Legal experts at a training programme yesterday called upon the government to accede to the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees signed in 1951, and its 1967 Protocol.

They also called for enacting a mandatory national legislation and forming a judicial authority to deal with asylum and refugee issues efficiently.

The speakers called for capacity building of government and NGO officials dealing with the refugees, for better treatment of asylum

seekers and refugees.

The daylong training programme on 'Refugee Law' was organised jointly by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at a local restaurant.

Magistrate Sufia Akter, Rajshahi District Joint Judge Ruhul Amin, Assistant Police Commissioner Joydip Chakrabarti, acting chairman of law and justice department at Rajshahi University Prof ANM Wahid, Joint District Judge of Dhaka MD Aktaruzzaman, Coordinator of BLAST Rajshahi

Unit Advocate Abdus Samad and National Protection Officer of UNHCR Dr Uttam Kumar Das spoke on the occasion.

Tslimur Rahman, executive director of BLAST, moderated the training programme while MD Aktaruzzaman and Dr Uttam Kumar Das conducted different sessions.

The agenda of the training included basic understanding of human rights, correlation between human rights laws and refugee laws, understanding of persecution, asylum and refugees' rights, conceptual background of inter-

nally displaced persons (IDPs) and stateless persons, institutional mechanism to protect IDPs, UNHCR's role in refugee protection, identity crisis and legal status of Biharis in Bangladesh and Bangladeshi refugees in India in 1971.

Some 50 representatives from the bar association and academic institutes including university teachers, journalists and NGO officials took part in the programme.

After the discussion, certificates were distributed among the participants.