ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report is the outcome of the project on the Legal Compliance Study of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights conducted by the UNDP - Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission Capacity Development Project. But for such project, this report would have never seen the light of day. Therefore, I express my sincerest thanks and gratitude to the UNDP for engaging me as a National Consultant in the project. The preparation of the report was possible because of the devotion and hard work of my research assistants – Ms. Aznin Aktar and Mr. Muhammad Salahuddin. I am thankful to them. For secondary data on State practice as to civil and political rights, we heavily relied on the relevant study reports of Ain-o-Salish Kendro and Odhikar – two national human rights organizations with international reputation, as well as Annual Human Rights Reports of the US Department of State. It would be less than fair if we do not thank them for making their reports public. I am also thankful to the Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission and the UNDP Country Office for their valuable comments on the draft of this report. However, the responsibility for any error is, of course, mine. Last, but not the least, my sincerest gratitude to Ms. Mona M’Bikay Boin, Ms. Lubna Yasin, and Ms. Qumrunnesa Nazly of the BNHRCCapacity Development Project Office of the UNDP. Their help proved instrumental in completing the project. I am thankful to them for extending their kind help and support to me in every possible way.