Mir Mahmudul Haque Chowdhury :
Human Rights refer to those rights that have been recognized by the global community and protected by international human rights legal instruments. Its recognition, protection and promotion are essential factors in the development process of the society. Human rights are global vision backed by State obligation and include all kinds of rights, which are very essential for usual existence of human beings. Protection and promotion of human rights thus are legal obligations of all States in national and in international sphere. Human rights trends are an important indicator of the health of a nation and its institutions.
Human rights are those minimal rights which are considered as inalienable ‘Rights of Man’, which require a person to be treated as equal and protected against all injustices and inhuman acts of the State public authorities as also the fellow persons. Therefore, human rights constitute those rights which ought to be enjoyed by all human beings of the universe irrespective of their biological, social, religious, economic and political status. Human rights thinkers have tried their best to define the human rights in order to make its meaning clear.
To clarify and confirm the human rights two separate covenants on civil and political rights and the economic, social and cultural rights were adopted in 1966, which came into force in 1976. Since then a large number of conventions have been adopted and the process is still continuing. Rights mentioned in the covenant on civil and political rights may be referred to those rights, which allow a person to participate in the governance of a State. Today it is universally recognized that civil and political rights do not have any meaning unless they are companied by social, economic and cultural rights especially for the developing countries. Realization of human rights in general and not of a particular category of rights is essential for development.
However, responsibility for implementation of these international human rights standards has been imposed on the State by “Bill of Human Rights”. Realization of basic needs of human being presupposes good economic condition. Material condition of a society or State determines how many basic needs will be fulfilled. Hence economic condition and enjoyment of basic human rights are interrelated. Today economy has become instrumental to measure the true development if basic needs of human life are left unfulfilled.
Bangladesh complies with international human rights instruments albeit with certain reservation. The Constitution of Bangladesh pledges that its fundamental aim is to realize society in which rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedom, equality and justice will be secured for all citizens. Accordingly fundamental rights for the citizens Bangladesh have been guaranteed in the Constitution by Article 27 to Article 44. However, development being a systematic factor is integrally related with economic and social setup of a country particularly the resource-people relationship, poverty illiteracy and societal stratification.
The Constitution of Bangladesh, the supreme law of the Republic, embodies the principles and provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The fundamental rights envisaged in the Constitution of Bangladesh reflect the human rights prescribed by International Human Rights Law.
According to Article 6 and 2 of The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Bangladesh respectively has the obligation to ensure the right to life of its people and to ensure prompt and effective reparation where violations occur. It is also obliged to bring legislation into conformity with the ICCPR. Article 32 of the Constitution of Bangladesh protects the fundamental right to life and liberty, stating that: “No person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty, save in accordance with law.” In reality, this has not been implemented and this most fundamental right is being repeatedly violated with complete impunity.
Rape is the most violated human rights in Bangladesh. In the case of rape, only a single witness is witnessed, and she is herself a victim of rape. Based on this witness just the accused can be punished. As a result, if there is any doubt about the testimony of women, the accused person may be released. If there is any contradiction between the statements made in the court, it will be against women. In the society of Bangladesh, the rape victims are treated negatively, immediate after rape people are engaged to find out the fault of the victims, A victim has to lead a solitude life; she is treated negatively in every aspect of life, sometimes family refuges her to take care.
Crossfire or Encounter or Gun Fight or Extra Judicial Killing which is the violation of Human Rights occurred frequently in Bangladesh. The experts opine that it is a crime reduction technique of government by elimination of criminal elements or creating panic to the total citizenry. The government justifies the killings by using the term “crossfire,” which it refers to as gunfights between any alleged criminal group or “hardened” criminals and the RAB or police. Last few years, it has found that many criminals/terrorists had been killed in gun battle with the law enforcing agencies by so called crossfire.
Corruption remained a serious problem of Bangladesh and it is directly hampered the rights of people. It spreads rapidly day by day. According to a survey by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in 2018, all 18 government departments and sectors providing services to the people are corrupted; some are extremely corrupted, some are relatively less corrupted. The report said that, overall 66.5 percent of the households surveyed by TIB fell victim to corruption. The prevailing law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials but the government did not implement the law effectively yet. Corruption in every sector violated the human rights in all aspects.
Respect for human rights lies at the heart of good governance. In a democratic society, it is the responsibility of the State to protect and promote human rights. The more the violation of right indicates the more the illnesses of the country. Bangladesh has always suffered from ‘ill health’ when it comes to human rights issues, as exhibits the various national and international reports about human rights. So, government should be more cautious and tactful so that human rights condition of our country improved gradually and our country status in relation to human rights are uplifted.
(Mir Mahmudul Haque Chowdhury, Banker; e-mail: [email protected])
