Bangladesh: RMG Issues

Wal-Mart under fire for 'unethical business practices'

Labour and garment industry leaders criticise US retail giant for distancing itself from Tazreen fire

Star Business Report

Labour and garment sector leaders yesterday came down hard on US retail giant Wal-Mart over its conduct following the Tazreen fire, saying its business practices were unethical.

“After a fire, Wal-Mart cannot simply say that it would not take products from the factory,” Roy Ramesh Chandra, chairman of Bangladesh National Council (BNC), said at a discussion on the Bangladeshi garment sector.

Chandra, also a member of International Labour Organisation's governing board, added: “The company will have to take responsibility for their part and give compensation to the workers for the loss of future earnings.”

"Otherwise, we will not allow Wal-Mart to do undisturbed business anywhere in the world," he threatened.

Tazreen Fashions was manufacturing garment products for Wal-Mart at the time of the fire that claimed at least 112 lives.

In the aftermath of the fire, Wal-Mart cancelled all ties with Success Apparel, a New York-based sourcing company that used to buy merchandise from Tazreen in a complex sub-contract.

Mohammad Hatem, first vice-president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), too, criticised Wal-Mart for distancing itself following the Tazreen fire -- and refusing to take any responsibility.

“Their approach was not right. They should come forward and help improve the fire safety conditions in the apparel industry," Hatem said.

The BKMEA leader also criticised the buyers for their unwillingness to pay more to the manufacturers.

“They bargain hard for one or two cents, and take their orders to another supplier if they see that it will save them five cents."

Meanwhile, Chandra said as the factory owners do not have the capacity to give salaries to their workers which enables them a decent life, the brands and buyers will have to pay the difference, which will, ultimately, ensure a sound industry.

"Brands and buyers reap the maximum benefits of the garment business around the world," he said.

In his keynote speech, Aamanur Rahman, a deputy director of ActionAid Bangladesh, said the buyers in the value chain cannot finish their responsibility just by placing orders with the suppliers.

"Similarly, they also will not be able to avoid their responsibility by passing on responsibilities onto others when any tragic incident takes place," he said.

Abu Nayeem Md Shahidullah, former director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the Tazreen fire should be a turning point for the garment industry.

“It is necessary to bring comprehensive changes to the sector," he said, while identifying the lax fire safety system as the Achilles' heel of the sector which employs over 30 lakh workers and -- accounts for about 80 percent of the country's exports.

Hatem urged all to use the momentum to take the sector forward -- and not just stop at restoring the garment sector's image.

Shahidullah suggested factory owners to set up their own fire-fighting systems so that any incidence of fire can easily be brought under control.

His successor Ali Ahammed Khan, the newly-appointed DG of the fire service, said fire safety is everyone's business.

Nazma Akhter, executive director of Awaj Foundation, said the country does not have a culture of following labour laws, while adding that the factory owners are hardly informed of the laws.

Akhter said the owners are mostly busy with making the buyers happy, which leaves them with little to no time to take of the rights of the workers. "There is a huge gap between the owners and the workers," she said.

Shirin Akhtar, a rights activist, said workers should be placed at the heart of all the efforts the country makes in repairing its image. "It is a labour-intensive sector, so the owners and the buyers will have to look at the workers if Bangladesh wants to restore its image."

"Labour is never cheap and the workers are not a matter of mercy. The owners will have to take this into consideration,” she said.

An official of a global retain company said a group of major western brands have written to Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, seeking her involvement in talks on fire safety standards at the country's garment factories.

The official said a group of chief executives from European brands, which included Marks & Spencer, New Look Retailers and Primark, under the umbrella of the UK-based Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), signed the letter on January 17. The letter has been sent to the prime minister's office on Tuesday, he said.

Prof Golam Rahman, president of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, and Monsur Ahmed Chowdhury, a governing body member of ActionAid Bangladesh, also spoke.

ActionAid Bangladesh, Population Services and Training Centre, Awaj Foundation and Responsible and Accountable Garments Sector Challenge Fund jointly organised the programme at the CIRCDAP's auditorium in Dhaka. 

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 24 January 2013; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=266370

 

International Crimes Tribunal

Strategically Speaking- Justice is truth in action 

By Brig Gen Shahedul Anam Khan ndc, psc (Retd)

The heading of this piece is a quote, chosen because the acute relevance of it has never been more illustrated than in the first verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal 2, delivered on Monday. Truth has prevailed. The accused Abul Kalam Azad alias Bacchu was charged with crimes against humanity and has been sentenced to death. The message has been loud and clear -- crime will not pay. The only regret for us all, perhaps with a few exceptions, is that the trial had to be conducted in absentia, the accused having made his escape just before he was about to be nabbed.

And this is what we must dwell on first before we go further. It seems that he had many well wishers within the administration. Otherwise, how is it that a person who was under intense investigation could give a slip to everybody and disappear into thin air just before he was about to be nabbed? And now there is speculation that he is in Pakistan, trying to escape to one of the Middle-Eastern countries.

It takes quite a doing to cross over one international border illegally; and he managed to cross over two in that manner, both of those heavily fenced, and one of which is the most dangerous border on the planet, and be happily ensconced in a third country…. how very convenient. There is good reason to believe that the accused had truck with the Jihadis and the political extremists, since it is they who venture across the Indo-Pak border regularly risking their life and limbs. And it is perhaps they that helped him to cross over to Pakistan. In spite of what the law minister says, it seems unlikely that the verdict might be carried out any time soon.

The sentence was bound to cause a flurry of comments. Given that the trial has taken place after more than forty years of the crimes being committed, and also the huge amount of money spent to garner international support against the trial, the furore is only to be expected. It must be mentioned that at one point in time, and particularly after the first tribunal was established, it was made to look as if not only putting the 1971 criminals on trial was a grave act of impropriety, calling for their trial was very wrong too.

What is surprising too is the way some western media have venerated the culprit, as a popular cleric. No man who has been found guilty of the kind of charges leveled against him deserves the appellation that preceded his name, because no one that genuinely carries that reverential title could ever have indulged in the acts that the accused has been found guilty of.

It was not surprising to see certain quarters laying red herrings to mislead the public. It was said of the Court that there was nothing "international" about it. Of course there was not, and it was not meant to be so. It was an indigenous tribunal formed under the International Crimes Tribunal Act-1973. And one is not certain as to what is the datum reference of "international standards" and who defines it? As long the international covenants we have acceded to have been upheld in the process, the fairness should not be questioned.

It is said too that the charges leveled against the accused could have been tried under the existing CrPC. I shall leave it to the legal minds to answer this, but those who pose the question perhaps forget the historical context in which the crimes were committed. The crimes were committed to thwart the Liberation War, and that is what lends a different dimension to the crimes.

What, however, is for the tribunal to have ensured and satisfied all the parties concerned is that the accused was given all the chances to defend himself (something that he and his cohorts in the nine-months of mayhem they perpetrated in Bangladesh in 1971, did not give their helpless victims).

However, we could have done without the so-called SKYPE controversy that came to be associated with the trial because of the very injudicious act of the ex-chairman of the tribunal. Discussing trial matters with somebody who was not directly associated with the trial or a member of the tribunal, outside the court, was flagrant violation of his oath. And this is what has given the scope to some commentators to dub the tribunal as "controversial."

If justice has come, albeit late, it comes as solace to the millions who bear the pains of 1971. But hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of the regime of impunity, because more than anything else this has been the biggest impediment in establishing truth, and without truth justice cannot prevail.

We would hope that the BNP would come out clearly on the issue, and articulate their position on the trial and the verdict clearly. Pettifogging will not do, nor will its facilitating Jamaat to oppose the trials by according it the platform to do so. We would also hope that this will not be used to make political hay by the ruling coalition.

The writer is Editor, Op-ed and Strategic Issues, The Daily Star.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 24 January 2013; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=266370

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal

Editorial:Justice at last 

We take pride that process has commenced

The long awaited process of justice has yielded its verdict against Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar. The court awarded him capital punishment under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973.

This is commendable because of the extraordinary nature of the crimes he committed. On the one hand, he stood against Liberation War and helped the enemy. And on the other, he has been found guilty of perpetrating crimes against humanity.

We also commend the government for its single-minded determination to start the process, persist with it, and bring about this first verdict.

By awarding capital punishment to the guilty, the International Tribunal-2 has done justice on two levels. First it has begun meting it out to those who eluded punishment all these years since 1971. It has also repaid debt to those who fell victim to his criminal designs.

As a member of a party that actively opposed and worked against the national war of liberation, he attacked and killed the sympathisers of the liberation war. In addition, he committed crimes against humanity by participating in the genocide of innocent people, particularly members of Hindu community.

The due process of law has been observed. The charges brought against him were established by evidences provided by the living witnesses including relations of the victims. The accused was provided with a defence lawyer to enable him to defend himself against the charges levelled against him by the prosecution. But his prosecutor could not come up with necessary defence as the accused has been absconding. His family members also did not extend any cooperation.

The question of any vengeance or political vendetta does not arise, nor can any political motive be imputed to the trial process.

By conducting the trial against the perpetrators of crimes against humanity in 1971, the nation has demonstrated to the world that in Bangladesh law works and even passage of long time does not make one immune from the application of law and justice. With this historic verdict, Bangladesh has come out of the culture of silence and vindicated itself through carrying forward a much needed trial process.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 23 January 2013; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=266342

 

 

Bangladesh's War Crimes Trial

Commentary: Why should we celebrate this verdict? 

Because it helps us to understand what Bangladesh is supposed to be

Mahfuz Anam

There are millions of reasons why we should celebrate last Monday's verdict, the first against the perpetrators of crimes against humanity in 1971. There are as many reasons to rejoice today as there are martyrs of the period, and as there were instances of rape, torture, burning of villages, looting, arson, arrests, etc. For every freedom fighter killed, maimed, tortured, and women raped there were several members of their families who suffered silently in anger and grief over the last 42 years. For all of them, and for the whole nation that waited for law to catch up with the perpetrators of genocide in 1971, there is an indescribable joy in our heart today and an inexpressible reason to celebrate, the thanks for which must go to the prime minister personally, and to the Awami League government. We have said it before, and have no hesitation in repeating, that no other government would have done it. We commend both Sheikh Hasina and all those who have worked hard to make it happen.

Each of the crimes that Abul Kalam Azad (Bachchu) is accused, and has been found guilty of, are considered most serious crimes even under ordinary laws, applied in peacetime. All of them are punishable with the harshest of sentences. Murder, rape, torture and abduction are of the highest categories of criminal acts and punishment ranging from death sentences to long prison terms are handed out regularly in such cases.

A death sentence is only but natural for the crimes committed. As long as due process of law was followed, and the evidence as presented to the tribunal, which was widely reported in the free and independent media, constituted sufficient evidence the sentence is but a natural culmination. There is of course the appeal process but it can be only availed if the convict surrenders before the law and seeks redress. But such relief is not available to an absconder.

As freedom fighters, and there are hundreds and thousands of us, there is a very special reason to celebrate. There is an irrepressible sense of getting even, for many of our comrades in arms were mercilessly slaughtered by them -- personally. Many of us are witnesses to seeing innumerable bodies floating down a river, not all the handy work of Pakistani soldiers but of people like Bachchu. There are endless stories of their murder, torture and betrayal. The cruellest ones were those where they pretended to help the women and then led them to the Pakistani soldiers quarters to be physically assaulted at will and for as long as they wished, which in many cases turned out to be till the end of the war.

What can be a greater example of their brutality than the killings of intellectuals, many from Dhaka University, just two days before their defeat? They knew that their game was up, yet they killed. This was the work of only collaborators and razakars symbolised by Bachchu, and their like.

Then there were the instigations to kill. I can recall hearing the voices of razakars and prominent collaborators, broadcasting over radio Pakistan, that all freedom fighters were Indian agents and as such traitors, deserving nothing better than death. We were supposed to have strayed away from the path of Islam, and “Hinduised”, and like a bad “infection” should be eliminated before we “spoilt” the rest. They were the early “ethnic cleansers” the fore-runners of those in Serbia and Herzegovina.

Everything about Bengali culture was supposed to be of Hindu origin and as such needed to be “purified” to bring us back to the right path. Exhortations resounded from their continuous haranguing over the radio to eliminate us the moment we could be seen. They even quoted from religious texts as to what an act of “true Muslim” it would be if they either handed us to the Pakistani butchers or killed us themselves. Bachchu did just that.

We celebrate the verdict because it starts a process of accountability that will eventually lead to a greater understanding what our Liberation War stood for and the various types of forces we had to defeat to win our independence.

We celebrate the verdict because it helps to restore our ownership of history. (Though many of us have serious problems with Awami League's present version of it, which is over personalised, pays lip service to the role of ordinary freedom fighters, eliminates the contribution of local leaders, and all but ignores contribution of those who played seminal roles like Tajuddin Ahmed and other leaders of our government in exile. But still it is a far closer version to truth than that propagated by BNP).

We recall with shame, and it is our collective shame (that we allowed it to happen and also tolerated it for many years), that after the murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a well planned state level effort was set afoot to distort our history. Just so that the contribution of the political leadership of the day, and that of Sheikh Mujib could be gradually eliminated from people's mind, the true significance and extent of our free struggle was systematically played down. We had the absurd period when we couldn't name the country and the army that perpetrated the genocide and had to refer to them as “Hanadar Bahini” (the marauding force).

The whole struggle from 1947 to 1971 was reduced to a few paragraphs of deprivation, never mentioning by whom, with the sudden crescendo of everybody joining the war after hearing Maj Zia's call to fight for independence. The cultural aspect of our struggle never occupied any thinking of the post-Bangabandhu regimes.

This all too brief narrative is relevant because BNP's distortion of our history provided the opening for the re-entry of opponents of our freedom struggle into our political space, with the “salt” in our wound being provided by Khaleda Zia's last government awarding ministerial posts to those well known for their genocidal role during 1971. The BNP chief just didn't seem to care that there is a tremendous pent up resentment among the public against those who were well known for their role against our independence. It was truly “rubbing the nose on the ground” of those who took pride in their being freedom fighters.

We know politics makes strange bedfellows. However, to be so oblivious to the history of independence and to be so accommodative about those who opposed it required an arrogant dismissal of what our struggle stood for or meant to the rest of us. Khaleda Zia never seems to have truly internalised the sufferings, the sacrifice, the pain, the joy and most importantly the pride that the events of 1971 symbolised to the nation, though her husband was an integral part of it. The truth, however ironic, is that her husband himself started the process.

We celebrate the verdict because we love our freedom. We celebrate the verdict because we are proud to have an independent country. We celebrate the verdict because it correctly, irrevocably, legally and historically sets out the role of those who opposed our war, committed genocide against our people and crimes against humanity that not only we, the Bangladeshis, but the freedom loving and justice seeking world needs to recognise and applaud us for. 

The writer is Editor and Publisher, The Daily Star.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 23 January 2013; link:  http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=266329
 The Daily Star

 

International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh: DEATH for Bachchu Razakar

Declares war crimes tribunal in its first verdict; fugitive convict gets 30 days for appeal with SC

 By Julfikar Ali Manik and Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary 

The international crimes tribunal made history yesterday by sentencing Abul Kalam Azad to death, in its maiden judgment, for genocide and crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.
The 65-year-old fugitive, also known as Bachchu Razakar, was found guilty of killing 14 Hindus, raping two women, torturing two other persons and setting homes ablaze in Faridpur, his birthplace.

The judgment turns the spotlight on the nine-month war in which the Pakistani army along with its collaborators had killed three million Bangalees and violated more than a quarter of a million women.

The nation yesterday saw the first sentencing of a war criminal through a trial, a demand that had remained pending since the country was liberated in 1971.

“We should not forget the millions of victims who deserve that their tormentors are held accountable,” Justice Obaidul Hassan and two fellow judges said in written summary of the judgment. “The passage of time does not diminish the guilt. Justice delayed is no longer justice denied.”

The long-cherished International Crimes Tribunal-1 was formed in March 2010, but it was the Tribunal-2, formed only in March 2012, that delivered the first verdict.

The tribunals formed to prosecute, try and punish the perpetrators of crimes are seen by many as a courageous endeavour to come out of the culture of impunity in Bangladesh.

The prosecution had stacked eight charges against the expelled Jamaat-e-Islami leader for crimes he committed four decades ago in Faridpur.

But Tribunal-2 Chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan and members Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Judge M Shahinur Islam unanimously held Azad guilty in six charges related to crimes against humanity and one for genocide.

The only charge, which the prosecution failed to prove, was based on the abduction, torture and confining of freedom fighter Abu Yusuf Pakhi in Faridpur.

“In dealing with the charges we have found that the accused Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu himself had physically participated being accompanied by his armed accomplices to the commission of crimes and as such he held criminally responsible for the direct commission of crimes proved,” the judges said in the verdict.

Azad was sentenced to death for four of the charges, although found "guilty beyond doubt" in seven.

The tribunal noted that he deserved imprisonment for the other three offences but the court decided not to award separate sentences as he had already received the death sentence.

For the four offences, he will be sentenced to death and be “hanged by the neck till he is dead” under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973, the tribunal said.

“Since the convicted accused has been absconding the 'sentence of death' as awarded above shall be executed after causing his arrest or when he surrenders before the Tribunal, whichever is earlier."

Azad went into hiding seven hours before Tribunal-2 issued an arrest warrant against him on April 3, 2012. His trial was held in his absence and a tribunal-appointed lawyer moved for him.

Since the tribunals enjoy the status of High Court, a convict has the right to file an appeal only with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court within 30 days of the judgment delivery by the tribunal.

Azad will not have the right to appeal unless he surrenders or is arrested within 30 days, as a convict cannot appeal in absentia, some legal experts said.

But other experts believe that if he is arrested or he surrenders after the 30 days and seeks the permission of the Appellate Division to file an appeal, the apex court has the discretionary power to consider it.

“The accused [Azad] cannot be considered merely as an absentee accused. He is an absconded accused," said the Tribunal-2. “Evading trial for the offences of which he has been charged with signifies his culpability too. The accused deliberately waived his right to be present at trial. This conduct adds further to his culpability."

"Therefore, the fact of absconding of the accused can also be taken as an adverse and material incriminating circumstance to reinforce the evidence and circumstances available in the case," the judges said in the judgment.

According to an official at Detective Branch of Police, Azad fled to India, crossing the border in Dinajpur illegally -- without a passport or a visa.

Some sources suggest that he is now in Karachi of Pakistan.

A red alert will be issued through the Interpol to have Azad detained and brought back home, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said yesterday.

Several hundred lawyers, journalists and observers gathered at the tribunal to witness the maiden judgment delivery yesterday. Many could not get in and had to wait outside. In parts of the country, people from a wider spectrum of society took out celebratory processions.

A three-tier security measure was in place in and around the old high court building where the tribunals are situated.

After the verdict, many were seen unable to control happy tears.

Considering the huge gathering and the tiny size of its courtroom, the Tribunal-2 judges sat in the larger courtroom of Traibunal-1 to deliver the judgment.

Justice Obaidul Hassan, chief of Tribunal-2, started reading out a 24-page summery of the verdict around 10:45am. It took him an hour to finish.

The full judgment comes in 336 paragraphs on 112 pages.

"It has been proved from testimony of witnesses that the accused had directly participated to the commission of crimes as an armed member of the Razakar force,” the tribunal said in its conclusion.

"Besides, we have found that for the reason of his atrocious acts in the locality, the accused was widely known as 'Razakar'."

As per the law, the tribunal said, "An individual incurs criminal liability for the direct commission of a crime, whether as an individual or jointly."

On November 4, 2012, the tribunal indicted Azad, who used to regularly preach on a couple of private TV channels.

Since November 26, a total of 22 prosecution witnesses, including victims and family members of victims, and the investigation officer of the case, testified against him.

The tribunal-appointed defence counsel failed to produce any witnesses due to “non-cooperation” of Azad's family members.

Sahidur Rahman, conducting prosecutor of the case, expressed his satisfaction over the verdict.

Defence counsel Abdus Shukur Khan said the accused did not get justice.

"The accused will be benefited if he goes to the apex court against the verdict," he said, adding that the tribunal-appointed counsel does not have authority to file an appeal against the verdict.

Azad was charged with the killing of Chitta Ranjan Das in Faridpur in 1971. In an instant reaction to The Daily Star, his son Gopal Das said: "My father's soul will now rest in peace."

He thanked the government for holding the trial.

"Like me, thousands of sons, daughters and family members of martyrs are waiting to see other war criminals walking the gallows," Gopal said.

Some journalists rushed to Azad's home in Dhaka after the verdict but his wife refused to open the door or talk to them. She, however, did say that according to her knowledge, her husband was not involved in any crime and that she does not know Azad's whereabouts.

PROVED CHARGES IN BRIEF
During the first week of June 1971, Azad and his accomplices apprehended Ranjit Kumar Nath alias Babu Nath from Khabashpur in Faridpur town and took him to the Pakistani army camp at Faridpur Circuit House.

After discussion with Pakistani Major Akram Koraishi and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Ranjit was taken to a house at Bihari Colony, kept confined to a room there and tortured with the intent to kill, but he somehow escaped. Mojaheed, now secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami facing war crimes charges, was a top leader of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of the Islamist party.

On May 14, 1971, Azad accompanied by 10-12 armed Razakars attacked the village of Kolaran of Boalmari in Faridpur. There, he shot landlord Sudhangshu Mohan Roy and injured his son Monimoy Roy.

On May 16, 1971, Azad accompanied by 10-12 armed Razakars captured Madhab Chandra Biswas of Purura Namapara village of Nagarkanda in Faridpur, about 300 yards from his house. He shot Madhab to death.

On June 8, 1971, Azad along with 10-12 armed Razakars attacked Natibodia village in Boalmari of Faridpur and took away two females from the house. He along with four to five of his accomplices raped them.

On June 3, 1971, Azad along with 10-12 armed Razakars launched a planned attack on the Hindu-dominated village Fulbaria of Nagarkanda in Faridpur and looted houses.

Accompanied by seven-eight accomplices, Azad dragged out Chitta Ranjan Das from his house and shot him dead.

On May 17, 1971, Azad accompanied by 30-35 armed Razakars launched a planned attack on the Hindu-dominated Hasamdia village of Boalmari in Faridpur. They looted and burnt houses of Hindu civilians and shot nine Hindus to death.

On May 18, 1971, Azad along with seven-eight armed Razakars attacked the house of Guru Das of Ujirpur Bazarpara of Saltha in Faridpur and abducted his daughter and tortured her keeping her locked up for seven to eight days.

The girl was released, but she committed suicide when the accomplices of Azad tried to take her again. 

Click Here to See Summary of ICT Verdict in Abul Kalam Azad Case
Click Here to See Full Text of the Judgment
Click Here to See Charges in Full 

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 22 January 2013; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=266151

Related Report:Verdict answers some questions

Indian Court Limits Frivolous Drug Patenting, Clearing Path to Affordable Medicines

Should pharmaceutical patents—which result in monopolistic pricing of medicines—apply to any new drug, regardless of how it was made and whether it offers anything new?

This question was answered recently in a courageous decision by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board of India (IPAB), in a suit brought by Open Society Foundations’ grantee the Lawyers Collective on behalf of Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust, a Mumbai organization that works with drug dependent patients. In this case, IPAB ruled to revoke the patent held by the pharmaceutical company Roche for its hepatitis C drug, Pegasys, on the grounds that the process used to develop the medicine was not novel or innovative enough to warrant a patent. Since patented Pegasys costs between US$10,000-15,000 per treatment, this ruling is an important first step toward making hepatitis C medicines more accessible by allowing for future production of more affordable generics.  

IPAB’s decision was made possible because of India’s stringent patent law which includes safeguards to address public health needs. For example, the law prevents companies from obtaining patents on medicines that don’t involve an ‘inventive step’—i.e. the process to make the medicine cannot be obvious to those skilled in the art. This was the main argument used in the Pegasys case. Another critical safeguard prevents patents from being granted on medicines that show no significant therapeutic benefit beyond existing drugs. These safeguards, and India’s ability to make quality medicines in its own factories, has kept generic drug production high while keeping prices low. In fact, India has been dubbed the pharmacy of the developing world, most notably for HIV/AIDS medicines. The IPAB decision may mean that India will become the supplier of affordable generic treatment for hepatitis C, a disease affecting roughly 180 million people worldwide but for which treatment—as also highlighted in previous blogs—remains unaffordable. 

Drug companies consistently argue that patents are needed to stimulate innovation and to cover the costs of developing new medicines. The truth however, is that real innovation is rare. Most medicines brought to market in the last two decades are so-called ‘me-too drugs’—medicines that present no therapeutic benefit beyond existing drugs. And as one of the most profitable industries in the world—fourth only after mining, crude oil production, and commercial banking—profits for multinational drug companies are astronomical. Take Pegasys for example. In 2012 alone the drug generated nearly US$970 million in sales, and has been on the market for years.  Suffice it to say, Roche has already recouped its research and development costs. The time is ripe for affordable generic alternatives and substantial price reduction of this medicine. 

As a victory for civil society organizations involved in increasing access to medicines, IPAB’s decision sets the important precedent that NGOs represent the public interest—despite Roche’s claims that NGOs and patient organizations like Sankalp are not legitimate third parties with the authority to challenge patents. While the court sided with the patients in this case, trade negotiators from the US and EU are pressuring the country to take away the right to challenge patents—even if experience shows that frivolous patents abound.  Through so called “free trade agreements,” including with India, Western governments are pushing for stronger intellectual property protections on pharmaceuticals all over the world, and asking poorer countries to deny NGOs the ability to challenge patents. 

As the Don’t Trade Our Lives Away Listserv highlights in countless examples, the battle for affordable medicines is taking place all over the world. The Pegasys case is one victory, but many more are needed to ensure that the millions of people who cannot afford expensive drugs have access to lifesaving medicines.

Source: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/indian-court-limits-frivolous-drug-patenting-clearing-path-affordable-medicines

Discussion on geographical indication and what needs to be done

By Dr. Saira Rahman Khan Bangladesh is a country rich in craft and agriculture. Some items are indigenous to its communities and groups of people and need legal recognition in order to maintain their heritage. A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities and characteristics that are essentially attributable to that place of origin. Whether a sign is recognised as a geographical indication is a matter of national law.

A geographical indication points to a specific place, or region of production, that determines the characteristic qualities of the product with relation to that place. A specific “link” exists between the products and their original place of production. Many of our products have acquired reputations which, if not adequately protected, may be misrepresented by dishonest commercial operators. Lack of/false use of geographical indications is detrimental to both the consumers and the legitimate producers.

Bangladesh has many agricultural and handicraft products that deserve geographical indication and international recognition, which is vital for its trade and commerce. Furthermore, such indication will boost these areas and communities of the country, assisting in the financial stability of communities. In 2009, a Bill to introduce geographical indication in Bangladesh was drafted. This Bill is yet to be passed by Parliament.

On 19 January, the BU Law Club of BRAC University and Banglacraft jointly organised a seminar titled ‘Claiming Ownership: A Discussion on Geographical Indication and the Law in Bangladesh’ to discuss the current situation of Bangladeshi goods and products and bring home the urgent necessity to pass the present Bill into a Law on Geographical Indication. The Programme was held at BRAC University.

Professor Md. Ali Ashraf, MP, Former Deputy Speaker, was the chief guest of the programme. Among others, there were S.U. Haider, President, Banglacraft, Maleka Khan and Shahid Hussain Shamim of Banglacraft, and Dr. Shahdeen Malik, Director of the School of Law, BRAC University.

Abdur Rouf, Registrar, Ministry of Industries, also spoke at the seminar. He commented that the Geographical Indication Law was a vital necessity in order to protect our goods. He also said that if the basic equipments needed to produce such goods were patented, then the next step to protection would be seeking GI status for the products.

In her keynote address on the proposed Law, Mahua Zahur, a lecturer of the School of Law, BRACU, commented that it was no use blaming other countries for taking away our goods. If we do nothing to protect them, it is our fault. She urged the government to pass the Bill as soon as possible.

Shahid Hussain Shamim gave the audience a detailed view of the meaning and importance of Geographical Indication and what products needed to be protected under this issue. Dr. Shahdeen Malik commented that such laws are vital to the recognition of Bangladeshi goods and the process to speed up the passing of effective and good laws needed attention.

Ishfaq Ilahi Chowdhury, Registrar of BRAC University, thanked the BU Law Club and Banglacraft for organising such a seminar and highlighting this issue. He commented that the School of Law at BRAC University was a strong voice against injustices and actively involved in social movements, especially the BU Law Club.

(The writer is an Associate Professor, School of Law, BRAC University) Source: The Daily Sun, Dhaka, 22 January 2013; link: http://daily-sun.com/details_Discussion-on-geographical-indication-and-what-needs-to-be-done_387_1_19_1_1.html 

Selection of Student-Volunteers for HRLC's 2nd Batch

The Human Rights Law Clinic at UNESCO Madanjeet Singh South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies is pleased to announce names of selected Student-Volunteers for the second batch (January to June 2013).

An Orientation Session is scheduled on 12 January 2013 from 3:30pm to 5:00pm.

Human Rights Development

Forced disappearance key challenge
Recognises government

Diplomatic Correspondent

Recognising that forced disappearance is one key challenge to improving the human rights situation, the government yesterday agreed to include it in a report for submission to UNHRC at the end of January.

Sultana Kamal, a former adviser to a caretaker government, told this to journalists after emerging from a national consultation on “Bangladesh's 2nd cycle of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) 2013” at the foreign ministry.

This was the second time that the consultation, attended by Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, some 28 civil, law enforcing and military officials and around 40 non-government organisation (NGO) representatives, was held seeking suggestions on the report's preparation.

The 193 United Nations members have to submit their respective reports to declare what actions they took to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfill their human rights obligations.

Sultana Kamal, executive director of Ain o Salish Kendra, said the government also mentioned of corruption as another challenge. The issues of Bishwajit and Limon came up but there was no discussion on extra judicial killings, she said.

The government claimed that the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) peace accord's implementation was progressing on the right tracks, she said.

However, the land settlement issue was still unresolved, the local authority was yet to be handed over power while the army still remained deployed in CHT. “We have categorically put forward our differences in opinion,” she said.

The consultation sources said the NGO representatives strongly voiced to include some important issues in the report.

These include incidents of violence against women, situation of children and child labour, civil and political rights, governance, corruption, issue of brutal killing of Bishwajit and torture and harassment on Limon.

Despite the government's good works, including in legislature, to improve the human rights situation, the ground reality is not so encouraging due to a huge gap between laws and their implementation, they observed.

The government claimed tremendous achievements in improving the human rights situation in the last four years due to enactment of necessary laws and effective steps for their implementation, said the sources.

Saida Muna Tanseem, director general (UN & Human Rights) at the foreign ministry, who gave a presentation on the report's preparation, told the journalists that the 10,000-word report would be inclusive of all important issues.

The government will convene a final consultation, likely in this month's third week, before submitting the report, said Saida.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) fixed April 29 to review Bangladesh's report. NGOs and National Human Rights Commission already submitted their reports to UNHRC in November 2011.

The UPR, a state-driven process under the UNHCR's auspices, will assess the reports on the extent states respect their human rights obligations.

Source: The Daily Star, 03 Janury 2013; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=263616

Human Rights Summer School

Experience and realization of a Participant 

By Akramul Islam 

The Empowerment through Law of the Common People (ELCOP) organized 13^th session of Human Rights Summer School (HRSS) from 11 to 23 December 2012 at PROSHIKA HRDC, Koitta, Manikgonj.

This year’s theme was “Human Rights and Critically Disadvantage People.” I was one of participants and it was my great opportunity to accomplish myself with the training provided through the HRSS. 
There were 47 Participants from Law Schools in Bangladesh and a Guest Participant from the United kingdom.  

HRSS is an extensive training opportunities for young students- it included lecture sessions, interactions, field works, group discussions, and presentations.

The availability of the eminent jurists and scholars as speakers and presenters was a great opportunity for the young learners which opened avenues not only to learn from them; it also facilitated to share our views on issues, findings, and put forward queries to meet our respective thrust in various issues on human rights and law.

The pro-active learning by doing methodology helps us to experiment a different mean and way of learning left behind traditional learning methodology.

To conform to the declared theme of the training, HRSS tried to make orientation about the critically disadvantage community of the society who have been pushed to a situation of mere survival with their dignity being compromised at every instance of their existence.

For better understanding of their plights, the program included a visit to the field to explore the reality and relate with our theoretical lessons.

It was horrific for us to come across how rights of marginalized people are being violated and exploited by society’s power structural mechanism.

There is lack of awareness on own right as well among individual concerned.

For ensuring justice for this disadvantaged group, it is the duty of state actors to create an atmosphere where individual will have an easy access to justice- without being obstructed by any difficulties.

However, the experience shows us that the cry for access to justice for socially downtrodden people is far away form the reality as they can not afford to pay lawyers to realize their rights which ultimately contribute to violation of human rights.

Moreover, the reality is that the existing mechanisms manipulate their mindset in such a way that the deprived people are unwilling to know about their own rights and unfortunately they compromise with their “fortune” although being deprived of rights and getting marginalized.

The realization of us is that justice cannot be ensured at root level without proper institutional arrangements. That’s why it is the reason, we experienced, that the people at the grassroots are forced to rely on traditional justice system yet rather than the formal justice system. And thus they are denied of true justice.

Now, we do understand that to become a Lawyer, we have to go to the depth and root of the law for understanding the norms of the Law.

The black letters of the Law in the book must be applied in the field and we have to prepare ourselves to challenge the status quo of the society.

We want to be catalyst to change the society, the sentinels of human rights, and advocate for promotion and protection of human rights. 

Akramul Islam 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.

[The group photo is a courtesy of Mr. Akramul Islam].

Bangladesh Human Rights Situation in 2012

Editorial- Govt's Human Rights record- It needs marked improvement

Though Bangladesh was being rated positively by international financial agencies and the media for its successes in the socio-economic sector in 2012, the human rights scenario remains its Achilles heel.

A report released by the human rights organisation Ain O Shalish Kendra, ASK, shows that overall the human rights situation was rather dismal in the year that was.

Particular mention has been made of the sudden eruptions of communal tension in September that saw the destruction of Buddhist temples, monasteries and houses in Ramu, Teknaf, Ukhia in southern districts of Cox's Bazaar. In addition, there were also some attacks on another community in Sitakunda and Patiya in Chittagong as well as in the south-western districts of Bagerhat, Jenidah and the northern district of Dinajpur.

In the New Year, we do not want to see such incidents repeated in any form or scale.

On the gender front, violence against women continued with more than 1100 rapes. Incidents of gender-related violence also lay behind the murder of more than 260 women as well as one and a half dozen suicides.

Social sources of violence apart, citizens were often subjected to violence at the hands of the law-enforcement agencies.

Though there was a decline in the number of custodial deaths and extra-judicial murders, disappearances emerged as a major concern for law and order as well as citizens' security.

Contrary to expectations in a democracy, suppression of political dissent resulting in mass arrests, police violence against street demonstrations, denial of space to political opponents to a large extent eclipsed the government's image. Taking recourse to the Section 144 to stop the opposition from holding its political programmes leaves a lot to be desired about dealing appropriately with the opposition.

Leaving behind the failures of the past year, as we would like to look forward to the next with fresh hope, people expect that the government would improve its records on human rights in a marked way.

Thereby the government will be able to present a cleaner image before the electorate at this fag end of its current tenure.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka, 02 Januray 2013; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=263431

Bangladesh Human Rights in 2012

Human rights situation alarming, says ASK
Staff Correspondent

Dhaka based rights watchdog Ain O Salish Kendra at a press briefing on Monday said that the overall human rights situation in 2012 was ‘alarming’ while the law and order situation in the country was ‘frustrating.’
‘...the overall human rights situation in the year was not satisfactory,’ the ASK executive director, Sultana Kamal, told the briefing on ‘Human Rights Situation 2012 : ASK’s Evaluation’ held at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity in the capital.
The ASK expressed concerned over continued extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, torture and death in police custody, rights violations of minority communities and border violence and killing by the Indian Border Security Force.
The organisation urged the government to strengthen the National Human Rights Commission in order to improve the rights situation.
Sultana Kamal and ASK’s director (investigation) Nur Khan described the overall human rights situations based on the reports complied through their investigations and on the information they received through different national media.
The ASK praised the government for implementing different laws and rules.
But the report said that the number of extrajudicial killing increased to 91 in 2012 from 84 in 2011.
ASK report said the number of enforced disappearance rose to 34 in 2012 from 30 in 2011.
Sultana Kamal said that the victims’ families raised allegation against law enforcers. particularly the Rapid Action Battalion.
She also expressed concern over torture and killing of journalists and said that 442 journalists were victimised.
Of those incidents, five including Sagar Sarwar and Mehrun Runi were killed while 74 were harassed or tortured by the law enforcers while 87 by goons and 72 by the political activists.
In 2012, 84 people were killed and 10,525 were injured in 595 political clashes while the number of such incidents was 375 in 2011.
ASK said that 165 political demonstrations were stopped by ordering Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in 2012.
The ASK critisied the BSF for killing 48 people and injuring 106 people while they abducted 140 despite repeated assurance from the Indian government to stop such incidents.
The report said that 126 people were lynched by mobs.
The report also mentioned the incidents of the shooting of Limon Hossain by the RAB and continued harassment of his family members.
Violence against women topped the tally of rights violation in 2012 with 1,008 incidents of rape, 538 incidents of dowry-related violence, 68 incidents of acid violence and 428 incidents of stalking.
Violence continued in the Chittagong Hill Tracts over land dispute and other problems, the reports said.

Source: The New Age, Dhaka, 01 January 2013; link: http://newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2013-01-01&nid=35305