Assignment On

Role of NGOs in Promoting Human Rights in Bangladesh : Amnesty International & BSAF

SUBMITTED TO:

Professor Dr. Mostofa HasanChairman

Department of Social WorkJagannath University, Bangladesh.

PREPARED BY:

A.M.M Rakibul HasanRoll No. 05101587Reg. No. 102532

Session: 2005-2006.

Date of submission: 25th April’ 2011

JAGANNATH UNIVERSITY

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Many NGOs in Bangladesh have been actively working to protect and uphold

human rights, particularly the rights of women and children for several years. They are very active in creating awareness among the policy-makers and actors working among the general masses. They are trying to reform laws to eliminate social, legal and political discrimination on the basis of gender, class, ethnicity, race and religion. They carry out advocacy at different levels i.e., local, national and international through awareness building, lobbying and mass communication. Few NGOs also provide legal aids to the poor and victims, particularly to women, workers and children in the forms of counseling, mediation and litigation. Since awareness about rights and responsibility is the key means to protect rights and establish justice, many NGOs have awareness campaign on issues like human rights and constitutional laws, family laws, women rights and violence against women and children.

As the protection of human rights is an integral part of democracy, human rights defenders play an important role in promoting the rule of law through defending people's rights and by continuing their efforts to set standards to ensure that no rights are violated by either state or non-state actors. Until the early 1990s, however, human rights activism in Bangladesh was confined, practically speaking, to only a number of legal professionals. Their human rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were operated with an elitist and legalist outlook rather than a service-based approach. As a result, there was a type of client-patron relationship between victims of human rights violations and these organizations, which became active only when there were political or vested interests for the benefit of certain elites.

During the nine years of struggle against autocracy in Bangladesh, more and more young and dedicated people became interested in issues related to human rights. It is no wonder then that with the end of autocracy the elitist domination of human rights activism based on a client-patron relationship ceased to flourish.

From a historical point of view, the people of Bangladesh for hundreds of years were engaged in a struggle for dignity, equality and cultural diversity and in a struggle against discrimination, deprivation and exploitation. However, a concerted effort for human rights activism has not been made. Therefore, human rights organizations in Bangladesh are passing through a process of learning by doing. They carry out investigations, monitor incidents of human rights abuse, conduct research, campaigns and training workshops along with advocacy and lobbying within the country and undertake networking with international and regional organizations. In addition, human rights defenders play an important role in campaigns against torture by law enforcement agencies, the violation of the rights of women and children, gender-based discrimination, political violence and arbitrary arrests and detention as well as participate in election monitoring to ensure free and fair elections.

Bangladeshi human rights defenders do not generally face risks, like physical harassment. They suffer mostly from intimidation by the government, non-

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cooperation and obstructions from state actors and insecurity from non-state actors, such as armed hooligans, especially when they conduct fact-finding missions on torture or killings.

Basically due to the criminalization of politics and lack of a tolerant and participatory democracy, state authorities have become the largest perpetrator of human rights violations in Bangladesh. Even in violations by non-state actors, one can always find some political affiliation or patronization of the perpetrators by the major political parties. It does not matter whether they are in power or in the opposition.

As a result, human rights defenders are considered as an enemy of the State and of the ruling elites. The major political parties tend to polarize human rights defenders in accordance with political divisions in the country. When human rights defenders report on violations by the party in power, they very often receive appreciation from the opposition; but when they protest the violation of human rights by any supporter or worker belonging to an opposition political party, they tend to be branded as pro-government sympathizers. Empirical findings have proved that the ruling parties always are inclined to become hostile and the opposition tries to be friendly to human rights defenders. With every change in government, the political parties change their attitude dramatically. It is only the law enforcement agencies which maintain the same cultural mindset as they enjoy a type of informal impunity. According to them, human rights defenders create embarrassment for their professional life. They do not miss any opportunity to brand human rights defenders as agents or provocateurs when there is a report published with major findings against them.

Despite this hostility with political and state actors, human rights defenders have been successful in putting pressure on state and political actors to set a human rights agenda and to change policy on many issues, like cancellation of the public safety law, the enactment of a law against the abuse of women and children and acid-throwing and a pre-election promise to establish an independent National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Since democracy and respect for human rights are constitutionally the fundamental principles of Bangladesh, it has ratified almost all of the major international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). In reality, however, even after 25 years of the adoption of the Geneva Guidelines and 13 years after the adoption of the Paris Principles on national human rights institutions, there is no National Human Rights Commission or ombudsman in Bangladesh.

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Human Rights and Humanitarian NGOs of Bangladesh:

Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights

Bangladesh Human Right Commission (BHRC)

Institute of Democratic Rights

Jatyo Mohila Ain-Jibi Samity

Amnesty International

Bangladesh Shishu Adikhar Forum

Work for Better Tomorrow Foundation (WBTF )

Integrated Service for Development of Children and Mothers (ISDCM)

Community Development Friend (CDF)

Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK)

Ayoti Mohila O Shishu Kollyan Sangstha (AMSKS)

Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)

BRAC

THE HUNGER PROJECT

Bangladesh Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma Victims (BRCT)

Gono Kallayan Parishad (GKP)

Human Development Foundation (HDF)

Destitute Development Foundation (DDF )

Coastal Development Partnership (CDP)

Manabik Shahajya Sangstha (MSS)

Media Information and Communication Centre of Bangladesh (MICCB)

Participatory Research & Action Network (PRAN)

Human Rights and Humanitarian Services Organization (HRCBM)

Karmojibi Nari (KN)

Steps Towards Development (Steps)

Bangladesh Association of Rural and Social Advancement (BARSA)

Odhikar

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Detail Activities of NGOs:

I. Documentation and Networking

All NGO has a documentation team that keeps the organization updated with human rights abuses published in the major national dailies. The work of the documentation unit is to gather and document relevant information for investigation purposes from both the daily papers and personal and organizational sources/contacts, including human rights defenders. These are included in annual human rights reports and monthly reports of human rights violations, which are distributed to the media for publication and to other NGOs.

II. Fact Finding

NGO’s fact-finding activities cover instances of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment and abuse of some specific laws leading to human rights violations, repression against innocent people and application of unnecessary force by law enforcement agencies. They identifies incidents of human rights violations, which are reported in the newspapers but need further enquiry and information to clearly establish the actual abuse faced by the victims, causes behind the abuse and the persons responsible. While the media focuses on human rights violations more from a journalistic perspective confined within reporting the incident only, the fact-finding goes deep into the incidents from socio-legal perspective.

III. Research

The Research Unit at NGO is responsible for the archival preservation and enhancement of the fact finding reports. This involves the inclusion of legal rights, available data and statistics from previous years and recommendations into the main text of the fact finding reports as well as translation and editing work. The work also involves the preparation of human rights reports, collection of data regarding various human rights abuses throughout the year and writing and publication of various articles on human rights abuses for public knowledge. Another activity of the Research Unit is to keep international and regional human rights organizations.

IV. Election Monitoring and Observation

Encourage the electorate to vote freely and without fear to popularize the concept that the country needs the vote of every citizen. It also aims at campaigning and monitoring for free and fair conduct of the electoral process to ensure voters' rights. NGOs maintain a close liaison with the Bangladesh Election Commission.

Many NGO has been monitoring national and local government elections in Bangladesh since 1996. The monitoring work is not only limited to Election Day, but also covers pre and post election periods.

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V. Media Campaign

All NGO regularly conducts media campaigns for the protection and promotion of human rights. The data collected by the organization are published is both Bangla and English language dailies on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. Articles written by both staff and members of the organization are published in special edition pages and legal rights supplements of national dailies as well.

VI. Human Rights Defenders Training:

The aim of the training programme was to create a grass-roots and local human rights network. Apart from training on human rights issues, fact-finding and report-writing, Human rights defenders are also given training on election monitoring prior to every national election.

VII. Advocacy:

Through regular discussion meetings on various issues of human rights and their abuse, NGO brings together various groups of people, including policy makers, politicians, lawyers, human rights activists and NGO activists, journalists from popular daily newspapers and victims of human rights abuse. The findings and recommendations are discussed and the policy-makers are asked for comments and suggestions.

VIII. Urgent Appeals:

To campaign against major violations of human rights and also to put pressure on state actors for swift remedy for victims NGOs send urgent appeals across the globe through its network and website. NGOs also respond to urgent appeals sent by other organizations.

IX. Internships / Volunteers:

NGOs provide an internship/volunteer programme for local and international students, researchers and activists who are interested in doing filed and desk research work as human rights defenders in Bangladesh. NGOs provide a safe working environment for the interns/volunteers.

X. Good Governance:

One of the main focuses of NGOs is promotion of good governance. Without protecting human rights, ensuring good governance is impossible and vice versa seminars, workshops and discussion meetings, including round table meetings with dailies, to promote the issue of good governance.

XI. Publications

NGOs publishe its research, investigation findings and monthly and annual reports on the state of human rights in Bangladesh in the form of bulletins books and reports.

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Amnesty International is an international NGO. Its stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."

Founded in London in 1961, Amnesty draws attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international laws and standards. It works to mobilise public opinion to put pressure on governments that let abuse take place. The organization was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its "campaign against torture" and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1978. In the field of international human rights organizations (of which there were 300 in 1996) Amnesty has the longest history and broadest name recognition, and "is believed by many to set standards for the movement as a whole. Now Amnesty International has

2.2 million members Support in 150+ countries The champion of human rights for all

The role of Amnesty International has an immense impact on getting citizens onboard with focusing on human rights issues. These groups influence countries and governments to give their people justice with pressure and in man power. An example of Amnesty International's work, which began in the 1960s by writing letters to free imprisoned people that were put there for non-violent expressions. The group now has power, attends sessions, and became a source of information for the U.N. The increase in participation of non-governmental organizations changes how we live today. Felix Dodds states in a recent document that, “In the 1972 there were 39 democratic countries in the world; by 2002, there were 139.” This shows that non-governmental organizations make enormous leaps within a short period of time for human rights.

Amnesty International attaches great importance to impartial and accurate reporting of facts. Its Research Department collects and analyses information from a wide variety of sources. These include hundreds of newspapers and journals, government bulletins, transcripts of radio broadcasts and reports from lawyers and humanitarian organizations. Information also comes in from prisoners and their families, refugee centres, religious bodies, journalists and other people with first-hand experience.

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The Amnesty International movement is run democratically. It is funded by donations from its members and supporters around the world. Its supreme governing body is an International Council of elected delegates from its sections in the various countries. The Statute of Amnesty International - which defines the organization's work and structure - can be altered only by a two-thirds majority at the International Council. The first article of this Statute sets out the objects of Amnesty International: the release of all prisoners of conscience, fair and prompt trials for all political prisoners, an end to torture and executions. These goals define the scope of Amnesty International's work and are commonly referred to as the organization's "mandate". The full text of article 1 of the Amnesty International Statute is reproduced below.

This booklet answers some of the most common questions about Amnesty's scope or mandate. It is hoped that by giving a clear picture of this mandate, more and more people, as well as governments and other institutions, will develop a greater understanding of the role of Amnesty International in the international protection of human rights.

Amnesty International’s 15-Point Program For Implementing Human Rights :

The political role of the international community.

. No international `silent witnesses'.

Human rights chapters in peace agreements.

Effective and independent human rights verification.

Ensuring peace with justice.

On-site human rights monitoring.

Frequent and public reporting.

International civilian police monitors.

Long-term measures for human rights protection.

Human rights education and advisory assistance programs.

The protection of refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees.

The gender dimension.

Adherence of international peacekeeping forces to human rights and

humanitarian law standards.

Prosecution of war crimes and attacks on international peacekeeping

personnel

Continued promotion and protection of human rights in the post-settlement

phase.

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Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF)

BSAF-a Forum of Child Rights Organizations founded in 1990 to promote Rights of the Child in Bangladesh. April 2007, BSAF has been operating Hotline for the children using 2 Mobile numbers. BSAF ensuring referrals through it’s 263 members organizations country wide.Policy formulation, lobby and advocacy is the main strive of BSAF & member 17 committees.

A network at national level, Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) is registered with an agency of the Government. BSAF is a network of those NGOs who work with the children issues. Its geographical coverage is spread over the country. With considerable age, the organization implements two programs. Among a number of activities that the organization performs awareness raising has been addressed through providing training. Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) implements the same two programs in preventing the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children and women. Like the beneficiary and geographical coverage as mentioned earlier, without any physical facility the organization provides a number of services against four categories. Though it could not prioritize the given services and different categories, the given services indicate that it has considered

awareness building and mobilizing locally available domestic resources.

In its external relations it is affiliated with Action Against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children (ATSEC).

Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum has a General Body, an Executive Board, and a Secretariat to carry out its mandate and activities. Presently, 263 NGOs are members of the general body. Any Bangladeshi NGO working and engaged in child rights activities is eligible for membership of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum’s general body. The general body meets at least once a year to review Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum activities of the past year and approve plans and budget for the coming year, among others. An eleven member Executive Board is elected at the Annual General Meeting for a period of two years. The Director and chief executive of the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum Secretariat works as the ex-officio Member-Secretary of the Executive Board. It is mandatory for the Executive Board to meet four times a year. It can also meet sooner than or as often as needed. The Executive Board formulates policies, approve action plans, monitors project activities, mobilize resources and review the coalitions overall activities. The Executive Board is accountable to the general body. Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum has two Advisory Committees. One is the Children Advisory Committee with nine members, constituted with representatives of participants of programs of General Body

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members, who are under 14 years of age. The Committee actively participates in the formulation of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum action plans. The second nine-member Advisory Committee is formed by the Executive Board with prominent non-partisan personalities, child rights activist and outstanding professionals, has a life of two years and meets at least twice a year. The Committee is consulted and gives opinion on Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum plan of action and program strategies. An Advocacy Group comprising parliamentarians, representatives of International NGOs, civil society members, opinion leaders and academics, also exists. Its objectives are to raise awareness about the child rights issues and implement the CRC in their respective fields of work. This group also works as a pressure group. The forum regularly collaborates with the relevant government agencies, UN and bilateral agencies, and international NGOs working and dealing with child rights. Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum has a secretariat comprising a director and seven-eight staff members.

For effective discharge of the functions the secretariat’s work is divided into the following units:

Advocacy Training Cell

support services

information/documentation & research

Program, policy and monitoring.

References:

1. United Nations, http://www.un.org

2. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org

3. Amnesty International, http://bangla.amnesty.org

4. Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF), http://www.bsafchild.org

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