See Below for Full PDF of the Bangladesh Chapter

Bangladesh Chapter of Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions’ (ANNI) Report by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK)

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK),as a member of ANNI,has been preparing the country report on the establishment as well as performance of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Bangladesh since 2008.

This Country Report of 2014 is a critical assessment of  the performance of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Bangladesh in the promotion and protection of human rights, mainly between January to December 2013 as well as during the first half of 2014. It draws attention to selected issues of concern on independence and effectiveness of the NHRC as an institution; and examines its full compliance with the international standards for national human rights institutions–’the Paris Principles’.

This country report is structured and prepared according to the guidelines for the 2014 ANNI Regional report. It is divided into two major parts. Firstly, it looks at the general human rights situation of the country in 2013 and the NHRC’s role in addressing the same. Secondly, it makes an assessment of the NHRC’s independence and effectiveness in the context of its performance in promoting and protecting human rights during the reporting period.

The overall human rights situation in 2013 was alarming amid continuous political violence throughout the year and it has been one of the most challenging years for the country’s economy in recent times. Political violence and the deteriorating law and order situation created panic and a sense of insecurity among people. Enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings (mentioned as “crossfire” and “encounter”) and deaths in police custody continued along with communal violence, harassment and killing of journalists, gender-based violence and violation of workers’ rights.

Bangladesh Chapter of ANNI Report 2014