BANGLADESH: Ain o Salish Kendra’s 2007 human rights report released
10 October 2008 3:09 am

FORUM-ASIA member based in Dhaka Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) has released its 2007 human rights report on the country situation. The report lays out key developments related to human rights and citizens' security – most particularly the State of Emergency – as they unfolded in 2007.

It outlines legislative and institutional developments and judgments relevant to the enforcement of human rights. It focuses in par- ticular on the rights to life, liberty, freedom from torture, freedom of expression and the right to freedom of religion, as well as the right to shelter, and on specific concerns arising in relation to the rights of prisoners, workers, women, religious minorities, Adibashis (indigenous people), children and persons with disabilities.

According to ASK in the Overview section of the report: The year was full of contradictions and paradoxes.
In January 2007, the newly installed interim caretaker government (CTG), backed by the military, imposed a state of emergency (SoE) and declared as its goal the hold- ing of elections as soon as conditions were conducive.
This Report therefore focuses its analysis on this new political regime and its relationship to the establishment of a democratic rights framework.

However, rather than assume a complete break in modes of governance after 11 January 2007, the report charts continuities as well as departures from past state practices and modes of citizens' resistance as they relate to human rights concerns.
It also provides a brief assessment of the steps initiated by the Government to restore the democratic process and to undertake institutional reforms.
In other words, the report looks both at and beyond the State of Emergency.

Read the full report HERE.