HRC yet to come into being 7 months after okaying of ordinance

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The government has yet to set up the long-sought human rights commission though seven months have passed since it approved an ordinance to that end.

Meantime, rights activists and legal experts have observed that the government should seek opinions from the human rights organisations and jurists to form a competent and independent commission.

Talking to The Daily Star recently, former adviser to caretaker government Sultana Kamal said a participatory process should be employed to set up the body.

She said, “We want the human rights situation here to improve. It will be in the best interests of the nation if the government forms the commission in consultation with the rights organisations that have many suggestions in this regard.”

She said the commission must not be dependent on the bureaucracy. It must have the authority to function independently.

The commission to be formed in line with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Ordinance-2007, okayed on December 9 last year, will mainly investigate allegations of human rights violations brought forward by citizens or discovered in its own monitoring.

If a case of violation is proved, it will either settle the matter or refer it to the relevant court or authorities.

As per rules of the ordinance, the NHRC will be comprised of a chairman and two members handpicked by a six-member selection committee. The names will then be passed on to the president for final approval.

The selection committee shall consist of an appellate division judge chosen by the chief justice, the cabinet secretary, attorney general, comptroller and auditor general, public service commission chairman, and the law secretary.

About the recruiting body, Sultana Kamal said, “Their backgrounds and track records must be examined beforehand.”

She also suggested ensuring representation of the civil society and women in the commission.

Legal expert Shahdeen Malik said the human rights commission should be formed after lifting of the state of emergency.

“It will be quite difficult for the commission to play an effective role in safeguarding the human rights during the emergency when even some constitutional rights are suspended.

“If the commission is formed at this moment, it won’t be able to live up to growing public expectations. So, the government would better form it after withdrawing the state of emergency,” he noted.

Former secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) M Enayetur Rahim said the caretaker government should consult the legal experts and rights groups before establishing the human rights watchdog.

“A national human rights commission is something people have long been waiting for. The present caretaker government has approved the ordinance at least seven months ago, but since then it didn’t take any initiative to form the commission,” he said.

He said the commission should be able to remain beyond the grip of the executive or bureaucracy and function independently.

According to the ordinance, the NHRC chair and members would have to be aged between 50 and 72 and selected from among eminent personalities with outstanding contributions to social welfare, law and human rights.

At least one of them shall be a Supreme Court judge.

The chairman’s term can be no longer than three years and his tenure cannot be extended beyond two terms.

The NHRC draft had been sitting with the state for 12 years. The then Awami League government commissioned an assessment for the commission. Several drafts were discussed and approved in principle by the cabinet and the latest of them was by the present government on September 8, 2007.

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