Bangladesh News

The council of advisers yesterday approved in principle a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to be formed, and decided to amend the Money Laundering Prevention Ordinance 2007 and the Banking Companies Act, 1991.

Headed by Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed, it also decided to approve the purchase guidelines for buying electricity from captive power plants.

CA’s Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim briefed reporters on the council’s meeting at the Press Information Department auditorium.

The council ordered formation of a committee to look into details of the proposed NHRC. The cabinet secretary will head the committee to be comprised of the secretaries of law, home and foreign ministries.

The foreign ministry proposed establishment of the commission that had been approved in principle by successive governments, said Fahim. Setting up a human rights commission was an electoral pledge of the BNP-led four-party alliance.

Currently, a number of fundamental rights remain suspended and indoor politics banned under a state of emergency.

Fahim said the committee will look at human rights commissions in South Asia to sketch a possible structure and guidelines for the proposed NHRC.

The immediate past BNP-led coalition government formed a similar committee on December 10, 2001. A final draft was sent to the Cabinet Division on January 23, 2003. But it has been shelved at the ministry since the cabinet sent it back on January 29 the same year.

The then law minister Moudud Ahmed cited opposition from his cabinet colleagues as the reason for failure to establish the commission during their tenure.

The council’s approval for amendments to the anti-money laundering ordinance is part of its efforts to rein in financial crimes. The proposed amendment has already been sent to the law ministry to check if it overlaps the other laws, said Fahim.

If passed, the proposed amendment would empower the Bangladesh Bank (BB) to seize assets and freeze accounts of people under reasonable suspicion of corruption and other crimes, sources say.

The advisory council has also decided to approve a draft amendment to the Anti-Terrorist Act, 2006, to stymie terror financing in the country, said the press secretary to the CA.

Asked whether the council has agreed on a definition of terrorism for the proposed amendment to the anti-terrorism act, he said it has been examining different international definitions and will soon come up with one of its own.

The amendment to the Banking Companies Act, 1991 seeks to broaden the definition of loan-defaulters and change the minimum amount of capital required for commercial banks.

“The council also discussed the number of a bank’s directors,” said Fahim, adding that the number at present is 13 as prescribed by the Bangladesh Bank.