enjoyment of enjoyment of rights to land and natural resources. Amongst the indigenous people, poverty level is very high compared to mainstream society. While 60% of indigenous people live below poverty line, at the national level, 40% people live below poverty line. Many indigenous people are deprived of basic health service and pure drinking water due to geographical constraints and lack of human resources and medical facilities. 51. The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord (hereinafter the ‘CHT Accord’) signed on 2ndDecember, 1997 between the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the ParbattyaChattagram Jana SanghatiSamity (PCJSS), marked a historical step for ending a longstanding ethnic conflict in Bangladesh. But even after 17 years of conclusion of the Accord, the CHT Accord has been partially implemented. Since many core provisions of the Peace Accord have not been implemented, many view it as a potential cause of extreme frustration for the tribal people, leading to ‘disturbances’, movements or struggles. The slow pace and partial implementation of the Accord has widened the divide between the pro-Accord PCJSS and antiAccord the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF). According to UPDF, the Peace Accord has not fulfilled the demand for full autonomy of the region. 52. Continuous influx of Bengali settlers into the three hill districts, denial of land rights and access to natural resources to the tribal people, heavy military presence, widespread human rights violations in the region with a prevailing culture of impunity for law enforcement agencies remain main problems in implementation of the Peace Accord. Although some institutions such as the Ministry of CHT Affairs, the CHT Regional Council, three Hill District Councils and the Land Dispute Settlement Commission have been established and several laws, and adopted as per the CHT Accord, key provisions of the Accord such as the devolution of powers, land management, withdrawal of temporary army camps from the CHT, transfer of local police and control over civil administration are yet to be implemented. This is creating a feeling of mistrust, fear and insecurity in the CHT areas.44 The NHRC strongly believes that the full implementation of the CHT Accord is essential for realization of human rights of the ethnic minorities in the CHT. It is worth stating that the Chairman, National Human Rights Commission has initiated a process for confidence building among different stakeholders in the CHT issues to reach an amicable settlement of outstanding issues. Implementation Mechanisms 53. Article 40 provides that State parties submit reports to the Committee on the measures they have adopted to give effect the rights recognised in the Covenant and on the progress made in the enjoyment of those rights within their jurisdiction. Article 41 of the Covenant allows States to declare at any time their recognition of the competence of the Committee to receive and consider inter-state communication that the State concerned is not fulfilling its obligations under the Covenant. Bangladesh is yet to make any declaration under Article 41 to allow inter-state communication. Protocols to ICCPR 54. Two optional protocols had been annexed to the ICCPR. The First Optional Protocol to the Covenant provides for the individual communication to the HRC. State parties to this Protocol have recognised the competence of the HRC to consider complaints from individuals or groups 44 ‘Chittagong Hill Tracts: Peace Treaty Still to be Implemented’, seewww.unpo.org/article/13572 24