Public Lecture on Constitutionalism

Dr. Kamal Hossain urges for practice of rule of law

Eminent Jurist Dr. Kamal Hossain has said the ownership of the State belongs to the People, and the elected representatives are mandated to serve the people in line with the Constitution.

He observed that for establishing rule of law there are requirements of good intentions and consciousness among politicians. Impartiality of the administration is also necessary, he continued; otherwise only law will not serve purposes.  

Regarding impunity for the convicts, he told that this should be practised very carefully- on a case by case basis; and on a rare circumstance only for ensuring justice. If it is done on a wholesale basis and also on a political consideration then it is tantamount to abuse of authority and power, and gross violations of Constitutional provisions. 

He said this on 26 November 2012 at a public lecture on Constitutionalism organized by the Human Rights Law Clinic (HRLC) at UNESCO Madanjeet Singh South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (UMSAILS) in Dhaka.

Dr. Hossain, also the Chairperson of the Governing Council of UMSAILS observed that the political use of a religion could not bring any benefit to any society; Pakistan is an example in that regard. 

Referring to the 15^th Amendment of Bangladesh Constitution, he opined that making Islam as the State religion has gone against the tradition of secularism practised by people here for centuries; it is also against the spirit of the Liberation War of Bangladesh.

He said that during the Liberation War in 1971, the Pakistani military has committed genocide against the Bangalees in (present) Bangladesh in the name of protecting a particular religion. 

Referring to incidents of extra-judicial killings by members of law enforcement agencies, the renowned jurist said that those are violations of fundamental rights and against the rule of law. On increasing incidents of lynching, he observed that those reflect erosion of tolerance in the society and lack of respect for rule of law. As a remedy, Dr. Hossain emphasized on strengthening capacity of police and to enhance professionalism among them.

“For ensuring a discrimination and violence free society, we should promote and uphold the spirit of the Constitution and rule of law,” he said. He underlined on importance of educating people on basic principles of the Constitution.

Barrister Abdul Halim and Barrister Shameem Haider Patwary among others participated in the open discussion. Dr. Uttam Kumar Das, a Human Rights Lawyer gave the address of welcome. 

The session was attended by 40 law students, legal academics and practitioners.#

Reported by: Akramul Islam, Emraan Azad, Mahady Hasan and Srabani.  

                  Dr. Kamal Hossain with Participants of Human Rights Law Clinic.

Judicial activism as a tool for the protection of human rights

Law Event

Judicial activism as a tool for the protection of human rights

Mahdy Hassan 

The Human Rights Law Clinic (HRLC) at UNESCO Madanjeet Singh South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (UMSAILS) organised a lecture session on “Judicial Activism: A Tool for the Protection of Human Rights” on 10th November 2012 at its conference Room at Dhanmondi, Dhaka. Dr. Ridwanul Hoque, Associate Professor of the Department of Law, University of Dhaka was the keynote speaker at that lecture session. Among others, Mr. Anisur Rahman, Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Law, Eastern University and Mr. Shankor Paul, Head of Human Rights at Concern Universal, Bangladesh spoke at the session. Dr. Uttam Kumar Das, Human Rights Lawyer, moderated it. The speakers and discussants observed that there is a requirement for a pro-active role of judges and relevant legal professionals for the strategic utilization of judicial activism for ensuring the people's access to justice. 

There is a lack of understanding and scholarship in Bangladesh on the concept and application of judicial activism said Dr. Ridwanul Hoque while giving his lecture. He claimed that the Judges cannot act arbitrarily rather they should act judicially. When the judges approach the law going beyond the two persons or two parties of the case or suit effectively, then it is called 'Judicial Activism'. Judicial Activism can be the best tool for the protection of human rights but the State is the main culprit for the violation of human rights. Existing poor mechanism of the protection of Human Rights in Bangladesh and breaking down of the 'Rule of Law' are great problems for a sound judicial activism. Disappearance, cross-fire are regularly being traditionalised and girls are being victimized in the safe custody which are the gross violation of human rights. Sometimes someone is detained unlawfully and at last the court says that 'you are free now' which cannot be a good practice of judicial activism. However, Judges are in better place to be an activist of human rights. 

He went on to say that, now the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is well established in Bangladesh. It should not be confined only in the fundamental rights -- part three of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The scope of judicial activism should be practiced in each organ of human rights.

The writer is a Student of Law, University of Dhaka.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 24 November 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2012/11/04/advocate.htm

The Rohingya issue-Shun laidback approach

Editorial
The Rohingya issue- Shun laidback approach

The pledge of the Myanmar authority to consider a set of new rights for Rohingyas, who have been made stateless in their own country, does not go far enough. It is the question of citizenship of the Muslims of Arakan State that is the nub of the issue. Amidst renewed violence against them in Myanmar, an early resolution of the matter assumes great importance.

The plight of the Rohingyas has been greatly enhanced by the fact that they have nowhere to seek succor except the sea, to escape the persecution, which, according to the OIC, has assumed 'genocidal' proportions.

What is appalling is the position taken by the Myanmar Nobel Laureate on the issue. We find Suu Kyi's unwillingness to take the side of the oppressed as morally untenable, particularly for a Nobel Peace Laureate. Contrary to her belief, her keeping equidistance from the issue will not promote national reconciliation; it will only encourage the oppressors to do more of what they are doing.

However, we hope that the chorus of international condemnation, including that of the UN and the OIC, of the Myanmar government's failure to protect its ethnic minority and even turning a blind eye to the violence perpetrated on them by the majority community with the support of the government agencies, would have a positive impact. And we would hope that President Obama would be able to convince the Myanmar junta to resolve the longstanding ethnic issue, during his forthcoming visit to that country.

While Bangladesh may have made its position clear to the OIC about its stance on the Rohingya issue, and it may have reasons for not offering permanent refuge to them, we find its unwillingness to be more forceful in calling upon the Myanmar government as well the international community, to stop the persecution, rather baffling. The problem is not an exclusively Myanmar issue. Bangladesh suffers the consequences of their persecution and can ill afford to remain a spectator to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingyas. It must add its voice in as strong a manner as possible to that of the international community's in calling upon the Myanmar government for a just resolution of the matter.

Readers' Comments:

It is much to be regretted that Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate, should overlook the sectarian violence on the Muslim Rohingas by the Rakhine Buddhists of her country. She is rather making matters worse by trying to internationalize an internal problem. Contrary to facts, she has wrongly raised her fingers at Bangladeshi infiltration into Rakhine state. How could she ignore the displacement of more than 100,000 persons only in the last six months? Their houses have been burnt, hundred killed, their property looted, women raped. The human tragedy has been termed by some as genocidal -and 90 per cent of the victims are Rohingas. That the Muslim community is deprived of their citizenship and that thousands still remain stranded in the coastal waters without food and nutrition is a moving humanitarian tale rarely to be witnessed in recent decades. By failing to rise up to the occasion, she has lost much of her charisma, prudence, quality of leadership and above all her hall-mark to be the champion of democratic rights of people. We pray that she realizes her mistakes and play a constructive role in the reconciliation of the two communities.
: Dr. Iftikhar-ul-Awwal

We are not expecting that NLD (National League for Democracy) can make policy or implement them because we know that NLD is just opposition party. What we want from Suu Kyi is that she must have moral courage to stand for the principle even not popular among voters such as Rohingya citizenship issue. All expectation are not from NLD but from national leader Suu Kyi . She could have defused the tension between Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslims by making a statement on the principle but she failed and thousand of innocent people are still paying the price.
: Naser Mullah , Riyadh KSA

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 19 Novemver 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=257983

Rohingya Issue- Dhaka shocked by Suu Kyi's comments

By Diplomatic Correspondent
Dhaka has expressed surprise over Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's recent comments about Rohingyas in her country's Rakhine state terming them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

In a press statement yesterday, the foreign ministry said such comments were clearly inconsistent with the position of the Myanmar government, and the action taken by them to resolve the issue over the past several years.

Suu Kyi on November 13 in India described the recent violence in west Myanmar between Buddhists and Muslims as a "huge international tragedy", saying illegal immigration from Bangladesh had to be stopped.

Giving a long historical background, the foreign ministry particularly mentioned that the Myanmar government had accepted 236,599 Myanmar refugees of Rohingya ethnicity after their own process of verification.

“There is, therefore, no question that these people had moved from Myanmar into Bangladesh.

“It is the sincere expectation of the Bangladesh government that all concerned will refrain from making statements that are without any basis in fact,” the statement said.

Bangladesh will remain engaged with Myanmar for a durable solution to this outstanding issue in the spirit of good neighbourliness, it added.

The foreign ministry also said historic evidence shows that people of Rohingya ethnicity have been living in the Rakhine state for centuries, whereas Bangladesh came into existence only in 1971.

Therefore, there was no reason to ascribe Bangladesh nationality to these people living in the Rakhine state long before 16th December 1971.

Subsequent to Bangladesh's emergence as an independent state, there had been occasional influxes of Myanmar nationals of Rohingya ethnicity from Myanmar to Bangladesh due to internal situations in their homeland, the statement read.

The last such major influx took place in 1991-92 when 250,877 Myanmar nationals of Rohingya ethnicity took refuge in Bangladesh.

Of these, the Myanmar government took back 236,599 refugees through a tripartite agreement between Bangladesh, Myanmar and UNHCR after verification of their antecedents as people of Myanmar origin.

The remaining Myanmar refugees, along with their offsprings, were staying in two refugee camps in Bangladesh.

A quarter of these residual refugees were verified and confirmed by the Myanmar government as their nationals.

In addition to the above caseload of refugees, a large number of Myanmar nationals, again of Rohingya ethnicity, had subsequently crossed the border and illegally entered Bangladesh.

In numerous interactions at various levels, including during the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Myanmar in December 2011, the Myanmar government had assured Bangladesh to take back these undocumented Myanmar nationals after verification of their origin.

"Bangladesh has noted with appreciation the recent decision of the Myanmar government to review their citizenship laws to ensure inclusive nationality for all members of Myanmar society," the statement said.

Bangladesh also expects that this review would uphold accepted international standards in determining the nationality of all people living in Myanmar, it added.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 19 November 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=258073

Myanmar to look at Rohingya rights

Myanmar to look at Rohingya rights
President Thein Sein writes to UN; OIC decries 'genocide'; Suu Kyi remark shocks many in India

Star Report

Myanmar's president has pledged to consider new rights for the stateless Rohingya minority ahead of a landmark visit by President Barack Obama, but stopped short of a full commitment that citizenship and other new freedoms would be granted.

In a letter sent to the United Nations on Friday, President Thein Sein made conciliatory remarks that condemned the "senseless violence" in western Rakhine state between Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya.

Almost 200 people have died and more than 1,00,000 have been displaced since June in fighting between the two communities, reports Associated press.

The persecution of Rohingyas also affects Bangladesh. Whenever communal violence breaks out in Myanmar, the minorities intrude into Bangladesh through Teknaf bordering area.

Bangladesh accommodates around 29,000 registered Rohingya refugees, although different estimates suggest the number of the Myanmarese minorities unofficially living in and around Cox's Bazar ranges between 2.5 and 5 lakh.

Yesterday, the world's top Islamic body called for the international community to protect Muslims in Myanmar's unrest-hit Rakhine state from "genocide".

"We expect the United States to convey a strong message to the government of Burma so they protect that minority, what is going on there is genocide," said Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, who is the acting chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

"We are telling things how they are, we believe that the United States and other ... countries ... should act quickly to save that minority which is submitted to an oppressive policy and a genocide," he said at the end of an OIC foreign ministers' meeting in Djibouti.

OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of Turkey also urged a stop to what he called "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya, considered among the most persecuted groups in the world by the United Nations.

"We would like the international community to act immediately to stop the ethnic cleansing," he said.

The 57-member OIC decided at an August summit in Mecca to take the issue before the UN General Assembly, writes AFP.

Obama tomorrow will become the first sitting US president to visit Myanmar in a short but hugely symbolic trip that he hopes will spur greater reform in the once isolated country and highlight a rare success for his policy of engaging pariah regimes.

Ahead of the visit, Thein Sein said yesterday that the communal unrest was hampering the country's reforms and causing it "to lose face" on the world stage.

In October, he blocked the OIC from opening an office in the country, following rallies against the organisation's efforts to help Rakhine's Muslims.

In his letter to the UN, Thein Sein made no promises and offered no timeline for resolving the tensions, but it marked an overture to the international community and to Obama.

The White House has urged Myanmar to take urgent action to end the strife and has said Obama will press the matter with Thein Sein, along with demands to free political prisoners as the Southeast Asian country transitions to democracy after a half-century of military rule.

Thein Sein in his letter said his government was prepared to address contentious issues "ranging from resettlement of displaced populations to granting of citizenship," according to a statement from the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that contained excerpts from the letter.

He said he also would look at issues including work permits and permits granting freedom of movement for the Rohingya to ensure they are treated in line with "accepted international norms."

The UN statement called Thein Sein's letter a step "in the right direction."

It was not clear from his letter whether Thein Sein was changing his stance on citizenship for the Rohingya. He has previously cited strict citizenship laws stating that only Rohingya whose families settled in the country before independence from Britain in 1948 were considered citizens.

Meanwhile, Civil society activists in New Delhi have protested against what they said Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's unwillingness to acknowledge Rohingya Muslims' plight in her homeland.

The protesting groups, including the Association for Protection of Civil Rights and the Democratic Students' Union, on Friday issued a statement, in which they disapproved Suu Kyi's continuous silence and ambivalent attitude towards the violence against "a section of her compatriots known as Rohingyas."

Suu Kyi, who is now on a visit to India, told NDTV in an interview on Thursday that both sides were responsible for the ethnic violence in the Rakhine province and she did not want to take sides because she wanted to promote national reconciliation.

"The political position [on the issue] of Suu Kyi, the daughter of respected General Aung San who stood for democracy, peace and minority rights in Burma, is highly condemnable in all respects," the statement says.

"Its a complete hypocrisy that Aung San Suu Kyi doesn't stand by the victims of the ethnic cleansing in Burma [Myanmar], but wants India to stand by her cause," it adds.

The activists on Friday were agitating outside a leading women's college in the capital of India.

Suu Kyi had discredited the plight of Rohingyas by describing the situation in Myanmar as a mere issue of law and order, they said, adding her fight for democracy would remain incomplete until she spoke against the persecution of such minorities in her own country.

The protesters were detained for a brief period at Greater Kailash Police Station before being freed.

The United Nations has called the Rohingya -- who are widely reviled by the Buddhist majority in Myanmar -- among the most persecuted people on Earth.

Myanmar denies the Rohingya citizenship, even though many of their families have lived in Myanmar for generations.

The UN estimates that 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar, where they face heavy-handed restrictions: They need permission to marry, have more than two children and travel outside of their villages.

Reader's Comment:
The international community had time and again insisted that Rohingas be accorded Myanmar citizenship with all their civil and political rights. But Myanmar authorities put inordinate complications in rules and procedures which made the task almost impossible. Asking them to produce documentary proof of their forefathers for a century or so is akin to asking them to leave the land. We must remember the level of their literacy, the heritage of record preservation, the climatic factors, and the social context of frequent changes of homes and hearths which inevitably leads to shedding of vital documents. It is essential to liberalize verification and identification procedures and admit the Rohinga as Myanmar citizens. US President Barack Obama who is shortly expected to pay a state visit to Myanmar should take up the humanitarian issue in earnest, and restore peace in the region.
: Iftikhar-ul-Awwal

Source: The Daily Star, 18 November 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=257938

Participatory Democracy for the Better Protection of Human Rights

Conference Report

By Emraan Azad

The Bielefeld University, Germany, and the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh recently organized a two-day International Workshop from 16 to 17 October 2012 in Dhaka.

The theme of the workshop was “Controversial Democratic Spaces: Land, Environment and Human Rights in Bangladesh.” It was a platform for academics and rights activists to generate ideas on critical issues regarding land, environment and human rights in the context of Bangladesh.

Among other issues, the workshop explored both modes and dynamics of land dispossession in Bangladesh. It reflected on how environmentalism and human rights, through their vernacularized meanings, in relation to land dispossession, intersect at the local level, and how thereby local political spaces have evolved.

The workshop was organized as part of a three-year research project, “Micro-dynamics of Political Communication in World Society” of the Research Group Social Anthropology at the Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University, and in collaboration with the Department of Law, University of Dhaka.

The workshop was inaugurated by Professor Shahnaz Huda, Chairperson, Department of Law, University of Dhaka and Professor Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka, Director of Research Group Social Anthropology, Bielefeld University.

The Research Group at Bielefeld University aims to study the global spread in terms “democracy” and “democratization” based on their local appropriation in Bangladesh.

This was a unique simulation, which incorporated the real-life experiences of global human rights situations.

Professor Katy Gardner of Sussex University rightly examined the processes of “accumulation by dispossession” in an era of corporate social responsibility by drawing attention to the means by which global corporations, in particular mining companies, gain access to the new territories where they operate, whilst at the same time establishing their moral and legal rights to do so. She particularly referred to the case study of Chevron's Bibiyana gas extraction plant in Sylhet.

The workshop was divided into four discussion panels which were chaired by Professor Borhan Uddin Khan, Department of Law, University of Dhaka, Professor Eva Gerharz of the Development Sociology, Ruhr University, Professor Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka of Social Anthropology of Bielefeld University, Professor Asif Nazrul of the Department of Law, University of Dhaka, and Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh respectively.

Amongst others, Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD); Dr. Atiq Rahman, Executive Director at Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, Professor  Amena Mohsin of the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Professor  Mesbah Kamal of the Department of History, University of Dhaka, Professor Shelley Feldman of Cornell University, Dr. Meghna Guhathakurta, of  Research Initiatives Bangladesh, Professor  Taslima Monsoor, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka, Dr. Ridwanul Hoque of the same Faculty, and Mr. Sanjeeb Drong, General Secretary of Bangladesh Indigenous Forum participated in various sessions. 

Emraan Azad is a Student at the Department of Law, University of Dhaka and Volunteer at the Human Rights Law Clinic (HRLC) at UNESCO Madanjeet Singh South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (UMSAILS) in Dhaka.

Concern expressed over human rights (The Daily Star Editorial)

Editorial

Concern expressed over human rights

Uphold rule of law by all means

Human Rights Forum (HRF), a national coalition of 19 rights and development organizations, has portrayed a disquieting picture of the human rights situation. The statistics over the last four years of the AL-led Mohajote government speak for themselves: a total of 156 people have disappeared and 462 got killed in what is euphemistically called crossfire between 2009 and 2012. The figures work out to 39 'forced' disappearances and slightly above 115 extra-judicial killings respectively per year.

This is unacceptable in a democratic polity which should essentially be based on transparency and accountability of its institutions. Cloak-and-dagger policy usually associated with any 'specialised' agency in authoritarian rule is completely out of character with standard norms of democracy. If the government of the day should allow any agency of law enforcement to behave arbitrarily, sooner or later it would abuse power, almost becoming a law unto itself. Much that a major party before polls pledges to curb extra-judicial killings, it reneges on the pledge as soon as it comes to power.

This government stood committed to UNHCR that it would show zero tolerance to extra-judicial killings and to any kind of political repression but 'it did not keep its promises,' regretted HRF-Bangladesh president Sultana Kamal.

In the process, rule of law is undermined; public confidence in custodians of law diminishes; and a sense of insecurity is heightened among the people.

The importance of the HRF report lies in the fact that this has gone to UNHCR to be tabled for discussion in the UN rights body's Geneva meet early next year where the government would be required to respond to the analysis and observations made in a home grown report with inputs from a plethora of rights and development organisations. The international human rights organisations have from time to time expressed their concern over human rights situation in Bangladesh. Now, a national human rights forum in addition to the NHRC has given its perspective which is no different from what has already become public knowledge in terms of human rights issues.

It is time the government addressed the concerns with all the seriousness these deserve.

[Note: The name of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is confused with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)].

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka; 18 November 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=257865

Abductions, Killings- State not duly worried

Abductions, Killings- State not duly worried

NHRC chief tells Prothom Alo roundtable

Staff Correspondent

Despite repeated incidents of killing after abduction and other sorts of unnatural deaths due to criminal activities, the state does not seem to be as worried as it should be, said Dr. Mizanur Rahman yesterday.
Any kind of unnatural death should be a reason for the state's headache.

But seeing the number of such incidents in Bangladesh, it is not visible to us that the state has a headache or is worried,  said the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman.

The rights body chief was speaking as chief guest at a roundtable titled  Child abduction, killing-demanding ransom: Where is the end  organised by the Bangla daily Prothom Alo at its office in the capital.

Referring to the contradictory statements of Rapid Action Battalion and police over whether ransom was paid to secure the release of abducted six-year-old schoolboy Parag Mondol, he said such contradictions create anxiety among people.

The economical and political states of the country as well as a lack in the rule of law are the main reasons for the increase in criminal activities in Bangladesh. Incidents of crime also rise when state machineries are used for political interest, he said.

Addressing the discussion, Ain O Salish Kendra Chairperson Hamida Hossain alleged that negligence in duty by police after different incidents of abduction were observed in the last few years.

Salma Khan, former chairperson of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), said people were losing trust on the rule of law and law enforcement agencies day by day.

Echoing Salma, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder said if law enforcers failed to regain public trust, it would bring dangerous consequences in the future.

The culture of impunity is increasing crime in the society and the country's laws must be enforced strictly to reduce incidents of crime, he said.

Quazi Zia Uddin, assistant inspector general (crime-4) of Bangladesh Police, emphasised concerted efforts from people of all the sections of society to put an end to crime.

Prothom Alo Associate Editor Abdul Quayum suggested setting up a special cell under the home ministry to monitor different abduction related cases.

In the roundtable, family members of Sheikh Farid, a seven-year-old child who was killed after being abducted from Munshiganj last March, demand punishment to the killers.

Prothom Alo Feature Editor Shumana Sharmin moderated the roundtable where Dhaka University's Criminology and Criminal Justice Programme Director AI Mahbubuddin Ahmed also spoke.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka; 18 November 2012; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=257932