Volunteers for Human Rights Law Clinic

The Human Rights Law Clinic (HRLC) at UNESCO Madanjeet Singh South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (UMSAILS) is pleased to invite applications for the 2^nd Batch of Student-Volunteers.

 HRLC, launched in July 2012, is to provide a platform for training and mentoring for Student-Volunteers (of Law, Human Rights and allied disciplines). It aims to develop and enhance participants’ analytical, research and writing skills, promote pro bono human rights works and legal services, and initiate legal and judicial activism.

 The HRLC aims to train a pool of new-generation activists, lawyers, practitioners, academics and researchers with pro-active attitudes for promotion and protection of human rights. 

 The Resource Persons, Trainers and Mentors are renowned Academic, Practitioners and Activists from home and abroad.

 The duration of the programme will be six months (1 January to 30 June 2013).

 Interested Students who are based in Dhaka and available for undergoing training and voluntary works, are advised to apply along with a Resume (maximum two pages), Statement of Purpose (maximum 500 words) regarding motivations to be involved with HRLC, and a Cover Letter addressed to the Director of the Institute by 5 December 2012 by e-mail to info@sails-law.org. Applications may be sent by post as well.   

 Short-listed candidates will be invited for interviews by mid-December 2012.    

 For any query, kindly mail to info@sails-law.org.

Website: http://www.sails-law.org

Blog: http://humanrightslawclinic.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanrightslawclinic

Presentation for Law Students on How to Write a Paper

The Human Rights Law Clinic (HRLC) at UNESCO Madanjeet Singh South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (UMSAILS) is pleased to announce a special presentation session on “How to Write a Paper: A Living Experience” by Mr. Anisur Rahman, Assistant Professor at the Department of Law, Eastern University.

Date: 15 November 2012 (Thursday), from 5:00pm to 6:30pm

Venue: House No. 55, Ground Floor, Road No. 5, Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka 1205

The session is organized for Student-Volunteers of Human Rights Law Clinic. However, a limited number of seats are open for interested Students.

For confirming a seat, please mail to info@sails-law.org  or call to 01711 854771.

 About Human Rights Law Clinic:

The Human Rights Law Clinic (HRLC), launched in July 2012 is to provide a platform for training and  mentoring for Student-Volunteers (of Law, Human Rights and allied disciplines); the areas of focus is analysis, research and writing, pro bono human rights works and legal services, legal and judicial activism among other issues. The duration of a batch is six months; the first batch has 17 Volunteers.  

The HRLC aims to train a pool of new-generation activists, lawyers, practitioners, academics and researchers with required analytical, writing and presentation skills and pro-active attitudes for promotion and protection of human rights. For any query, kindly mail to info@sails-law.org.

Website: http://www.sails-law.org

Blog: http://humanrightslawclinic.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanrightslawclinic

Lecture on Judicial Activism

Dhaka, 10 November 2012:

The Human Rights Law Clinic (HRLC) at the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (UMSAILS) has organized a lecture session on  “Judicial Activism: A Tool for the Protection of Human Rights” on 10 November 2012 at its conference Room in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
Dr. Ridwanul Hoque, Associate Professor of the Department of Law, University of Dhaka was the keynote speaker. 
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, a Humphrey Fellow and 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. 
According to the keynote speaker, there is a lack of understanding and scholarship in Bangladesh on the concept and application of judicial activism. The legal education may play its role in building up an environment that will motivate judges to take up a pro-active role, Dr. Hoque observed. 
He observed that in case of Bangladesh, judicial activism is yet to be fully explored and that the success of judicial activism depends on the creativity and innovation of the judge concerned. "There is a need of academic scrutiny of the judiciary and legal professions as well," Dr. Hoque said. 
Appreciating the importance of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), he observed that there are significant contributions of PIL in protecting human rights.  However, at the same time, there are cases where the principles and aims of PIL are misused and/or overused, the speaker observed.
A total of 19 law students and academics participated in the lecture session.#

Human Rights Law Clinic in the Face Book.

Additional Information:
Dr. Ridwanul Hoque authores a book titled Judicial Activism in Bangladesh: A Golden Mean Approach (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2011).

High Court directed to allow Disabled Persons to sit for BCS exam

For a long period, Persons with Disabilities (PWD) have been depriving of their rights to take participate in civil service examinations since it was prohibited to recruit disable person in civil service job.

The change has come recently through landmark ruling from the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

It has directed to allow the PWDs to sit in 33^rd Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations and to arrange reasonable accommodation in examination halls.

The application was filed on 15 March 2012 after the Public Service Commission issued a notification regarding the 33^rd BCS examination which did not have any reference to persons with disabilities.

The High Court allowed the application filed on behalf of Advocate Shapan Chowkidar, a visually impaired Lawyer and three human rights and disability rights organizations namely Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust ((BLAST), Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) and Action on Disability and Development (ADD) to allow persons with disabilities to sit for the 33^rd BCS examination.

They argued that such institutionalized discrimination violates fundamental rights. They called for the rights to equal opportunity under the Disability Welfare Act, 2001, referring to recent Government policy changes.

As for example the National Policy on Disability, 1995 states that, “A disabled persons cannot be treated as disqualified for government employment if s/he is otherwise competent and s/he cannot be prevent from participating in the BCS examination.’

The policy also states that “The age limit for persons with disabilities will be relaxed by five years.’ Further the Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration published a notification on 12 January 2012 stating that “one percent quota will be reserved for person with disabilities in all government, semi- government and autonomous offices/institutions.”

A total of 44 disable candidates for the first time participated in the 33^rd BCS examination in the history of Bangladesh after the landmark direction given by the Court.

Background of the case:

Previously, on 18 April 2010 Advocate Shapan Chowkidar, a visually impaired individual along some others human rights organization filed a writ petition (No. 2932 of 2010) challenging Schedule 3 of the BCS rules which prohibits the recruitment of disabled people in the civil service. On their movement for the writ petition the petitioners was assisted in their research by the Harvard Project on Disability.

The petitioners argued that such discrimination violates fundamental rights, particularly to equal opportunities to public employment and to freedom of profession, and that the failure of the government to make any accommodation for employment of such persons amounts to non-compliance with its duties under the Disability Welfare Act, 2001

Subsequently, On 25 April 2010, the High Court directed the President and Secretary of the National Disability Welfare Committee to submit a report detailing steps taken to implement their obligations under section 6[2] and schedule ‘Cha’ of the Disability welfare Act. The committee submitted a report to the Court but did not mention measure taken to ensure disabled persons employment opportunity and further noted that the age and education qualification criteria for recruitment of disabled person to the civil service remained under consideration.

(Source- BLAST’s Press Release; link: http://www.blast.org.bd/content/pressrelease/press-release-BCS-20-03-12-eng.pdf)

Reported by Akramul Islam, a Student at the Department of Law, University of Dhaka and Volunteer at the Human Rights Law Clinic at the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS) in Dhaka.  

Related Links: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Bangladesh’s Obligation for the Protection of Refugees

By Srabani Mia

A person becomes a refugee because of circumstances that are beyond her/his control. Refugees are human beings.

Bangladesh is the host country of asylum seekers and refugees, mainly from Myanmar (Burma). It has been hosting the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority from Myanmar for decades.

As per records of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, there are around 28,000 Rohingyas who are “officially recognized refugees” now living in two camps in the southern district of Cox’s Bazaar. They are the residual of recorded 258,800 Rohingyas who fled Myanmar during 1991-92 and took refuge in Bangladesh. Apart from that there are reportedly 300,000 to 500,000 Myanmar nationals, mainly the Rohingyas in Bangladesh without any status.

Though, Bangladesh does not have a national legislation to deal with asylum seekers and refugees, however, the State has registered and granted “refugee status” once to those 258,800 Rohingyas through an “executive order” 1991. By the time, UNHCR was invited and it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government and mandated to look after the protection issues.

Bangladesh is also not a party to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention) or its 1967 Protocol. Despite of that the state has been providing refuge to the Rohingyas along with tolerating their “illegal presence.”

However, recent denial by the Bangladesh Government of extending any refuge to the Rohingyas fleeing communal violence in the Northern Rakhine State, and apparent “push back” have created concerns among the human rights organizations and international communities.

Obligation of Bangladesh Under International Law

The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol are basic legal instruments with regard to protection of refugees.

The 1951 Convention provides criteria to be recognized as a refugee, their rights and obligations, and visa vie obligations of State parties.

Under 1951 Convention, a person can claim refugee status with three conditions: (i) being out of the country, (ii) well-founded fear of persecution for specific grounds, and (iii) unable or unwilling avail protection from the government of the country of origin. And, the specified grounds are of persecution are based on one’s race, religion, nationality, membership of special group, and political opinion.

The Convention (Article 33) also provides the principle of non-refoulement- meaning no person shall be return to a territory where he/she may be exposing to persecution. This principle is now considered as part of international customary law and is widely practiced (including Bangladesh in previous years, even for the Rohingyas).

The Principle has indeed expanded State's protection obligations beyond the 1951 Refugee Convention framework; therefore, one cannot be returned to his or her country of origin; hence, contributing to deprivation of life, and putting forward to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Generally, those countries which are parties to the Refugees Convention are legally bound to follow all the provisions thereof.

Bangladesh, despite of not being a party to the Refugee Convention is expected to respect the principle of non-refoulement as part of customary international law, as argued by Mostafa Mahmud Naser, an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Chittagong in his article published in The Daily Star on 23 June 2012 (link: http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2012/06/04/index.htm). According to this academic, who is now pursuing his doctoral research at Australia’s Macquarie University, Bangladesh has obligation to asylum seekers and refugees despite of not ratifying the 1951 Convention or 1967 Protocol as because it is a member to the United Nations and is thus obliged to protect and promote human rights. Apart from that Bangladesh is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 (ICCPR) and Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1984 (CAT) among other human rights isnstruments.

Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 (UDHR), guarantees for “…right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” The UDHR is consider as jus cogens, thus those rights are universally accepted and enforced by all parties despite of whether they are party to the 1951 Convention or 1967 Protocol.

Bangladesh has also obligation under Article 3 of CAT (non-return of a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture).”

In case of the Rohingays, it is very likely that they would be targeted for torture, inhuman and degrading treatment upon pushed back to Myanmar which is tantamount to persecution.

Also, persecution by “non-state actors” (in presence of apparent reluctance or inability by State actors to prevent or/and prosecute such persecution) does qualify one for a refugee status under refugee law.

Obligation Under National Laws

Though Bangladesh does not have any national law as such to deal with asylum seekers and refugees; however, some Constitutional provisions are instrumental in protecting and promoting their rights.

Article 25 of the Constitution states that “…State shall base its international relations on the principles of respect for .... international law and the principles enunciated in the United Nations Charter”.

Article 31 of the Constitution provides for equal protection of law for “each citizen” and “every other persons staying in the country for time being.” Thus, the Article extends protection the asylum seekers and refugees (non-citizen) who for the time being are staying in the country.

The Constitution also guarantees for right to life and personal liberty for all (Article 32).

The Supreme Court of India has also upheld “right to life and personal liberty” for refugees in India despite of the State not being a party to the 1951 Convention [National Human Rights Commission v.The State of Arunachal Pradesh (1996 (SC) AIR 1234)].

The Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Dipu Moni has reportedly said in the National Parliament that: “ it is not in the country's best interest to allow more Rohingyas into the country while Bangladesh is already burdened with Rohingya refugees, and many of them are involved in subversive and militant activities.”

This generalized branding of Rohingya population in Bangladesh does not relieve the State from its international obligations.
 

The Author is an LL.M. Student at Stamford University Bangladesh and an Intern at the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies in Dhaka. 

*Originally appeared in the Refugee Watch Online; link: http://refugeewatchonline.blogspot.com/2012/07/bangladeshs-obligation-for-protection.html