THE Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission [NHRC] Kazi Reazul Hoque has publicly expressed frustration over the organization’s limitations to protect people’s basic human rights. Speaking to media on Thursday in the city he specially mentioned the shortcoming of the existing law which allows launching investigation against government officials but not against members of law enforcing agencies; although most violation of human rights including unauthorized detention, torture and extra-judicial killings are taking place in their hands and going largely unchallenged.
Nobody knows how young people are disappearing and who are those people abducting them and the circumstances in which they disappeared or killed on being held accountable by way of forced confession in police remand. Any call for probe into the incidents requires prior permission of the government, which in the prevailing situation is almost difficult and also time consuming. Even in cases of attack on religious minorities at different places where powerful people mainly ruling party leaders and cadres are trying to grab their property, NHRC proves quite ineffective to run credible investigation and bring charges against them
It is almost clear that most law enforcers are working as the footman of the ruling party to destroy political opponents and protect the government in power. They are enjoying a sort of impunity from being challenged; many even don’t dare to come forward to challenge their excesses. So the Chairman of the NHRC has rightly called for amending the existing law and framing new law to bring every organ of the government including the members of the law enforcing agencies under an accountability regime now most conspicuous by its absence or limitations to protect citizen’s human rights and their property.
The Chairman’s suggestion for changing the law and framing new law therefore appears quite justified and makes sense. His disclosure that they are already scrutinizing the existing law to recommend to the government for amendment is also a move to the right direction. But the question is whether or not the government will agree to bring the most important change in the law that will place the members of the law enforcing agencies under the investigative authority of the human watchdog body. The Human Rights Commission cannot be restrained from investigating human rights violation by whomsoever.
Nobody knows how young people are disappearing and who are those people abducting them and the circumstances in which they disappeared or killed on being held accountable by way of forced confession in police remand. Any call for probe into the incidents requires prior permission of the government, which in the prevailing situation is almost difficult and also time consuming. Even in cases of attack on religious minorities at different places where powerful people mainly ruling party leaders and cadres are trying to grab their property, NHRC proves quite ineffective to run credible investigation and bring charges against them
It is almost clear that most law enforcers are working as the footman of the ruling party to destroy political opponents and protect the government in power. They are enjoying a sort of impunity from being challenged; many even don’t dare to come forward to challenge their excesses. So the Chairman of the NHRC has rightly called for amending the existing law and framing new law to bring every organ of the government including the members of the law enforcing agencies under an accountability regime now most conspicuous by its absence or limitations to protect citizen’s human rights and their property.
The Chairman’s suggestion for changing the law and framing new law therefore appears quite justified and makes sense. His disclosure that they are already scrutinizing the existing law to recommend to the government for amendment is also a move to the right direction. But the question is whether or not the government will agree to bring the most important change in the law that will place the members of the law enforcing agencies under the investigative authority of the human watchdog body. The Human Rights Commission cannot be restrained from investigating human rights violation by whomsoever.
