The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you to draw your attention to the need for a more concerted effort on the part of UN experts to deal with the appalling human rights situation in Bangladesh, particularly for women.
In recent weeks, as you may know, the AHRC has written to the UN Human Rights Council, High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN independent experts drawing their attention to particular concerns that we have for the rights of people in Bangladesh, including the incidence of torture, extrajudicial killing, rape and the related non-independence of the judiciary and non-existence of a national human rights institution there.
As you are aware, women bear the brunt of frequent acts of violence and systemic lawlessness by law-enforcing agencies in Bangladesh. The AHRC is among other groups that have communicated to you the details of numerous cases of alleged killing, assault, torture, rape and other gross abuses of women by the police. We also appreciate the fact that you have communicated your concerns about many of these cases to its government. Similarly, we acknowledge the work of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in pointing to the “rampant” and “increasing” violence against women in Bangladesh “indicating the failure of… laws to act as an effective deterrent” and the lack of changes in relevant legislation (CEDAW/C/SR.653, 2004. paras 23 & 38).
The AHRC supports the assessment of the UN that violence against women in Bangladesh is extremely high, and in our opinion this is a direct consequence of the absence of measures for effective redress. It is also concerned that the purported measures to address violence against women by the government of Bangladesh do not serve their stated purpose. For instance, although the Women and Children Repression Prevention (Special Provision) (Amended) Act 2003 has been introduced together with special tribunals across the country, as the AHRC has pointed out to the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the lower courts in Bangladesh do not operate independently of the rest of government (AS-OL-045-2006). These tribunals are themselves answerable to the ministries of home affairs and law, justice and parliamentary affairs. It follows that where cases involve allegations against state officers the tribunals are liable to reach problematic conclusions.
The case of Shahin Sultana Santa is indicative. Santa was brutally assaulted in public and later in custody by the police on the orders of senior officers. Despite a judicial probe commission having concluded that “the victim was excessively tortured unnecessarily, which is a punishable crime under the Penal Code, if it is sanctioned by the authority according to the section 132 of the Criminal Procedure Code”, special tribunal Judge Kaniz Fatema Nasrina Khanam dismissed the entire case on the ground that the intent of the police to cause harm to Santa had not been proven as required by the Women and Child Repression Prevention Act. Santa is now appealing the decision in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, her family and witnesses to the case have faced relentless harassment by the police against which they have obtained no security. In her case, the enactment of a law and establishment of a special tribunal to protect her rights failed because of the wider legal and political conditions of the country.
The Women and Children Repression Prevention Act has also been distorted to serve as another weapon for harassment and arbitrary arrest and detention of innocent persons. The AHRC is informed by concerned professionals that as much as 90 per cent of cases lodged under the act have been false, and have been made not to protect women’s and children’s rights but in order to attack business or political rivals, or for similar reasons. In this respect the act is again the product of the wider legal conditions in which it has been placed, where existing provisions, notably section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code, have been misused since independence and earlier to detain anyone on a general allegation of an offence.
The Asian Human Rights Commission is convinced that a more active approach taken by United Nations rights bodies and experts would have an effect on the situation in Bangladesh. Up until now, it is notable that the country has escaped serious sustained international scrutiny through vague commitments by its representatives to treaty bodies and other concerned mandates. As a result, it has obtained a position for itself on the new UN Human Rights Council without strenuous examination of its actual record on human rights and its commitments to international laws.
Accordingly, the AHRC requests of you that you seek to make a visit to Bangladesh at the nearest opportunity to assess the situation yourself, and in particular examine the prevalence of violence against women there in reference to the wider violence and systemic impunity enjoyed by security forces, and the country’s compromised and defective judicial system. We strongly believe that a greater emphasis on the situation of women in Bangladesh from your office together with similar work by other UN experts will contribute greatly to effecting the necessary changes for better protection of both their rights and lives.
We look forward to your involvement and stand ready to assist at any time and by whatever means at our disposal.
Yours sincerely
Basil Fernando
Executive Director
Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong
