Bangladesh
was re-elected as a member of the Human Rights Council on 12 May 2009.
Five civil society organisations, including FORUM-ASIA and its
Bangladesh member ODHIKAR, issued a statement below on the day before,
calling on the government to "dismantle" its impunity.
Bangladesh
was re-elected as a member of the Human Rights Council on 12 May 2009.
Five civil society organisations, including FORUM-ASIA and its
Bangladesh member ODHIKAR, issued a statement below on the day before,
calling on the government to "dismantle" its impunity.
On 12 May 2009, the United Nations General Assembly
will hold elections to the UN Human Rights Council. Five seats will be available
to the Asian region. Only five States from the region – Bangladesh, China,
Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia – have announced their candidacy, meaning
that they will be elected for three-year terms unopposed. A coalition of NGOs
has denounced the use of such "clean slates" in the elections: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/25/ngos-urge-asian-states-hold-competitive-elections-un-rights-council
Bangladesh
is seeking a second term, having held membership in the Council since the body's
establishment in 2006. During this period, the human rights situation degraded
significantly, notably as the result of a nearly two-year state of emergency
under which the military-backed government suspended and violated many
fundamental rights. Mass arbitrary arrests took place, restrictions were placed
on the freedom of the press, and the military infiltrated and entrenched itself
in the country's civilian institutions, including those tasked with protecting
human rights, such as the judiciary.
On 29 December 2008, the
Bangladesh Awami League won national elections and formed a new government. The
afore-mentioned human rights NGOs call upon the new government to abandon the
practices of its predecessors and begin meaningful cooperation with the Human
Rights Council, halting abuses, enabling justice deliver mechanisms to function,
dismantling the country's system of impunity and ensuring the highest standards
of protection and promotion of human rights, as should be required for
membership in the Council.
To read the complete statement, please click here (.pdf) .
