At the exact moment that a national commission tasked with ensuring the preservation of human rights in Bangladesh was poised to be most relevant, it became arguably the most ineffective in its 18-year history.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the national advocacy institution for human rights promotion and protection across the country, had never been without a chairperson and members since its formation in 2007.
That was until November 7, 2024, three months after the July Uprising ousted an authoritarian, abusive and exploitative regime.
By that date, the entire board of NHRC had quit their posts, which are yet to be filled more than eight months later.
The chairman of the commission supervises the regular activities to perform effectively and also takes executive decisions after consulting with members of the commission. The board members generally become head of different rights-based committees under the commission. Besides, they supervise formation and activities of investigation teams and commission members form the bench for settlement of complaints.
With the NHRC toothless, an immense power vacuum exists without the check and balance the commission is meant to provide against the abuses by those in the corridors of power.
Many, including human rights activists, former NHRC members and current employees, say this is the worst state the commission has been in since its formation.
And that bar is low. Human rights activists have long bemoaned the fact that key positions were filled by bureaucrats instead of people involved in human rights activism.
It is safe to say that the commission, during the 15 years of Awami League rule, has steered clear of checking and balancing the power of a government that increasingly leant towards practising abuse of human rights.
Sebastin Rema, secretary to the NHRC, is currently acting as the chairperson of the commission to carry on official activities.
NHRC insiders said the leadership vacuum has hit the institution hard and some of its core works remained on hold for the last eight months.
The interim government is yet to appoint a new chair and members for the commission. Finding an acceptable person and bringing qualified, experienced members to the commission is leading towards a delay for the appointment, said the chief adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Azad Majumder.
Three of the four NHRC chairmen were former secretaries
After attempts at forming a human rights watchdog since the post-Ershad period of 1990, the then caretaker government established the NHRC on December 9, 2007 under the provisions of the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance.
The ordinance formulated under a non-elected caretaker government was replaced by the National Human Rights Commission Act-2009 once an elected government, the Awami League, was in power. The NHRC was then reconstituted in 2009 as a national advocacy institution.
The late Justice Amirul Kabir Chowdhury, a former judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, was the first chairman of NHRC appointed under the ordinance in 2007. As he was appointed under the lapsed ordinance the official website does not include him as former chairman of the commission.
After the NHRC Act was passed in 2009, Professor Mizanur Rahman (2010-2016) became the first chairman of the commission. He was on the chair for six years across two terms. Later, a former full-time member of the commission, also a former secretary of the government, Kazi Reazul Hoque (2016-2019) was appointed as the chairman. Thus far, he is the only full-time member to be appointed as the chairman.
In 2019, the government appointed as chairperson the former secretary of the women and children affairs ministry Nasima Begum, who served until 2022. It was obvious by then that the AL government was following its strategy to appoint bureaucrats, ignoring the advice of human rights activists.
The government used the same playbook to replace Nasima, appointing former secretary Kamal Uddin Ahmed as commission chairman in December 2022, who along with all members of the commission resigned from their post in November last year
What is the NHRC doing now?
Deputy Director (DD) of NHRC Farhana Syead said the commission is performing its regular duties, except on-field investigation and settlement of complaints.
However, the duties she mentioned that NHRC is not performing are the ones that directly benefit the people.
According to NHRC, around 500 complaints were lodged with it every year since 2014 and 50%-70% of the complaints were settled every year.
President of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) Salma Ali said that after the July Uprising, establishing and protecting human rights had become one of the core agendas.
"What we were expecting is that NHRC would have grabbed the opportunity and reformed itself to achieve its goal, especially at a time when the government has allowed the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to establish an office in Dhaka for an initial period of three years."
But in reality, the institution went silent and no activity of note has been observed till now, she added.
Talking about reform, NHRC DD Farhana said they viewed the opportunity as a ray of hope to make the organisation stronger and credible at home and abroad.
"It is unfortunate to note that only two National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in South Asia -- Bangladesh and Maldives -- were awarded B status while those of India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka were awarded A status from the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of Global Association of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI)," she said.
Former executive director of Ain o Salish Kendra Nur Khan Liton said the Paris Principles compel a country to allow an NHRI be provided with an appropriate level of funding in order to guarantee its independence and ability to freely determine its priorities and activities.
The fund should be allocated from a separate budget line approved by parliament, he said. Besides, the Paris Principles is related to the selection and appointment of NHRI leadership as well. If those principles were followed, the NHRC would be able to perform better than before, he added.
According to DD Farhana, although the NHRC has overcome dependency on donor budgets, financial independence is still to be achieved as the commission does not receive its budget directly from parliament.
Government in search of qualified candidates
When contacted, Deputy Press Secretary Azad Majumder said the Human Rights Commission and the information commission are the two most important institutions in the country that are responsible for maintaining a check and balance with the government to protect human rights.
"So, we are searching for the most qualified and acceptable person for the two posts."
Replying to a question about the criteria for the post of NHRC chairman, he said the main criterion is a proven track record of being involved in human rights activities. The chairperson might be a human rights activist, a justice or an administrator but what is most important is that proven track record.
"The commission previously was not able to perform their duty thoroughly. And we want to facilitate the future commission to work with utmost sincerity to make the government accountable for actions that could violate human rights," he added.
The government is working to ensure this and if needed, they are open to bringing changes to the laws as well. And therefore it is taking a little longer than expected, he said.
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