An Announcement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre
Parallel Event: UN Human Rights Council 26th Session
‘Rule of Law in Bangladesh’
Thursday 19 June 2014, 16:00-18:00
Room XXIII, Palais des Nations
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation along with the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) invite you to a parallel event on “The Rule of Law in Bangladesh.”
The event is scheduled for 19 June 2014 from 16:00 to 18:00 along-side the 26th session of the Human Rights Council.
Bangladesh acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on 6 September 2000. The country is also a party to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and eight other important international human rights conventions. Bangladesh was a member of the UN Human Rights Council during the first six years after the formation of the Council. During this period the Council reviewed Bangladesh under the Universal Periodic Review in 2009 and in 2013.
The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees a democratic administrative framework that ensures fundamental rights to all its citizens. The ALRC over the years have gathered extensive documentation that proves, unfortunately that these promises are not realised within Bangladesh.
Basic institutions that are required to uphold the rule of law in Bangladesh, like the judiciary and the country’s entire administrative framework today lacks moral, intellectual and infrastructural capacity to undertake their mandate. The justice apparatus in particular is unable to protect rights and guarantees to the citizens. Hence, what prevails in Bangladesh today is the culture of impunity.
The parallel event will discuss substantively the reasons for the prevailing and appalling situation of the rule of law in Bangladesh.
Programme details:
Topic: “Rule of Law in Bangladesh”
Date & Time: 19 June 2014, from 16:00 to 18:00
Venue: Room XXIII, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
Chair: Ms Renate D. Bloem, UN Representative (Geneva), CIVICUS.
Speakers:
1. Mr. Md. Ashrafuzzaman, Programme Coordinator, Urgent Appeals Programme of the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) will speak to the reasons for the inability of the criminal justice institutions in Bangladesh to uphold the rule of law;
2. Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, Secretary of Odhikar, a human rights organisation based in Bangladesh, will speak about the abuse of the Information and Technology Act, 2006 to suppress human rights and fundamental freedoms in Bangladesh;
3. Mr. Jerald Staberock, Secretary General, OMCT, will speak about the practice of torture and human rights activism in Bangladesh.
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About the ALRC: The Asian Legal Resource Centre is an independent regional non-governmental organisation holding general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. It is the sister organisation of the Asian Human Rights Commission. The Hong Kong-based group seeks to strengthen and encourage positive action on legal and human rights issues at the local and national levels throughout Asia.
