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Rights out in cold

HR commission ordinance waits to be made law; office pushed out of Hare Road to Lalmatia; starts a fresh ordeal without electricity, staff

Emran Hossain
It was tough to recognise the building as a government office at first sight. There was no reception or guard but only a gardener who confirmed it as the headquarters of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Covered with smoke from burning weeds on the yard, the office building called Kalatan on Hare Road looked deserted during a visit last week. The view was almost same inside, where two of the three staffs on the ground floor of the two-storey office were absent.
The commission had to shift its office to Lalmatia yesterday as Kalatan is meant for a minister's residence. Its officials believe the new office would be "functional" although utility facilities like
electricity and gas are not available there.
T\vo of the three commissioners were found busy in writing a press release on Israel's aggression on Gaza upstairs. Munira Khan, the only female member of the commission, was writing Bangla version of the news release, while her
colleague Prof Dr Niru K Chakma was writing in English.
"Writing a press release is very tough to me as I have never practiced it in my life. I am trying to write one since morning," Munira told The Daily Star correspondent around noon.
The only staff present at the office was | a computer composer against a require-£ ment of 65 employees proposed in the t draft organogram of the commission.
The NHRC secretary finally showed up at 4:00pm and signed the press release. All the national human rights office did that day was preparing a press release.
During visits to the commission next three successive days, activities of NHRC were found to be 'stepped up’ a little. The commission members were found going She ^tar
almost mad in search of a new office building.
Whatever they did in those three days, there was nothing about human rights.
"We are struggling for a house and now well suffer from electricity and gas crisis as our present address does not have these facilities. But the current address would be a good one if the services are ensured." Munira claimed.
Prof Dr Niru K Chakma however admitted their situation. "We are nothing but knights without shining swords, " he said.
"We joined office when there was not even a chair to sit on. It took about a week to manage necessary furniture. It's not the commissioner's responsibility to think about chair, table, office room and press releases,” he added.
"As the present government has promised to strengthen the human rights commission we hope to get every kind of support from the government," NHRC Chairman Justice Amirul Kabir Chowdhury told The Daily Star.
He added the service rule for appointing people has already been drafted, while a draft organogram for appointing 65 staffsisbeingexamined.
The three-member commission officially 'launched' its activities on December 1 last year with a high hope to maintain human rights in internationalstandard.
The present crisis of office managemen t can be taken as an example of the government's neglect in making the body functional. Allotment of Kalatan for NHRC expired in November last year but the housing ministry neither renewed the allotment nor informed the commissioners aboutit.
"The most important matter now is how proactively and quickly the government provides all the necessary personnel and logistic supports to the commission," said prominent lawyer Dr Shahdeen Malik.
The commission even could not determine whether about 35 complaints it received so far fall within its jurisdiction due to lack of an effective screening mechanism and management ofcomplaints.
Pathetically, the commission does not have any investigator, lawyer and consultant to inves-
tigate complaints, review human rights condition, and provide legal aid to complainants in case of alleged violation ofhuman rights.
Interestingly, the commission does not have an}’ facilities like Internet, fax and television although its key vision is to make people aware of rights violation through information sharing.
"The existing capacity is not enough for the human rights commission. The more it will take time to ensure its necessary facilities, the more people will lose faith in it," said eminent human rights activist advocate Sultana Kamal.
The 35 appeals filed with the commission so far are related to conjugal life, teachers’ sufferings, discrimination in Rajuk plot allotment, encroachment on land and illegal job dismissal.
BACKGROUND
The National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, 2007 came into effect with the aim of maintaining human rights in accordance with international standard. The aims included maintaining standards of prisons and correction facilities besides investigating reports or complaints abouthuman rights abuses.
The NHRC draft had been gathering dust for 12 years. In the meantime several drafts were discussed and approved in principle by the cabinet, the latest ofwhich was by the immediate-past caretaker govern-menton Septembers, 2007.
"It's very unfortunate that the commission does not have a permanent home yet. It should be a very high priority for the government to let the commission function freely and effectively without farther delay." said Banister Sara Hossain.
Rights activists and legal experts hope the government would take immediate step to make NHRC an effective and functional body by enacting a lawin parliament.
Slamming the commission for lacking experts in human rights and representation from civil society, human rights activists c onsider the commission would be a "toothless body" unless it is equipped with "enforcement mechanism" including the power to initiate independent proceedings against violators and a defined jurisdiction.