Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is set to establish an office in Bangladesh, primarily for three years, in an effort to strengthen cooperation in dealing with human rights issues.
“There has been remarkable progress on the discussion (between the interim government and the UN Human Rights Office). The Council of Advisers, in principle, approved the draft MoU on Sunday,” Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul told reporters on Sunday at the Foreign Service Academy.
While briefing reporters on the outcomes of the meeting, the adviser said: "The office will be established in Bangladesh primarily for three years." "If the two sides think that it is necessary to renew it, the renewal of the MoU can be considered," he added. Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam was also present at the media briefing.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) is the leading UN entity on human rights.
The law adviser said that they, a few advisers, will further examine the draft MoU and the final text of the draft MoU will be sent to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
"Once they (UN side) agree, they hope to sign the MoU as soon as possible and based on the signed MoU, an office will be established here."
The law adviser hoped that Bangladesh’s local agencies, which are dealing with human rights issues, together with the UN office, would play an important role if there were any cases of severe human rights violation in the country.
A milestone was the interim government’s invitation to the OHCHR for an independent fact-finding mission following the July–August unrest.
The UN mission last year submitted a report on the human rights violations, highlighting the events of July and August last year.
The report said about 1,400 people were killed during the July uprising and in the aftermath.
The UN Human Rights Office will soon establish an office in Bangladesh to support the country, which is going through reforms in various sectors, including political, bureaucratic, police and judicial sectors.
"We understand from the government that an MoU is finalized. We are waiting to sign it soon. That means we will be able to open an Office of the Human Commissioner for Human Rights soon to support a lot of processes that are underway," said United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis on June 4.
