Hindus. During July GHRD has investigated three cases involving attacks and assaults against Hindu victims. In addition to this local newspapers have also reported about several similar incidents. This month report also contains information about CHT. According to news reports several NGOs in the region are under the surveillance of the government. Additionally, the Chittagong Hills Tracts Commission recently sent out a memorandum to the Prime Minister regarding their concern about the attacks taking place in February of this year. Other updates from this month include a verdict made by the High Court that will declare extrajudicial punishments, such as fatwa, illegal. Additionally, following the High Court’s verdict in 2005 regarding the scrapping of the fifth amendment of the Bangladeshi constitution, the government are now preparing a draft to amend the Bangladeshi constitution in order to restore a constitutional spirit of "secularism" and "democracy”.
The Law enforcing agencies is still continuing the extra judicial killing, torture and harassment, though the government has come to power promising to promote and protect human right in Bangladesh
(The State of Human Rights for the Month of July 2010)
The Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation registered with the Department of Social Welfare, Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh based on the United Nation Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) dedicated to promote and protect human rights in Bangladesh. BIHR publishes its state of Human Rights for the period of July 01 to July 31, 2010. The report was prepared by the research and documentation cell of BIHR on the basis of report published on 12 national news papers from July 02 to August 01, 2010, fact-finding mission and its direct sources. BIHR is resents and is deeply concerned over the continuing human rights violations in Bangladesh despite the promises to promote human rights, especially in regards to Extra-judicial Killing, torture, political violence, death due to negligence of doctor, rape, eve teasing and molestation, minority repression as well as violence against journalist and human rights defender. Adv. Shahanur Islam, the Secretary General of BIHR asks the Government to take prompt and effective measures ensuring and end to all kinds of violations as well as demands to investigate and bring the alleged perpetrations before the book, forming a special commission.
URGENT APPEAL: Bangladesh: Rape victim imprisoned in the name of ‘safe custody’ for a week [UA-BA-01.07.2010]
ISSUES: Kidnapping, rape, lack of appropriate health services, arbitrary detention.
Dear Friends,
Between the 23rd of June until the 26th of June 2010 Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights together with GHRD investigated the abduction and rape of a 24 year old woman. After the woman was recovered she was imprisoned at the Rangpur Central Jail for eight days, in the name of ‘safe custody’.
Mrs. Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Office of the Prime Minister
Tejgaon, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 811 3244 / 3243 / 1015 / 1490
Tel: +880 2 882 816 079 / 988 8677
E-mail: pm@pmo.gov.bd or ps1topm@pmo.gov.bd or psecy@pmo.gov.bd
Subject: Seeking justice through the proper investigation of the
incident of abduction and rape by the Jubo League cadre.
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).
Bangladesh: Security
forces
used excessive force during raid
Bangladeshi security
forces
used excessive force during a raid on the house of a senior opposition
politician on 27 June, Amnesty International said today.
The Bangladesh Rapid
Action
Battalion (RAB) carried out a violent attack on those gathered
peacefully
inside the house of Mirza Abbas, a leading Bangladesh National Party
(BNP)
politician and former mayor of Dhaka, according to testimony given to
Amnesty
International.
Victims of the raid
described
sustained and unprovoked beatings of activists and Mirza Abbas’ family
members, denial of medical treatment after arrests, and the eliciting of
signatures on blank forms as a condition of release, which Amnesty
International
suspects are for the purpose of falsifying confessions.
Despite of promising to promote and protect human
right in Bangladesh, it is widespread across the country
(The
State of Human Rights for the Month
of June 2010)
The Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) is a
non-profit, non-governmental organisation registered with the Department of
Social Welfare, Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh based on the
United Nation Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) dedicated to promote and
protect human rights in Bangladesh. BIHR publishes its state of
Human Rights for the period of June 01 to June 30, 2010. The report was
prepared by the research and documentation cell of BIHR on the basis of report
published on 12 national news papers from June 02 to July 01, 2010,
fact-finding mission and its direct sources. BIHR is resents and is deeply concerned over the continuing
human rights violations in Bangladesh despite the promises to promote
human rights, especially in regards to Extra-judicial Killing. Adv. Shahanur
Islam, the Secretary General of BIHR asks the Government to take prompt and
effective measures ensuring and end to all kinds of violations as well as
demands to investigate and bring the alleged perpetrations before the book, forming
a special commission.
