right must, in accordance with article 2 (2) of the Covenant, should not be subject to any form of discrimination.49 48. The Commission welcomes the commitment for ensuring housing for all by 2021 and implementing several projects across the country. 50 The government has started construction of 10,000 flats for slum-dwellers in 201751. The Commission expects that the initiatives taken by the Government will contribute to addressing the housing problem for the slum-dwellers in the urban areas. The Commission also hope that these initiatives will also contribute to reductions in slum evictions. 49. The Commission welcomes the steps taken by the government to amend contradictory sections of the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act 2001, on 6 October 2016. The amendment is a positive step on the part of the government in implementing the CHT Accord. Following the amendment, the CHT Land Commission has started functioning. As of January 2017, a total of 22,866 applications have been received by the Land Commission. However, the office setup of the Commission is yet to be done according to its required capacity. While the head office has been established in Khagrachari, the government is yet to allocate adequate fund, approve adequate manpower and set up two sub-offices in Rangamati and Bandarban districts. The Commission advocates for the full implementation of the Peace Accord aiming to transfer identified service institutions to the Hill District Councils and guarantee that tribal communities play a significant role in CHT governance. To avoid any future crisis, trust between State and the tribal communities requires further strengthening. 50. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has developed a detailed guidance note which recommends that in order to ensure that the right to food is made justiciable in national law, State Parties to the ICESCR must adopt appropriate national legislation, conduct food assessments as well as develop training on, budgets for and monitoring of the food situation. Many countries around the globe have recognized the right to food through national legislation and some have included it in their Constitutions. Inserting the right to food in the Constitution as a fundamental legal right would make the right to food easier to implement by explicitly committing the State as a matter of constitutional legal obligation to ensure access to food on a permanent basis. The Constitution of Bangladesh recognizes the importance of availability, access, and adequacy of food as fundamental principles of State policy, but it has not endorsed the right to food specifically within the cadre of fundamental rights. 51. In addition to the Constitution, Bangladesh has several laws and policies on food security and safety. The Safe Food Act 2013 was enacted to ensure right to have safe food for protection of human life and health through control by coordination in food production, import, processing, storage, supply, sale and distribution 52 . However, the act does not provide for the right to food. Access to land and security of tenure are essential for the 49 The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A Study on Bangladesh Compliance, page 5, published by the National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh: http://nhrc.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/nhrc.portal.gov.bd 50 http://www.theguardianbd.com/nha-committed-to-solve-housing-problem-in-bangladesh/ 51 http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2017/10/26/pm-lays-foundation-first-ever-flat-construction-project-slum-dwellers/ 52 http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/bangla_pdf_part.php?act_name 16

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