Executive Summary T he National Human Rights Commission is very pleased to present its Annual Report 2011 to the Honourable President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, in accordance with the National Human Rights Commission Act 2009. The Annual Report 2011 presents the activities of the NHRC over the course of the year in the following key areas of endeavour as directed by the 2009 Act: Human Rights Monitoring and Investigation, Human Rights Awareness and Education, and Human Rights Research and Policy Development. In addition, the Commission has continued to build its capacity as an institution. Significant achievements in each of areas illustrate m e a n i n g f u l p ro g re s s m a d e b y t h e Commission in responding to human rights abuses, expanding its profile within Bangladesh, enhancing the national dialogue on human rights issues, reaching out to the international human rights community – all in pursuit of its statutory mandates. chapter also offers an overview of the progress the NHRC has made in four areas of Commission activity and highlights the most significant achievements of 2011. In Chapter 2: Human Rights Complaints and Investigation, the Commission describes the progress it has made in developing a t ra n s p a r e n t , c r e d i b l e , r e s p o n s i v e , accountable process for receiving and handling complaints from victims of human rights abuses. Commission efforts to develop a user-friendly computerized complaints management system are presented. The chapter includes statistics on numbers of cases filed, resolved or pending, and sets forth quantitative and qualitative information on some noteworthy cases which represent the range of complaints filed with the NHRC over the last year. Site visits taken by the Chairman and Commissioners around the country to public facilities including prisons, schools and hospitals are also detailed. This year’s NHRC Annual Report is organized into six chapters. Chapter 1: Building a Human Rights Culture, sets the stage for discussion about the current state of human rights in Bangladesh, with a focus on the results of the NHRC–commissioned study, “Perceptions, Attitudes and Understanding: A baseline survey on human rights in Bangladesh.” This investigation into the knowledge and beliefs of Bangladeshis about human rights reveals a number of important realities that are assisting the NHRC to prioritize its activities and develop successful strategies to raise awareness about how individuals and groups can secure their rights most effectively. The The NHRC sets forth its public awareness, training and education activities in Chapter 3: Human Rights Awareness and Education. This section describes the myriad of educational and awareness-raising initiatives of the C o m m i s s i o n , s u c h a s co n fe re n c e s , workshops, and trainings organized by the NHRC; public awareness campaigns; the 2011 International Human Rights Day program and Youth Arts Competition in December; and Consultative Workshops on the NHRC’s draft Strategic Plan. Chapter 4: Human Rights Research and Policy Development presents the activities conducted in support of promoting the application of international 15