CHAPTER 01:
NHRCB:
Functions
Background
and
Our beloved country People’s
Republic
of
Bangladesh
was
established as a result of struggle for
human rights. It was possible due to
our Father of the nation the Greatest
Bengali of all time Bangabandhu
Sheikh
Mujibur
Rahman.
Proclamation of our Liberation War
clearly mentions about ensuring
equity, human dignity and social
justice. Collectively they are called
human rights. 30 articles of UDHR are
fully reflected in the constitution that
was gifted by Bangabandhu within 10
months of our independence. Besides,
the proclamation of our constitution
writes “it shall be a fundamental aim
of the State to realize through the
democratic process a socialist society,
free from exploitation a society in
which the rule of law, fundamental
human rights and freedom, equality
and justice, political, economic and
social, will be secured for all citizens.”
Though the concept and ideals of
human rights were well incorporated
into the Constitution of Bangladesh in
1972 it took quite a long time to come
up with the first initiative to form a
national Commission for promoting
and protecting human rights in the
country. It was by the present
government that they first felt the
necessity of creating an aura of human
rights and establishing rule of law in the
country, removing the culture of
impunity, upheld by the previous rulers
24
after their epoch-making political rise
in 1996. Achieving a hard-earned and
glorious victory in the national election
the new government was burdened with
numerous
initiatives
regarding
restoration of democracy, bringing
war-criminals under trial, reforming
systems
and
machineries
and
reconstructing many projects and
programs for leading the country
towards development. Moreover, the
government became mindful to create a
paradigm towards establishing a
broad-based human rights culture in the
society. And with the help of UNDP a
draft-legislation was made in 1998 with
a view to forming a Commission. But
the legacy of procrastination of the
previous regime was still prevailing;
and, therefore, the issue remained
pending and under consideration for a
long time. At last a Commission came
into being on 1st September 2008 with
the promulgation of National Human
Rights Commission Ordinance 2007. A
three-member Commission started
working on 1st December, 2008. But as
a matter of fact the National Human
Rights
Commission,
Bangladesh
assumed a full-fledged shape and came
into people’s sight after the enactment
of the National Human rights
Commission Act-2009. The legislation
enabled NHRCB to start functioning
with full capacity in June 2010. The
second Commission under the spell of
the NHRC Act 2009 worked for two
terms until June 2016. The fourth
Commission worked till June 2019.
The present one is literally the fifth