Anisul off to Geneva to clear Dhaka's stance on rights issues at ICCPR meet

To clear the government's stance on human rights issues, Law Minister Anisul Huq today left here for Geneva to take part in a two-day meeting on International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Huq is leading a 13-member Bangladesh delegation, comprising representatives from ministries for Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs, the Prime Minister's Office and other offices and agencies of the government.

The delegation will take part in the meeting at Geneva in Switzerland from March 6 to 7, an official told BSS.

In the meeting, dialogues will be held with members of (United Nations) Human Rights Committee on issues like allegations of extra-judicial killings, detention, torture and enforced disappearance.

The dialogue will also cover other issues including freedom of religion and expression, actions against law enforcement agencies, providing legal assistance or compensation to victims, killings of journalists and writers, provision of death sentence, oppression of small ethnic communities and attacks on places of worships.

"Alongside clearing the present government's stance on the issues, the delegation will highlight different steps taken in implementing ICCPR," a report of Ministry for Foreign Affairs said.

The ministry has submitted the report to Prime Minister's Office about the possible matters of discussion in the Geneva meeting.

The ICCPR is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966, which came in force in 1976. At present the total number of members of the instrument is 168. Bangladesh ratified the instrument on September 6, 2000.

The human rights related issues like equality before the law, freedom of religion, equal opportunity in getting public appointment, which are there in principles of ICCPR, have been reflected in the third part of the Constitution of Bangladesh.

"These are enforceable by court. There are more than 40 laws to safeguard these rights. The present government has taken up different effective steps in establishing human rights, which have brought qualitative improvement and changes in the lives of ordinary people," the report said.

Without elaborating the matter of discussion, a law ministry spokesperson confirmed the departure of Huq for Geneva along with other members of the delegation.

The minister is scheduled to return home on March 11 via London, the spokesperson said.

Source: BSS