BANGLADESH: UN HRC seeks to criminalise enforced disappearances and end torture

A Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: UN HRC seeks to criminalise enforced disappearances and end torture  The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) welcomes the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s Concluding Observations, which insist that Bangladesh must “effectively criminalise enforced disappearance” and “put an end to the practice of torture and ill-treatment”. The Committee has also asked the Government of Bangladesh to provide, in its next periodic report, (i) the number of investigations conducted; (ii) the convictions secured and (iii) the disaggregated information on penalties that have been imposed on perpetrators. These Observations are a result of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), a Treaty Body established […]

BANGLADESH: Torture victims demand justice

Torture victims Babul Akhtar and Junayed Hossain Leon shared their painful experiences of sustaining torture by law-enforcement agencies while in detention. Wife and daughter of Mr. Mahmudur Rahman Manna, a civil society activist, who remains arbitrarily detained, and has been tortured in custody, shared their dreadful experiences regarding the excruciating law-enforcement system in Bangladesh.

BANGLADESH: UN rights mechanisms need reshaping to address extrajudicial executions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-CWS-29-01-2015 May 25, 2015 Joint written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre and Odhikar BANGLADESH: UN rights mechanisms need reshaping to address extrajudicial executions The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and Odhikar request the UN Human Rights Council to consider amending the human rights mechanisms so that the entrenched problems of extrajudicial executions can be addressed. The ALRC makes this request on the basis of experience working on extrajudicial executions in Bangladesh, where no judicial or administrative remedies are accessible for such crimes. Extrajudicial executions in Bangladesh have been gradually institutionalised in the last decade or so. Since the creation […]

BANGLADESH: Freedom of press stifled, and democracy in the decline

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-STM-005-2015 May 2, 2015 A Joint Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre, and Odhikar BANGLADESH: Freedom of press stifled, and democracy in the decline May 3 is the World Press Freedom Day. This day is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to assess the state of press freedom throughout the world; to defend the media from attacks on their independence; and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. In Bangladesh, however, the day will be observed as yet another day, where scribes will continue to face physical threat and other harassment, falsely implicated in […]

BANGLADESH: People’s rights cannot be conceived without the existence of the rule of law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE ALRC-PRL-001-2014 A Press Release by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: People’s rights cannot be conceived without the existence of the rule of law (Hong Kong, September 12, 2014) “People’s rights cannot be conceived without the existence of the rule of law, in any given territory,” says the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) in a new edition of its quarterly journal, article2, examining the inexistence of the rule of law in Bangladesh. The publication titled “Special Report: Inexistent Rule of Law in Bangladesh“, Vol. 13, No. 2 & 3, June – September 2014, is now available online. This special edition focuses on the criminal justice […]

ASIA: Parallel event on Rule of Law in Bangladesh

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-ANM-002-2014 June 17, 2014 An Announcement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre ASIA:Parallel event on Rule of Law in Bangladesh 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 […]

BANGLADESH: Big Brother Law for NGOs on the anvil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-STM-002-2014 June 13, 2014 A Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: Big Brother Law for NGOs on the anvil The Bangladesh government wants to quash human rights activism. The cabinet has approved the “Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulations Bill, 2014”, which will likely become law soon. The Bill empowers bureaucrats to decide the fate of NGOs and voluntary activities. All individuals or collectives, from NGO’s to volunteer groups, receiving foreign funds for implementing projects will be under constant surveillance under this law. The law will usher even more arbitrary executive actions in Bangladesh. The Bill, in its current form, empowers bureaucrats to grant registration to […]

BANGLADESH: Incommensurable with the rule of law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-STM-001-2014 May 22, 2014 A Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: Incommensurable with the rule of law The international community continues to invest effort in developing governance systems in countries like Bangladesh. Understanding the dynamics of the country where resources are invested thus remains a quest. Human rights experts hailing from countries with mature democracies and functioning rule of law institutions tend to be well-versed in the behaviour of their country’s institutions. But, such prisms can have little meaning elsewhere. The realities for a citizen in a rule of law nation and realities for a citizen in a country like Bangladesh are incommensurable. In a […]