Human rights of minority groups slightly improves: Report

The human rights of the minority community has slightly improved in 2010 in the country due to some effective steps of the government, according to a recent human rights report.
The report said 2010 saw some improvement for minorities as members of minorities held several important positions of the government and some steps were taken towards controlling the curriculum of Madrasa.

Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD) and Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) jointly prepared the report titled 'Human Rights Report 2010: Minorities in Bangladesh', which was released at Dhaka Reporters Unity Monday morning.

NHRC chairman for special committee to return vested properties

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Prof Dr Mizanur Rahman on Monday urged the government to form a special committee to return the vested properties to the minority community.

"I recommend forming a special committee headed by Prof Abul Barakat, who is working in the field, to return the vested properties to the minority community," he said at a function marking the release of human rights report at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the morning.

Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD) and Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) jointly prepared the report, titled 'Human Rights Report 2010: Minorities in Bangladesh'.

NHRC chair for new commission to return vested property

National Human Rights Commission chairman Mizanur Rahman on Monday suggested for the appointment of a commission to find out a mechanism for the restoration of vested properties to their owners or their successors.

He made the suggestion while speaking at a news conference jointly hosted by Global Human Rights Defense and Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights at Dhaka Reporters Unity on the occasion of publication of ‘Human Rights Report 2010: Minorities in Bangladesh.’

Custodial Deaths: NHRC chief wants strong govt warning

National Human Rights Commission Chairman Mizanur Rahman yesterday urged the home minister to issue a circular with a strong warning against custodial deaths.

If the circular is issued, it will help bring down the rate of custodial deaths and improve human rights condition in the country, he said.

Mizanur was speaking at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity on publication of "Human rights report on Minority community in Bangladesh, 2010" jointly conducted by Bangladesh Institute of Human` Rights (BIHR), Dhaka and Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), the Netherlands.

আমলাদের কারণে মানবাধিকার কমিশনে লোকবল নিয়োগ হচ্ছে না

মানবাধিকার কমিশনের চেয়ারম্যান ড. মিজানুর রহমান বলেছেন, প্রধানমন্ত্রীর অনুমোদনের পরও আমলাদের কারণে মানবাধিকার কমিশনে ২৮ লোকবল নিয়োগ দেয়া সম্ভব হচ্ছে না। আজ সোমবার রিপোর্টার্স ইউনিটিতে বাংলাদেশ সংখ্যালঘু মানবাধিকার প্রতিবেদন-২০১০ প্রকাশনা অনুষ্ঠানে তিনি এ কথা বলেন। গ্লোবাল হিউম্যান রাইটস ডিফেন্স ও বাংলাদেশ ইনস্টিটিউট অব হিউম্যান রাইটস এ প্রকাশনার আয়োজন করে।

অনুষ্ঠানে ড. মিজানুর রহমান বলেন, লোকবল নিয়োগ বন্ধ থাকলেও মানবাধিকার কমিশনের কাজ বন্ধ থাকবে না। প্রয়োজনে দেশের ছাত্র-ছাত্রীদের নিয়ে কার্যক্রম চালিয়ে যাবে মানবাধিকার কমিশন।
তিনি বলেন, মানবাধিকার কমিশনের কর্মীরা কোন ধর্ম বা গোষ্ঠীর নয়। তারা মানুষ হিসেবে কাজ করে যাচ্ছেন।

আটক অবস্থায় মৃত্যু: 'বাহিনীর সংশ্লিষ্ট সদস্যকে বরখাস্ত করা উচিত'

আটক অবস্থায় নির্যাতনে অপরাধীর মৃত্যু হলে আইন-শৃঙ্খলা বাহিনীর সংশ্লিষ্ট সদস্যকে সাময়িক বরখাস্ত করতে স্বরাষ্ট্রমন্ত্রীর কাছে অনুরোধ করেছেন মানবাধিকার কমিশন চেয়ারম্যান।

সোমবার রিপোর্টার্স ইউনিটিতে 'বাংলাদেশ সংখ্যালঘু মানবাধিকার প্রতিবেদন ২০১০' প্রকাশ উপলক্ষ্যে আয়োজিত এক সংবাদ সম্মেলনে এ অনুরোধ করেন কমিশন চেয়ারম্যান মিজানুর রহমান।

আটক অবস্থায় নির্যাতনে মৃত্যু রোধে আইন দরকার নেই- মন্তব্য করে তিনি বলেন,"যারা অপরাধীদের আটকাবস্থায় নির্যাতন করবে তাদের তাৎক্ষণিকভাবে বরখাস্ত করার সাজা দেওয়া হবে।

NHRC chairman suggests forming special committee to return vested properties to minority community

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Prof Dr Mizanur Rahman on Monday urged the government to form a special committee to return the vested properties to the minority community.

“I recommend forming a special committee headed by Prof Abul Barakat, who is working in the field, to return the vested properties to the minority community,” he said at a function marking the release of human rights report at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the morning.

Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD) and Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) jointly prepared the report, titled ‘Human Rights Report 2010: Minorities in Bangladesh’.

CUSTODIAL DEATHS 'Accused should be suspended instantly'

Mon, Feb 28th, 2011 7:20 pm

The human rights watchdog chief has called for instant suspension of the accused lawmen as an initial measure to prevent custodial deaths.

Speaking on the unveiling of 'Human Rights Report 2010: Minorities in Bangladesh' at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Monday, National Human Rights Commission chairman Mizanur Rahman urged the home minister to consider the matter urgently.

He commented that there was no need for a separate law to prevent custodial deaths if law enforcers, accused of torturing or killing criminals, were suspended instantly.

PRESS RELEASE: Press conference on publishing “Human Rights Report 2010: Minorities in Bangladesh”

Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) together with Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD )is going to organized a press conference on publish the “Human Rights Report 2010: Minorities in Bangladesh” on 28^th February 2011 from 10 am to 1.00pm at VIP Lounge, Dhaka Reporters Unity, 8/4-A Toppkhana Road, Segun Bagicha, Dhaka

FORWARDED APEEAL:BANGLADESH: Arson attack on Jumma minority community in Rangamati, Chittagong Hill Tracts

Dear Friends,
Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) is forwarding the urgent appeal from Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), Netherlands regarding Arson attack on Jumma minority community in Rangamati, Chittagong Hill Tracts.

STATEMENT: BIHR gravely concerns about the massive communal attack on Jumma villages by Bengali settlers.

On 17 February 2011, following a death, the Bengali settlers from Gulshakhali settler area of Gulshakhali union under Longadu upazila in Rangamati district in collaboration with Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) (formerly BDR) made a massive communal attack on Jumma villages of Gulshakhali and Rangi Para areas. It is learnt that at least 23 houses of Jumma villagers including one BRAC school were reportedly burnt to ashes in the attack while two Jumma students were seriously injured in another attack made at Tintilya launchghat in Longadu at noon. 

STATEMENT:BIHR gravely concerns about arson attacks in CHT

সুত্র: বিআইএইচআর/এস/০২/০২/১১                                                   তারিখ : ১৮ ফেব্রুয়ারী ২০১১

বিবৃতি: পার্বত্য চট্রগ্রামে পাহাড়ি-বাঙালি সহিংসতায় বিআইএইচআর তীব্র নিন্দা ও প্রতিবাদ জানাচ্ছে।

বাংগালী সেটলার এর মৃত্যুকে কেন্দ্র করে আজ রাঙ্গামাটি জেলার লংগদু উপজেলাধীন গুলসাখালী ইউনিয়নের গুলশাখালী ও রাঙ্গীপাড়া এলাকায় নিরাপত্তা বাহিনীর প্রত্যক্ষ সহযোগিতায় সেটেলার বাঙালি কর্তৃক জুম্মদের গ্রামে সাম্প্রদায়িক হামলা ও ঘরবাড়ীতে অগ্নিসংযোগের ঘটনায় বাংলাদেশ ইন্সস্টিটিউট অব হিউম্যান রাইটস ( বিআইএইচআর ) তীব্র নিন্দা ও প্রতিবাদ জানাচ্ছে।

FACT FINDING REPORT:Human rights lawyer Mr. Shahanur Islam along with his two comrades physically attacked during an investigation: Looted their all belongings

Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights  is deeply concerned about the recent incident of physical assault and threats of Mr. Shahanur Islam, BIHR’s Executive Director and lawyer in Bangladesh.

During an investigation on the 9^th of January, 2011 Mr. Shahanur Islam and his two fact-finding officers were physically attacked, threatened and looted all their valuable belongings in Thakurgaon district.This incident is unfortunately one of many that has taken place over the past few years, where Mr. Islam has been exposed to threats and assault as a result of his work to protect minorities in the country. Human rights defenders are frequently subjected to harassment from authorities in Bangladesh. The incident must be investigated and appropriate sanctions be meted to the police authority in question. BIHR urges for the immediate intervention to ensure the protection of human rights defenders and lawyers in their daily work in Bangladesh.

BIHR & HRDP celebrates the International Human Rights Day in Khulna

Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and Human Rights development Project-Khulna (HRDP) supported by Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD), Netherlands celebrates the International Human Rights Day 2010 in Khulna, the southern region of Bangladesh. As the part of the celebration of this day it has organized a Human Chain followed by the Rally, on the theme of “Speak up: Stop Discrimination” to raise even more awareness about rights and opportunity for the women & girl to show support to those women & girl who are often victimized in violence in Bangladeshi society.

The Human Chain and Rally took place in front of the Cemetery Road, Khulna around at 9.30 am, the organization and more than four hundred people of different ethnic, religious, race, profession, sex, institution, age attend the event. Among them, more than 150 women victim of torture and organized violence from five different victim association namely Sonali Victim Association, Progoti Victim Association, Sheikhpara Victim Association, Diyara Victim Association & Banargati Victim Association who were rehabilitated by Bangladesh Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma Victims (BRCT) and acting as a human rights defender in local level were attend the event.

JusticeMakers Inspire Each Other via Skype

Following the success of the inaugural JusticeMaker conference call with partners from South Asia and the Caucasus, Thomas Halusa (Singapore) and Wouter Krujis (Geneva) organized a second call in order to give another group of JusticeMakers the opportunity to be inspired by the progress of their colleagues’ projects. The conference call took place on 26 November 2010, with participation from Oanh Hoang Ngo (Vietnam), Jae de la Cruz (Philippines), Ajeng Larasati (Indonesia) and Shahanur Islam (Bangladesh). Their brainstorming session highlighted their innovative practices and unique approaches, and how these could be adapted for use in different countries.

The primary topic of conversation was the best way to interact with governments. Each JusticeMaker had different experiences of this, based on the significant variances in their project targets and processes. Shahanur, whose project focuses on raising awareness about torture and highlighting Bangladesh’s commitments to international treaties, takes a high-profile approach. His latest success, having four police officers arrested for the torture of a human rights activist, emphasizes the very proactive nature of his project. He uses the media to publicize instances of torture. He has had successes in fostering partnerships with the police, and periodically exchanges information with the local superintendent about the legal aid situation in Dhaka. By finding amiable partners in the police force, Shahanur is adhering to the IBJ method of “change from within.” By using a collaborative approach, he is likely to garner more partners in long term, thus helping to ensure that torture is eradicated from Bangladesh.

Oanh’s project focuses on analyzing the legal rights of juvenile and indigent detainees in and around Hanoi. She also intends to provide training for lawyers on this issue, and her work requires a lot of government interaction. Oanh’s application highlighted the fact that well-trained lawyers are needed to ensure that a sound juvenile legal aid network in Vietnam can be established. In order to achieve this, she has collaborated with the Bar Association, Ministry of Justice, and universities. The first training she held was attended by various dignitaries, including the Vice Chief Judge of Bacnih Province, the Head of the Appeal and Procuracy Department for the Hanoi prosecutor, the Vice-President of the Vietnam Bar Association, the Vice-Chief of the Vietnam Legal Aid Bureau, and two international lawyers from Warsaw, Poland. More than 200 lawyers-in-training were also present. By collaborating with the government to run these sessions, Oanh is able to foster long-term relationships and governmental support for other such initiatives. Oanh’s work to establish a strong support network can help ensure that her changes in Vietnamese juvenile justice will ultimately by systemic and long-lasting.

Government plays a central role in Ajeng’s project implementation as well. Ajeng focuses on ensuring that pre-trial detainees around Jakarta are educated about the legal system and their rights. She has to enter prisons and work hand-in-hand with detainees to complete her training sessions and achieve her goals. Although prison officials have welcomed her plans and have even invited her to enter the jails several months ahead of her planned visits, Ajeng has run into some bureaucratic challenges. In Indonesia, a person wishing to enter a jail needs permission from the Director General of Prisons. Bureaucratic delays in receiving this permission have slowed down her project implementation.

For Jae, whose project is to create a network of paralegals to support farmers’ rights in the rural Philippines, the problem at hand isn’t bureaucracy, but democracy. The recent elections in the Philippines have resulted in a change in government, and consequently most of the provincial officials have been replaced. Because many agreements that Jae had reached with these officials had been conducted verbally, with few paper records of decisions made, some of Jae’s immediate plans have to be re-assessed. Her plans to organize a round-table discussion between police, military, the Supreme Court and the Justice Department have to be re-started. Jae intends to avoid this issue in future by keeping concrete records of all the steps she’s taken.  Despite this setback, Jae’s is hopeful about the future success of her project due to recent positive signs about the Filipino justice system. In a recent landmark decision, the Supreme Court temporarily suspended a judge that was deemed corrupt. This is the first in hopefully many steps towards the establishment of a more efficient legal system.

Dealing with bureaucracy is presents a challenge for all JusticeMakers. However, both Ajeng and Jae have found innovative ways to deal with it. Ajeng’s work is often adversely affected by corruption, which is pervasive in Indonesia, but she has developed an ingenious way of coping with these difficulties. When officials ask for bribes, Ajeng asks for an automated invoice to satisfy her NGO’s funders. This approach solves the problem in a non-confrontational way, and puts out the message that Ajeng won’t be affected by corrupt officials.

Jae manages to efficiently navigate the Philippines’ dense bureaucracy by befriending court officials. This allows her to receive information quickly, as employees of the courts are more willing to help her on the basis of their personal friendship. Jae has also procured a demand letter, which, when shown to officials, forces bureaucrats to provide the necessary material. Because this is a more acrimonious approach, and tends to take longer, Jae uses it only as a last resort.

In addition to discussions about governmental relations, IBJ wanted to hear from the JusticeMakers how they used media or P.R. to publicize their projects.  The JusticeMakers who participated in the second conference call all had very different experiences with the media. Jae, for example, tends not to interact with media to spread her project’s message: farmers in the rural Philippines do not often use radio, newspapers or the internet; thus using a media source would not particularly add to her project’s reach. On the other hand, Shahanur utilizes media sources heavily to emphasize his project and its impact. By managing to stay in within the public’s sphere of interest, the effectiveness of his project has improved.

By interacting with each through the call, all the JusticeMakers were able to find hope in the passion and commitment of their peers. Ideas, such as Ajeng’s, of asking for receipts when people are soliciting a bribe, are adaptable and effective. Interactions such as these help lay the foundation for the fellowship IBJ hopes to inspire throughout the JusticeMaker community.

Human rights groups urge repeal of India emergency law to end protester's 10-year hunger fast

		Human rights organizations today submitted a petition to the government of India declaring their support for a 10-year hunger fast of a woman from Manipur in India against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Sixty-two human rights organizations and 46 individuals signed the petition to mark the 10th anniversary on 2 November of the hunger strike of Irom Sharmila to protest against the continued imposition of the AFSPA in Manipur.

REPORT:Home Ministry Probe of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s Death In RAB-Police Custody

People’s Republic of Bangladesh Government

Ministry of Home Affairs

Law Branch

Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka-1000

Investigation Report

Reference:

(1) The order of 09/03/2010 under the complaint no.89/09 of National Human Rights Commission, 6/3 Block-D, Lalmatia, Dhaka, based on the complaints of Asian Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and other international organisations working with issues of human rights.