The Johns Hopkins University Press

Human Rights, Civil Society and Nongovernmental Organizations: The Nexus in Bangladesh
Author(s): Habib Zafarullah and Mohammad Habibur Rahman

Source: Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Nov., 2002), pp. 1011-1034
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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HUMAN RIGHTSQUARTERLY
Human Rights, Civil Society and

Nongovernmental Organizations:
The Nexus in Bangladesh
Habib Zafarullah*
Mohammad H ab ibur Rahman**
The establishment of human rights provides the foundation upon which rests the
political structure of human freedom; the achievement of human freedom generates the
will as well as the capacity for economic and social progress; the attainment of
economic and social progress provides the basis for true peace.
U Thant, 3rd Secretary General of the United Nations
I. INTRODUCTION
During the second half of the twentieth century, civil society organizations
and international bodies took renewed interest in promoting equity and
harmony in society by protecting the basic civil, political, economic, social,
Habib Zafarullah received a Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of Sydney
and currently teaches Political Science and Public Policy at the University of New
England, Australia. Previously, he served as a Professor of Public Administration at the
University of Dhaka. His areas of interest are: Third World democratic governance, public
policy and administration, and development management. He has published several
books, articles, and book chapters and is the editor of Politics, Administration and Change,
a multidisciplinary social science journal. Dr. Zafarullah is also on the editorial board of
many international journals and is associated with several professional organizations and
learned societies.
Mohammad Habibur Rahman is a Professor o? Public Administration at the University of
Dhaka. He obtained his M.A. in Public Administration from the University of Dhaka; and
a M.A. in Regional Development Planning and a Ph.D. from the University of Wales in
Swansea. His areas of interest include governance, local government, development
management, human resource management, and non-profit organizations. He has
published several articles and book chapters and his forthcoming book, Decentralized
Governance in Bangladesh: Models, Myths and Realities is expected to be released soon
by South Asian Publishers. He has been a consultant to the UNDP, UNCHS, USAID, the
World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Asia Foundation, NORAD and JICA.
Human Rights Quarterly 24 (2002) 1011-1034 ? 2002 by The Johns Hopkins University Press

1012 HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY Vol. 24
and environmental rights of all people. For them, human progress can only
be attained if the civil and political rights of individuals and groups are
established and protected. Development will undoubtedly falter if people
are not liberated from poverty, provided with basic education, health, safety,
a clean and protected environment, and empowered to represent and speak
for themselves?all alienable human rights. The Teheran Proclamation of
1968 asserted that "[s]ince human rights and fundamental freedoms are
indivisible, the full realization of civil and political rights without the
enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights is impossible."1 Today,
the perception that social and economic rights are an important component
of the human rights array is widespread. This perception is vigorously
espoused by civil society and its constituent?NGOs, both of which can
play an effective role in promoting and protecting human rights in societies,
especially where democracy is going through a turbulent period of
consolidation.
Human rights activists and organizations have proliferated all over the
world in the past few decades. They serve as the voice for the oppressed and
the underprivileged, organizing them, taking collective action on their
behalf, and fighting for their rights. These organizations empathize with the
downtrodden and occupy the roles of advocate and facilitator in their quest
for greater empowerment.
In Bangladesh the intensification of human rights advocacy has taken
place for two main reasons: (a) the expansion of human rights issues in a
society that has faced one crisis after another in political, social, and
economic spheres; and (b) the gradual emergence of a powerful and
effective civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This
paper will attempt to highlight some of the key human rights issues relating
to social and economic development in Bangladesh, explore the roles of
civil society and NGOs in promoting and safeguarding them through
various programs and strategies, and identify some of the contemporary
challenges they face.
The Constitution of Bangladesh, reflecting the people's commitment to
safeguard human rights, is based on the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. The Constitution pledges eighteen fundamental civil and political
rights, including equality before law, right to life and personal liberty,
safeguards as to arrest
and detention, freedom of assembly, freedom of
occupation, protection in respect of trial and punishment, rights to property,
etc.2 In addition, the Constitution also promises to safeguard certain social
1. Ibrahim F. I. Shihata, The World Bank in a Changing World: Selected Essays 133 (1991 ) (quoting
United Nations, Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments 19, ^1 13 (1983)).
2. See Const, of Bangl. arts. 27-44. The Constitution also made promises to safeguard
fundamental rights of people. For example, it states, "[t]he Republic shall be a

2002 The Nexus in Bangladesh 1013
and economic rights for specific segments of the population and social
sectors.3
However, as far as the issue of human rights is concerned, Bangladesh

has hardly achieved positive results over the last thirty years. Democratic
norms and civil liberties have been difficult to establish due to frequent
military intervention into state affairs. The Constitution was either sus
pended during military rule or was tampered with by these regimes. As a
result, nearly three decades after independence, governance remains
ineffective in a volatile political order. There is a lack of political consensus,
weak legislative authority, unhealthy modes of political competition, un
democratic political party structures, political and administrative patronage,
and weak local governance. There is also a lack of accountability and
transparency of political and administrative institutions. All of these prob
lems have produced social tension, a lack of equal access to natural justice,
and abuses of human rights.4
Civil society in Bangladesh is not a new institution. It had its genesis
during colonial times some 240 years ago. Over the centuries, its features
and focus have changed; sometimes it has acted with a political purpose,
and at other times, with a social agenda. The several defining moments in
Bangladesh's political history?viz., the end of colonial rule (1947), the
language movement (1952), the autonomy struggle (1969), the war of
independence (1971), and anti-authoritarian resistance (1989-1990)?all
featured the direct involvement of the civil society in various forms and
degrees of intensity. The focus of civil society was on political and social
action, and not merely playing the role of watchdog. Time and again, civil
society took the lead in mobilizing mass movements to establish rights to
liberty, language, democracy, autonomy, and self-rule. The revival of a
democratic political process in Bangladesh in 1991 was primarily the result
of a persistent political movement, spearheaded by a committed civil
society. Thus, through the very historical process of its evolution, civil
democracy inwhich fundamental human rights and freedoms and respect for the dignity
and worth of the human person shall be guaranteed." Id. art. 11.
3. See Const, of Bangl., art. 10 (on women), art. 14 (on peasants and workers), art. 17 (on
education), art. 18 (on health). Regarding women, inArticle 10, the Constitution pledges
that "[s]teps shall be taken to ensure participation of women in all spheres of national
life." On education, in Article 17, the Constitution declares that "[t]he State shall adopt
effective measures for the purpose of- (a) establishing a uniform, mass-oriented and
universal system education and extending free compulsory education to all children to
such stage as may be determined by law; (b) relating education to the needs of society
and producing properly trained and motivated citizens to serve those needs; (c) removing
illiteracy within such time as may be determined by law."
4. See Habib Zafarullah, Consolidating Democratic Governance: One Step Forward, Two
Steps Back, in Development, Governance and the Environment in South Asia: A Focus on
Bangladesh 181, 185-91 (Mohammad Alauddin & Samiul Hasan eds., 1999).

society in this country has come to represent the people, and has acted, to
a large extent, as the sentinel of freedom and rights. A civic sphere that has
gradually taken shape is expected to keep a watch over state excesses and
help to counter exploitative political and economic interests in society. But
this challenge will be daunting especially if the government continues to
disregard democratic norms and human rights principles.
Similarly, NGO activities in Bangladesh have virtually grown into a
movement. the late 1970s, NGOs have steadily acquired
Since increasingly
prominent in
roles the nation's development process.5 NGOs have brought
about institutional changes at the grassroots level and have facilitated the
implementation of need-based development initiatives to improve the
quality of life of people in general, and especially of people living in rural
areas.6 NGO activities have had a significant impact on poverty alleviation.
Such activities include micro-credit and skill development training (on
agricultural and non-agricultural income-generating activities); human re
source development; rural development, including, improvement of rural
infrastructure, women's development, and grassroots institution building.
The government has also adopted a fairly liberal and facultative approach to
the growth and development of NGOs.
Before addressing the main goals of this paper, which, as stated, are to
highlight key human rights issues that relate to social and economic
development in Bangladesh, explore the roles of civil society and NGOs in
promoting and safeguarding such rights, and identify challenges these two
groups face, this paper will briefly define human rights, civil society, and
NGOs in order to place these concepts in the context of Bangladesh.
II. LINKINGHUMAN RIGHTS,CIVIL SOCIETYAND NGOS
In the past, human civilization underwent stages of transformation towards

the achievement of civil liberty and political freedom. Millions of people
struggled across the world to protect human rights and to liberate them
selves from the rule of oppression. The term "human rights" refers to a claim
of some interests, advanced by an individual or a group of individuals,
which have either a moral or legal basis and are essential for development
in society. Human rights can be broadly divided into two categories: civil
and political rights, and social and economic rights. While the first category
5. 5ee R. Haque, NGOs in Bangladesh: The Emergence of a Third Sector, 23 Pol. Admin. &
Change 1-18 (1994).
6. See Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), NGO Activities in Bangladesh (1995).

is broadly related to democratic principles, the second category is linked to

social justice and economic development. When certain human rights are
written down in a constitution and are protected by constitutional guaran
tees, they become fundamental rights.
The internationalization of human rights began in the post-World War
II period when the appalling atrocities of Nazi Germany compelled the
United Nations, almost from its inception, to take a special interest in
human rights.7 The UN Charter of 1945 contained important references to
human rights. Later, the human rights provisions were enumerated in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. Of these twenty-five rights,
nineteen are civil and political rights and six are economic, social, and
cultural rights.8
The growth of NGOs, including women activists, environmentalists,
action researchers, and the media, has tremendously helped to raise
awareness about the impact of economic disparity, social oppression, and
environmental exploitation on human beings. It is now a commonly held
conviction that the violation of human rights not only affects one's civil or
political life, but also his or her social, economic, and environmental life.
The violation iswide-ranging in terms of both form and location?from the
Elian Gonzalez situation (the Cuban castaway case of child rights abuse in
the United States), to the alleged illegal detention of Palestinians by the
Israeli regime; and from the social oppression against elected women local
councilors in Bangladesh, to the human suffering caused by recent famines
in Africa. Today, people all over the world are vociferous not only about
protecting their civil and political rights, but also about protecting their
social, economic, and environmental rights as well.
For purposes of this paper, the following definition of human rights will
apply: the civil, political, social, economic, and environmental rights which
can be claimed by any person for the very reason that he or she is a human
being.
Human beings and groups constitute "civil society," but the term lacks
a universal definition. In most developing societies, it refers to a loose
conglomerate of diverse organizations, individuals, and networks with
varying philosophies and objectives. To be more precise,
[c]ivil society . . . consists just of what isobviously not part of the state but also
of all who may have become powerless or disenfranchised: not just villagers,
fishermen, nomads, members of different age groups, village councilors or slum
7. U.O. Umozurike, Human Rights and Development, 158 Int'l Soc. Sci. J. 535, 536 (1998).
8. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 10 Dec. 1948, G.A. Res. 217A (III),
U.N. GAOR, 3rd Sess. (Resolutions, part 1), at 71, U.N. Doc. A/810 (1948), reprinted in
43 Am. J. Int'l L. 127 (Supp. 1949).

dwellers, but also professionals, intellectuals . . .

politicians, priests, mullahs,
and all others who are, or feel they are, without access to the state.9
In fact, civil society has largely grown as a voice against poor governance,
oppressive regimes, and ineffective service delivery systems.10
Civil society can be of two distinct types?"conservative" (e.g., business
community) and "progressive" (e.g., mass social movements).11 Blair defines
civil society as those NGOs that are concerned with influencing state
policies and are autonomous from both the state and political parties. This
definition excludes those NGOs that are concerned only with service
delivery, relief, or productivity functions.12 But, NGOs for whom income
generating activities have become a priority and for whom social mobiliza
tion programs are secondary may not qualify as part of civil society and
therefore should be excluded.
In its project paper entitled "Civil Society in the New Millennium," the
Commonwealth Foundation expressed its belief that the act of civil society
is the act of people who "have always taken action voluntarily, both
individually and together with others, in order to improve their communities
and societies."13 The actions that make up civil society are many and varied,
and include the following: struggles for freedom and independence;
peoples' movements and the establishment of peoples' organizations;
campaigns for establishing social, economic, and environmental rights;
establishing community associations; and establishing organizations that
are engaged in a wide range of activities, including the alleviation of
poverty, the creation of employment, the advancement of education, the
improvement of social care, the preservation of indigenous cultures, and the
improvement of human security. Three fundamental issues emerge from this
perspective of civil society: (a) civil society works with a vision to promote
collective interest and not parochial interest, (b) civil society is a forum for
upholding human rights, and (c) the institutional goals of civil society and
NGOs may considerably overlap.
Civil society is the intermediary layer between the public sphere of the
9. Martin Doornbos, The African State in Academic Debate: Retrospect and Prospect, 28
J.Mod. Afr. Stud. 179, 191 (1990)(quoting Patrick Chabal, Introduction: Thinking About
Politics in Africa, in Political Domination inAfrica: Reflections on the Limits of Power 1,15
(Patrick Chabal ed., 1986)).
10. See R. Haque, Civil Society: Key Political Actors in Bangladesh (1999) (on file with
author).
11. Kendall W. Stiles, Democratic Alliances: NGOs, Donors and Civil Society in Bangladesh
(1999) (on file with author).
12. See Harry W. Blair, Civil Society, Democratic Development and International Donors, in
Bangladesh: Promise and Performance 181, 184 (Ronnaq Jahan ed., 2001).
13. Commonwealth Foundation, Civil Society in the New Millennium, Regional Workshop
for National Partners (1998).

state and the private sphere of households and organizations within it that
are voluntary and autonomous.14 More importantly, civil society incorpo
rates notions of civility (i.e. an attitude of respect and consideration among
private citizens and in relations between the state and society) and notions
of citizenship (i.e. empowering individuals to seek control of the world in
which they live).15 The strength of civil society lies not in the numbers of
people with membership in civil society organizations, but in the legitimacy
with which its participants can articulate issues and influence public and
political thinking.
NGOs comprise a diverse and dynamic sub-set of civil society. In the
literal sense, the term "nongovernmental organization" includes all types of
organizations (e.g., voluntary agencies, research centers, clubs, youth
organizations), which are formed by personal or collective initiatives to
achieve various goals. However, these are not the institutions that are
usually understood to be included in the term "NGO" in the present day
context. Of late, NGOs have emerged as the third sector and have been
endowed with "a legitimate political voice"; they make visible contributions
to the social and economic advancement of developing societies.16 With its
alternative approach to development, the NGO community, as a loose body
of grassroots level development agencies of varied form, size, goal, and
capacity has established a distinctive model of development for the poor.
Although in the macro-economic context, NGOs are organizations in the
private sector, in general, NGOs are better known as "development NGOs,"
and are also identified as "Private Voluntary Development Organizations"
(PVDOs). A number of characteristics, particularly the "not-for-profit" nature
and direct intervention of NGOs for improving the quality of life of the
marginalized and vulnerable population, differentiate NGOs from the
purely private sector.
Civil society and NGOs have diversity within and between themselves.
Civil society and NGOs are not quite homogenous institutions. A wide
variety of categories exist within both entities, and the diversity can be seen
in terms of their goals, work method, target orientation, and institutional
interaction. Again, there are common characteristics between civil society
and NGOs that make the separation of the two institutions difficult. In fact,
a thin line exists between them when both entities work on the same ground
with shared vision and common goals. But, their individuality becomes
14. See Larry Diamond, Rethinking Civil Society: Toward Democratic Consolidation, 5
J.Democracy 55 (1994).
15. Bryan H. Massam, An Essay on Civil Society, Community Economic Development
Centre (1996), available on <http://www.sfu.ca/cedc/research/civilsoc/massam.htm>
(visited 23 June 2002).
16. Committee of Review Report 1997. Canberra: Aus Aid, at 272; Haque, supra note 5.

evident when they choose to work on their own institutional priority sectors
(e.g., in the case of human rights, civil society takes more interest in civil
and political issues and NGOs concentrate on social and economic
sectors).
For purposes of this paper, it is preferable to see civil society and NGOs
separately. From a human rights perspective, the two institutions will be
viewed as complementary to each other, but not intermingled. Civil society
can be referred to as those groups who take keen interest in safeguarding
people's civil and political rights; in establishing justice and rule of law; and
in promoting democracy, pluralism, good governance, and good health of
society. Such groups include the professional associations (e.g., lawyers,
teachers), media, community-based organizations (CBOs), women's fora,
research groups, think tanks, student fronts, trade unions, environmentalists,
and cultural groups. In this paper, "NGO" will be used interchangeably with
the term "PVDO" (which stands for "Private Voluntary Development
Organization"). "PVDO" may be defined as an organization (maintained
primarily atthe grassroots level) that is dedicated to the design and
implementation of social and economic development programs for the
emancipation and empowerment of the poor.
III.CIVIL SOCIETY IN BANGLADESH
In today's civil society in Bangladesh, liberal groups that have different

approaches and goals exist in both rural and urban areas. The conservative
groups typically include the business elite, politicians, and traditional social
and religious leaders. The progressive set, on the other hand, includes
urban-based professionals (e.g., lawyers, teachers); women; cultural, reli
gious, and student groups; learned societies; environmental campaigners;
the print media; and large NGOs. The rural-based elements include small
NGOs/CBOs, local advocacy groups, and federations of NGO-supported
village collectives. With regard to human rights, professionals, women, and
cultural groups usually focus on traditional rights, i.e., the civil and political.
The big and small NGOs, CBOs, environmentalists, local organizations, and
apex bodies of NGOs concentrate on lobbying, networking, and coalition
building. These efforts are designed to achieve advocacy work, social
development, income generation, poverty alleviation, women's empower
ment, and so on. On the other hand, the conservative segments within civil
society are largely self-serving groups who target selected issues for the
fulfillment of their sectional interest. For instance, the business community
recently initiated a dialogue with political parties to avoid hartal (the total
forced closure of economic activity) from being used as a political tool by
the opposition.

Civil society has been enlarged in recent times with the arrival of print
media, and women, student, cultural, and environmental groups, apart from
proliferating NGOs. These new players have reinforced civil society in
Bangladesh, but have also made the relationship between the political
economy set-up and its interface with a much-enlarged civil society more
complex.17
In recent years, the military has kept a low profile. It has probably
deliberately done so because State policies (particularly the budget alloca
tion for the defense sector) do not cause any discomfort to this powerful
institution. In the new post-authoritarian milieu, the political elite has
perhaps replaced military as the most "powerful" organ of the State in its
interrelationship with all other entities. The "non-political" urban and rural
elites, being politically connected and financially solvent, are another vital
entity, second only to the political elite. The religious elite is basically
Islamic in character but lacks cohesion. Its relationship with the urban and
rural elites is generally ad-hoc and often mutually beneficial. For the most
part, the religious elite do not seem to have any strong links with the
political elite, although there is a tendency to associate a section of the elite
with the religion-based political parties. The politically and socially power
ful local government councilors maintain reciprocal links with the political
elite, as well as with the urban and rural elites. However, they appear to be
reluctant to build synergies with the civil society elements. The other
powerful elements are the private sector and the public bureaucracy. The
NGOs and student politicians have emerged as important organs with high
level institutional linkages with other sectors.
Both civil society and NGOs strongly perceive human rights as vital for
the development of individuals and groups and hold a firm conviction that,
in a poverty-stricken country such as Bangladesh, human rights are a pre
requisite for the growth of its citizens. This growth, in turn, is necessary for
economic and social development which is achieved through the inclusion
and participation of all citizens in the processes of governance and state
management.
It is, however, apparent that civil society and NGOs prioritize their
institutional agendas on human rights differently. In the Bangladesh context,
both institutions generally work toward accomplishing the common goals of
establishing civil and democratic rights; empowering the poor, women, and
the disabled; and protecting the environment. But, with respect to setting
priorities, the two entities take different approaches. Civil society groups, in
general, consider civil and political rights as the most important human
17. See Blair, supra note 12, at 193-96.

rights matters. They pursue strategies and programs designed to protect

people from repressive laws, cruelty (i.e. against women and children),
extra-judicial killings, police torture, administrative and political corruption,
political violence, custodial violence, hartals, oborodhs (blockades), and so
on. On the other hand, NGOs, by and large, view people's social,
economic, and environmental rights as the most fundamental human rights.
They focus their efforts on poverty alleviation (through skills development
training and micro-credit support); establishing women's and children's
rights, and people's rights to education and health; the improvement of
living conditions of the following groups of people: the destitute, environ
mental refugees, migrant people, urban slum dwellers, and the disabled;
and so on.
However, it isworth mentioning that the perceptions and programs of

civil society and NGOs are not strictly compartmentalized. At times, civil
society groups also take interest in social and environmental matters (e.g.,
the Osmani Uddan case).18 Likewise, NGOs, through their awareness
raising campaigns, voter education programs and policy advocacy, contrib
ute to establishing the political and civil rights of the people. These include
the right to vote, the right to represent people, access to justice, and so on.
IV.THE STATE
OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN BANGLADESH
The state of human rights in Bangladesh is far from satisfactory, although the
focus of attention on the issue has sharpened considerably. The country's
law and order situation presents an appalling picture. Ithas worsened to the
extent that police involvement in theft, robbery, and rape frequently appear
in the news. Governments, past and present, have committed serious
human rights abuses. The Special Powers Act, the Code of Criminal
Procedure, and the so-called Public Safety Act are continually used to
suppress political opposition. Extrajudicial killings, police atrocities, and
prolonged detention of citizens without formally charging them are com
mon. As a recent Human Rights Report reveals:
The Government limited freedom of assembly, particularly for political oppo

nents, and on occasion limited freedom of movement. . . .Abuse of children
and child prostitution are problems. Violence and discrimination against
women remained serious problems. Discrimination against the disabled,
18. The civil rights activists, who usually speak out against police torture or custodial death,
also took to the streets to campaign against the government's decision to cut off trees of
the Osmani Uddan in order to construct buildings for the Non Alliance Movement
(NAM) conference to be held in Dhaka in 2001.

and minorities was a problem. . . . The Govern

indigenous people, religious
ment continued to limit worker . . . in general, is ineffective in
rights and,
enforcing workers' rights.19
The rate of crime by professional mastans (gangsters) is alarmingly high.

Top-rated criminals (e.g., professional murderers, kidnappers, rapists, thugs)
in the capital city operate under the shelter of only eighteen powerful
godfathers who are mainly ministers, members of parliament (MPs), and
business leaders. They have been to several murders
accessories in the
capital alone over a periodof only three and a half months. Political
violence, including that on campus, is on the increase, and arbitrary arrests
and detentions by a capricious police force continue unabated.20 The
terrifying death of a university student in custody in 1998 generated
considerable public alarm and brought to the fore the government's inability
to provide, as well as its lack of concern for, the protection of its citizens.
Hartals have become a frequently used weapon by the political opposition.
In 1999, twenty-four persons died in /?aria/-related violence and 100
persons died in prison.
The government does not permit independent human rights organiza
tions to visit prisoners or to advocate their release.21 Freedom of movement
and political rallies are obstructed by politically-provoked acts of violence
(e.g., road blockades and attacks) and the freedom of the press is obstructed
by police attacks on journalists. The much-promised autonomy of the
electronic media has remained unrealized.22 Along with civil and political
rights, the separation of the judiciary from the executive branch remains a
major demand of civil society.
On other social and economic fronts, infringement of rights persists.
The government's handling of the devastating 1998 flood and some of its
food support programs, such as the vulnerable group development, food for
works, and other poverty-alleviation projects (run by the Bangladesh Rural
Development Board), were significant. However, its three recent programs,
having implications for the living conditions of the people (particularly the
urban poor), have become the subject of massive criticism and resentment
in certain civil society quarters for breaching human rights. For example, in
a somewhat oppressive manner, the government evicted slum-dwellers from
the capital city. In addition, ruling party activists were alleged to have
demolished slums in a major city of North Bengal in order to illegally
19. U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000 (Bangladesh)
(2001) [hereinafter Country Reports 2000].
20. Pratham Alo (Bangladesh newspaper), 17, 21 & 25 Apr. 2000.
21. See U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999
(Bangladesh) 2299 (2000).
22. Ain O Salish Kendra et al., Human Rights in Bangladesh 1997 (1998).

occupy lands for the construction of their own buildings. Furthermore, the
government has also been criticized for evicting prostitutes from brothels in
and around Dhaka, and for felling trees in a popular city green?the Usmani
Uddan, in order to construct buildings.
Other environmental problems, such as arsenic contamination, air
pollution in cities, and the effects of polythene use and deforestation, have
not been adequately addressed. The government has also failed to formulate
a feasible health policy while the performance of community health
programs remains poor.
Violence against women and children, including rape and throwing
acid on their bodies, has increased enormously, despite the Women and
Children Repression (Special Provisions) Act 2000. Female and child
laborers (particularly in the garment manufacturing industry) are deprived of
a decent compensation package (i.e. equitable wages, health care facilities,
leave, housing, and a congenial work environment). The garment and
shrimp processing industries are the largest employers of women laborers.
Forty-three percent of women work in the agriculture, fisheries, and
livestock sectors, but 70 percent of them are unpaid family laborers. Many
women also work as manual laborers on construction projects, constituting
nearly 24 percent of all manufacturing workers.23 Organized rape by student
groups supported by the ruling party in a major public university was a
recent act that humiliated the nation, but the perpetrators were not
punished. The rate of dowry-related domestic violence has also gone up.
Newly elected female members of union parishads (local councils) who
attempted to enforce the law were chided and even physically assaulted by
their male counterparts. The government, remains a passive
unfortunately,
spectator to these cruelties.
Human rights organizations put pressure on the government to attend to
the political, social, and economic needs of the tribal people and also to
end the persecution of religious minorities by the police and other forces in
society, but often these go unheeded.24
A. Governmental Response
The present Awami League government did initiate the formation of an

independent NationalHuman Rights Commission. It circulated a draft bill
for discussion among some human rights and professional organizations.25
23. See Country Reports 2000, supra note 19.

24. Amnesty International, Bangladesh: Further Reports of Extrajudicial Executions by Security Forces
(1994); U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1995
(Bangladesh) 1301 (1996).

The bill which is to establish the proposed National Human Rights

Commission, however, is yet to be legislated. But the enactment of the
Women and Children Repression (Special Provisions) Act 2000 iswidely
recognized as a very positive step.26 The government also set up a special
cell at the Police Headquarters to monitor violence against women. At the
divisional level, separate women's investigation units have been established
to oversee the enforcement of the act.27 However, the government has been
criticized by civil society for not fulfilling its pre-election promises to repeal
the Special Powers Act of 1974, to separate the judiciary from the executive,
and to grant autonomy to the state-controlled electronic media. Finally, the
controversial Public Safety Act 2000 has also provoked civil society
criticism on the grounds that it has the potential to violate the fundamental
rights of people.
The Bangladesh government generally permits human rights groups to
conduct their activities. A wide variety of groups publish reports, hold press
conferences, and issue appeals to the government with regard to specific
cases. While human rights groups are often critical of the government,
irrespectiveof the party in power, they frequently practice self-censorship,
particularly on some politically sensitive issues. In the past, the government
consulted with human rights groups and elicited their views on some draft
legislations that were directly or indirectly related to human rights issues.
However, the government continues to block the registration of the Bangladesh
Section of Amnesty International. Since 1990, this organization has applied
several times for registration under the Societies Registration Act. Without
this registration, a voluntary organization cannot receive funding from
abroad or pursue its activities. Human rights organizations also report
frequent harassment by the government intelligence agencies and threats by
25. The proposed Human Rights Commission is to be constituted in consultation with the
Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, Law Minister, and Leader of the opposition. Itwould be
comprised of a chairperson (with the status of a Supreme Court Justice) and four
members, one of whom would be a woman. Janakantha (Bangladesh newspaper), 11 Feb.
2000. "The Commission's functions were defined as conducting enquiry into petitions
submitted by victims, and into cases of human rights violations or negligence;
intervening in proceedings involving allegations of human rights violations pending
before the court. The Commission would also visit jails and promote human rights
education. There was, however, some concern that the consultations had not allowed for
sufficiently wide exchanges, and the Commission may not be given adequate powers of
enforcement." Ain O Salish Kendra et al., supra note 22.
26. Provisions for severe punishments (in most cases, a death sentence or life imprisonment)
for repressing women and
children have been incorporated into the Act. The types of
repression include acid throwing, trafficking, kidnapping, ransom, rape, sexual abuse,
dowry-related murder, and so on. A strict deadline (maximum 60 days) has been set to
complete all police investigation. A verdict on a case has to be given within 180 days of
registering the case at aWomen and Children Repression Control Tribunal.
27. See Ain o Salish Kendra et al., supra note 22, at 108.

ruling party activists.28 These activities reflect the unwillingness of the

present democratically elected government to allow external and internal
human rights organizations to document and resist its human rights record.
V. THE ROLEOF NGOS IN SAFEGUARDING

ECONOMICAND SOCIALRIGHTS
Increasing concern with the detrimental influence of bureaucratic pathology

has paved the way for policy formulation in favor of shared governance?a
pattern of governance where NGOs have strongly supplemented govern
mental efforts at addressing poverty and other socio-economic problems.
The weakness of the government in providing services to the poor has
prompted the donors to call for NGO involvement in development programs.
NGOs have perceived the notion of human rights in itswider context.
Major issues for NGOs, who primarily work with the poor, are poverty,
gender discrimination, disability, and environmental degradation. The basic
distinction between the perception of civil society and that of NGOs is that,
instead of seeing the violation of human rights as "death in detention,"
NGOs tend to believe that the gross violation of human rights is "death by
starvation." NGOs thus are committed to alleviate poverty, reduce gender
imbalance, safeguard the environment, and so on. The key to the success of
Bangladeshi NGOs lies in their efforts to create access to resources and basic
services (e.g., food, health centers, safe water, hygienic sanitation, schools,
etc.) for the poor, women, and the disabled. NGOs have channeled their
resources and designed their strategies to emancipate the poor. As a result of
NGOs complementary services, life expectancy in Bangladesh has increased
from forty-five years in 1974 to fifty-eight years in 1996; immunization
coverage rose from 1 percent in 1981 to 77 percent in 1996; and access to
safe water grew from 56 percent in 1975 to 96 percent in 1996.29
A. Poverty Alleviation
NGO-supported schemes to generate income have shown that development

projects can be designed and implemented in such a way that their benefits
are not siphoned off to non-target groups, which is common in government
28. See Country Reports 2000, supra note 19.

29. Ministry of Planning, Government of Bangladesh, The Fifth Five Year Plan 1997-2002, 21.1.1
(life expectancy statistics) (1998), available at http://www.bbsgov.org/ffyplan/325.html.
National Data Bank, National Data Sheet 1999 (immunization coverage and safe water
access statistics) (1999), available at http://www.bbsgov.org/data-sheet/H_SANITATION.
html.

projects.30 NGO-supported skills development training and micro credit

have enabled the rural poor to undertake income-generating schemes in a
number of new areas. Such areas include the following: home gardening;
participatory water management; maintaining livestock, poultry, and fisher
ies; social forestry; bee keeping; rural transport; rice processing; and non
farming activities, such as handicrafts and weaving. NGOs have had a
significant impact upon the alleviation of poverty in Bangladesh. Their
programs involving income generation have stimulated the poor and have
helped them develop the ability to earn, if the right atmosphere is created.
The rural poor, including distressed women, have acquired the potential to
substantially meet their financial needs through micro credit schemes. They
have been able to raise their per capita income, and in many cases, have
diversified their sources of income as well. Skill training on different trades
has helped them to utilize the employment portfolios effectively.31
B. NGO-Local Government Collaboration on Poverty Alleviation
There is enthusiasm among the local people about the NGO-local govern
ment (LG) collaborative projects, particularly on income generation (i.e.,
social forestry, fishery etc.).32 The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Commit
tee (BRAC) is involved in the Vulnerable Group Development Program
(VGDP), inwhich a group of poor women, identified by local councils, are
given food support by the World Food Programme. BRAC collaborates with
the councils in providing skill development training to VGDP women to
help them earn their own livelihood. The councils across the country also
run Road Maintenance Programs (RMP) through a joint venture with CARE
targeting destitute women.
C. Group Mobilization and Conscientization
Some NGOs, such as Nijera Kori and Uttaran, do not provide material
assistance to their target group?the landless laborers, but help them to
30. See Harry W. Blair, The Elusiveness of Equity: Institutional Approaches to Rural Development in
Bangladesh (1974); Azizur Rahman Khan, The Comilla Model and the Integrated Rural
Development Programme of Bangladesh: An Experiment in "Cooperative Capitalism," 7
World Dev. 397 (1979); Zillur R. Khan et al., People's Government: Need for
Participation, in Local Government in Bangladesh: An Agenda for Governance (United
Nations Development Programme eds., 1996).
31. A. Hossain, Poverty Alleviation in Bangladesh: The NGO Approach, 18 Asian Aff. 5,
(1996).
32. See Center for Social Studies, Decentralised Governance in Bangladesh: The Case of Manikganj
District (1996).

organize themselves and develop synergy among members based on mutual

trust and confidence.33 As Hye stated, "[t]he overriding objective is to make
the groups free from patron-client relations. . . ,"34Hundreds of NGOs have
demonstrated that, by organizing the poor into homogenous groups and
empowering them, they are able to make their members aware of their
social, economic, legal, and political rights. Inmany cases, such organizing
efforts encourage the poor to effectively raise their voices against exploit
ative forces.35 NGO activities have enabled the poor to fight against social
injustice, exploitation, and corruption, albeit on a limited scale.36 There is
also evidence that NGO members have been successful in establishing their
legal economic rights such as increase inwages.37
D. Education and Health
NGOs in Bangladesh have

received special appreciation for their efforts in
eradicating illiteracy through formal and non-formal education (e.g., BRAC),
as well as their contribution to devising appropriate (i.e. low-cost and
affordable) models of health care (e.g., Gono Shasthaya Kendra). Rangpur
Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) has evolved its own model of mass
education (Social Literacy Centre), where men and women receive basic
education, as well as awareness training. Voter education is a recent and
very popular NGO activity.
E. Environmental Development
Many NGOs, including BRAC, Proshika, Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha

(TMSS), and RDRS, implement environmental programs including road-side
tree plantation, afforestation on homesteads, roads and embankments, and
school grounds. NGOs, like RDRS, implement disaster preparedness projects
to tackle natural calamities (e.g., flood, drought, and river erosion). Such
projects include training programs, activities on educating villagers to cope
33. Hasnat Abdul Hye, Below the Line: Rural Poverty in Bangladesh 190-91 (1996).
34. Id. at 191.
35. See Bosse Kramsjo & Geoffrey D. Wood, Breaking the Chains: Collective Actions for Social
Justice Among the Rural Poor in Bangladesh (1992); Kirsten Westergaard, NGOs, Empower
ment and the State in Bangladesh 16-1 7 (paper presented at the Third Workshop of the
European Network of Bangladesh Studies, Hornbaek, Denmark, 27-29 Aug. 1992) (on
file with University of Notre Dame library).
36. N.A. Siddiquee, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Rural Development in
Bangladesh: A Review of Some Contemporary Questions, 17 Asian Aff. 46-58 (1995).
37. Westergaard, supra note 35, at 6.

with calamitiesthrough community participation, short-term preparedness

measures, and post-disaster relief actions.38 The Bangladesh Environmental
Lawyers Association (BELA) continued its pioneering work in the field of
public interest litigation. Building on the success of its landmark 1996 case,
which it took on behalf of people who were displaced as a result of flood
control measures, BELA has litigated cases related to the resettlement of
people displaced by large-scale public infrastructure projects. Such projects
include the Jamuna Bridge, industrial pollution, the import of contaminated
milk powder, arsenic poisoning, and salination resulting from commercial
shrimp cultivation. BELA has secured broader public and elite support for
these initiatives through seminars, press conferences, and round table
meetings with activists, lawyers, and judges.
F.Women's Development
NGOs have put forth their greatest effort in organizing women and in raising
their awareness about their role and status in the society. Most NGOs
organize women and have separate programs for them. In some cases,
women constitute the majority of their total membership. In the case of
Grameen Bank, which is a quasi-NGO, a vast majority (more than 90
percent) of the total membership are women. Though women's contribution
to the household was never insignificant in the past, due to an increase in
the levels of poverty and destitution, rural women have been desperately
looking for new means to contribute more to household income. NGOs
have successfully mobilized this opportunity and extended their support to
rural women to enable them to play a more direct and prominent part in
family's income. NGOs have also added gender issues to the agenda and
are campaigning, among other things, against dowry and male violence
against women. All this has recently drawn considerable praise both at
home and abroad.39
G. Children's Rights
The abuse of child labor and the deprivation of health, education, and
social security causes endless misery to the children in Bangladesh. For
millions of Bangladeshi children, childhood memories are not happy
because of the extreme poverty and lack of basic rights to health care,
38. See Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS), Annual Report 1995 (1996).
39. Siddiquee, supra note 36.

education, and freedom from hunger and exploitation. Child labor is often
characterized by low wage rates, long working hours, unhealthy working
conditions, life-threatening work, and lack of access to legal protection.
NGOs such as Proshika, RDRS, and Caritas have addressed the child
welfare issue in their comprehensive development programs. These pro
grams not only protect children from exploitation by providing access to
primary health care, health education, and nutrition, but also by providing
basic education to children, and by motivating their parents to send them to
school so that they can escape the evils of child labor.
H. Labor Rights
Continuous violation of labor rights occurs in Bangladesh. The biggest

offender is possibly the garment industry, which has experienced tremen
dous growth in the past decade. Normal labor laws are not enforced in
garment factories. Workers regularly work twelve hours a day, seven days a
week. Women often have to work beyond 8 p.m., and many risk being
molested or raped on their way home late at night. Large numbers of
women and girls have been killed in fires and stampedes within the factories
where thereis inadequate protection or inspection. Perhaps the most
astonishing reaction to these conditions from a human rights viewpoint
came from women's groups, which felt that work in garment factories was
the best possible work opportunity for the underage girls. This was not seen
as a violation of the universality of human rights, even though it demon
strated that there are different standards for rich and poor countries.40
In partial response, Nari Uddog Kendra (NUK) has developed a
program to provide cheaper rental accommodation to women workers of
garment industries in the city of Dhaka where the housing problem facing
the garment workers, particularly women, is acute. The Kendra has also
established a night school for female garment workers.41
I. Rights of Other Vulnerable Groups
The nature of the human rights problem of vulnerable populations is an

intricate one. Different types of vulnerable groups fall within this category
40. See R.W. Timm, Human Rights, in Bangladesh Towards 21 st Century 25 (M. Mohuiuddin
Ahmed ed., 1999).
41. See M.M. Khan & M.H. Rahman, Community-Based Human Settlements Development in
Bangladesh (1996).

(i.e. disabled persons, environmental refugees, displaced people, and so

forth). There are thousands of disabled flood/drought-affected people and
char (sand bar) dwellers living in different NGO working areas. With a
growing realization that vulnerable population development is also crucial
for NGOs like Impact Foundation, TMSS and RDRS engage in alleviating
the distress of this vulnerable population. However, group formation and
development intervention by NGOs with this type of "floating" population
is an extremely difficult task.
J. Empowering Local Government
Both national and local NGOs have worked towards empowering local
government. A number of NGOs, including Manobik Shahajja Sangstha
(MSS), International Voluntary Service (IVS), Bangladesh Legal Aid and
Services Trust (BLAST), Bangladesh Nari Progoti Sangha (BNPS), CARE,
RDRS, and Uttaran, in collaboration with research groups, such as the
Center for Social Studies (CSS) and People's Power Research Center (PPRC),
have played a catalyst role inmobilizing public opinion on the issue of local
governance. They adopted a number of strategies, like seminars, public
debates, workshops, litigation, and networking. Some of their actions
resulted success.
in instant For example, the enactment of the Gram
Parishad (Village Council) Bill encountered resistance from BLAST, an NGO
which promotes legislative advocacy. BLAST litigated a case against the
implementation of Gram Parishad Act because of the non-democratic
election procedure and disproportionate women's representation. As a result
of this, the High Court has instructed the government to stop enforcing the
Act.
K. Grassroots Democratization and Advocacy
NGOs like Proshika,RDRS, Samata, Banchte Shekha, Ni jera Kori, and

Caritas have played a significant role as policy advocates, urging the
expediation of the process of development and democratization. RDRS and
Caritas have been particularly successful with their mobilization work
through federations.42 RDRS supports 280 Union Federations which are
undertaking policy advocacy on social, economic, and environmental
42. These are Apex organizations of NGO-supported primary groups. Federations are
elected by phased-out group members. These people's organizations undertake a
number of activities including income-generating projects, local advocacy, networking
with NGOs and other local organisations, etc.

issues. The need for women's development/gender balance, child develop

ment, land rights, environmental protection, and good governance has been
taken by RDRS as key advocacy/mobilization agenda.43
L. Access to Justice
NGOs Shekha are making

like Banchte their mark as effective Alternative
Dispute Resolution
(ADR) promoting organizations. Under a complex local
justice system, traditional village-based shalish,44 as well as formal village
courts,45 operate side by side. Factional village politics play a crucial role in
this system, as a result, both structures give biased verdicts. The ADR
structure has been regarded as a better alternative. Evidently, it has
gradually become more acceptable to villagers. Several NGOs are applying
the ADR method in more sustainable ways by working with village courts
and enhancing their capacity through training, orientation, and logistics.
M. NGO Forum
The creation Forum" by some twenty-five NGOs

of "Democracy (supported
by Democracy Partnership Program of USAID, the Asia Foundation, and
BRAC) has set an example of creating platform for coordination, dissemina
tion, mutual learning, replication of best practices, and in-house consultation.
These NGOs aspire to achieve five goals related to human rights and good
governance: improving performance and accountability of local government;
promoting citizen advocacy; ensuring free and fair elections; increasing
awareness of legal rights and women's rights; and promoting Alternative
Dispute Resolution through local mediation process. The forum members
have already achieved good results in social and environmental areas.46
43. M.H. Rahman & R. Haque, Development of People's Organisation Through NGOs: A
Study on RDRS Support to its Federations, 4 Grassroots 27-35 (Apr-June 1995).
44. This is a traditional village-based justice system in which the village elite (including
religious leaders) play a key role in mediating disputes between villagers. Often times,
the shalish verdicts go against innocent people and particularly rural women.
45. Village court is a formal structure, which is in operation under the Village Court Act of
1980. The union parishad chairman heads the court. The plaintiff and accused are
represented by two members of the parishad and two members from the village
community.
46. Asia Foundation, Democracy Partnership Annual Report 1998 (1999).

VI. CHALLENGES AHEAD
Both civil society and the NGO community are trying to ensure human
rights for the people, as described in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Their efforts were more successful in the 1990s, when there were
some achievements in the field of human rights, as compared to the last two
decades. However, a comprehensive set of strategic actions is yet to be
initiated to counter the challenges that lie ahead. Some of the challenges
pertaining to human rights are: (a) improving rule of law, justice, civil
liberty, and political freedom of people; (b) promoting a sustainable
democratization process and good governance at the central and grassroots
level; (c) ensuring accountability of state machinery to the people; (d)
ensuring sustainable development and poverty alleviation; (e) promoting a
vulnerable population into a productive force through skill development
and employment generation; (f) prioritizing women's and children's devel
opment in all national programs; (g) providing basic education and health
services to all; and (h) improving environmental conditions.
A. Grassroots Democratization
Rural Bangladesh is the home of more than 70 percent of the citizens of the
country. A representative civil society and effective NGO community that is
able to target and safeguard human rights cannot be realized without the
participation of the rural masses, including women and ethnic minorities,
and their organizations and associations.47 Democratization at the grassroots
level should therefore be a priority for both institutions to grow and to be
successful.
B. Integration and Coordination
There seems to be a lack of integration and an initiative to move towards a

common goal. Although the improvement of human rights conditions is a
common goal, the human rights and development movements apparently
partially failed to take civil society and NGOs on one boat. It seems that
their program components are implemented in a compartmentalized, rather
than in a cohesive, manner. Clearly, there is a need for coordination and
consolidation of civil society and NGO efforts to reach the goal of
47. Haque, supra note 10.

establishing democracy and human rights for social, economic, and

political development.
C. Linkage between Central and Local Initiatives
Civil society and NGOs need to work together to cope with the massive task
of ensuring human rights through a political, social, economic, and
environmental agenda. But apparently there is a lack of linkage between
civil society and the NGO community. The civil society and NGOs are
often seen as institutions with variations that are too big within and among
themselves to form a sustainable partnership. There is a considerable gap in
the level of efficiency between national and local civil society groups and
NGOs. This affects their performance, priority perceptions, and commit
ment. The big NGOs, most of which are now operating microcredit
programs as a strategy for financial sustainability, do not face the problems
that small and local NGOs do. Faced with both external and internal
constraints (e.g., elite domination, political pressure on the one hand, and
fund constraint on the other), the small NGOs sometimes feel helpless.
Although some degree of collaboration occurs,48 a lack of linkage between
big and small NGOs exists.49 The deficiency in linking the local action of
NGOs and civil society with constant national-level follow-up by national
level civil society and NGOs or their sector-specific coalitions/networks
must be reduced. Together, the national and local-level civil society and
NGO community could still make a huge impact in improving the human
rights situation. The strength of small NGOs and local civil society groups
(including youth clubs, CBOs, people's organizations, and professional
bodies) is that they have a committed workforce as well as a clear
perception of and information about human rights violations in the
countryside. Through coalition-building and networking, the big and small,
48. For example, some collaboration occurs through the Democracy Forum, in which
twenty-five NGOs funded by Democracy Partnership Programme work together.
49. For example, in the Democracy Partnership Programme, real "partnership" seems to be
missing. BRAC, the only local partner of the Programme, invited criticisms from other
NGOs for its inertia. Initially it played a somewhat "one-shot role" in the formulation of
the Partnership, and also committing itself to represent the local NGO community in the
program. But it remained inactive at many times, particularly when small NGOs needed
its guidance and moral support during their crisis hours (e.g., during the 1997 union
parishad elections when some NGOs had to fight with local power structures and local
administration, and there was lack of support from BRAC, at least in the form of voice).
See M.H. Rahman, Decentralization Policies and Local Governance in Bangladesh: Impact of The
Asia Foundation Intervention (1999).

and the central and local civil society and NGOs can make a sustainable
impact in improving the human rights situation in Bangladesh.
Keeping in view the strengths and complementary role of local and
national NGOs and civil society, itmay be suggested that civil society and
NGOs constitute fora at the different local government tiers (union,
subdistrict, and district). The fora would be democratically formed through
an election and would be vertically-linked with a "contact point" at the
national level. Itwould be a place where MPs, senior civil servants, local
government representatives, and donor agencies as facilitators could inter
act with national-level NGOs and civil society groups working on human
rights. The purpose of the fora would be two-fold: (a) to help local human
rights activists establish horizontal linkages between themselves and to
work together by sharing ideas, replicating innovative strategies, and
building sustainable partnerships; and (b) to allow the local civil society and
NGOs to disseminate information upward to their apex forum national-level
representatives to interact with the "supply side" at the contact point and
represent the local voice in an effort to ensure justice and to protect people's
rights and privileges. However, it is important that overtly politicized NGOs
or civil society groups are denied access to such a network.
VII. CONCLUSION
The notion of human rights needs to be seen in itswider context. Political

freedom, governance, poverty, gender imbalance, disability, and the envi
ronment are some of the major issues afflicting the contemporary world.
While civil society groups tend to see gross violation of political rights and
custodial deaths as the major violation of human rights, the world's poor
view 'poverty' as the pretext for intervention on human rights. Again, the
ecologists and environmentalists put more emphasis on environmental
degradation as the major violation of human rights. There are a wide range
of problems upon which those who are concerned with human rights focus
their attention. The human rights challenges encountered by the society in
Bangladesh today are both overt and covert manifestations of the underde
veloped socio-economic conditions of the people and the fragile civil and
political situation of the State. Ensuring basic human rights in Bangladesh
warrants a comprehensive human development approach that is aimed at
civil liberty, rule of law, good governance, democratization, poverty
alleviation, and socio-environmental development.
Civil society and NGOs in Bangladesh have demonstrated their com
mitment and ability to form a partnership, although temporary and mainly
issue-based, and to work towards establishing human rights through their
individualistic approaches and strategies. Together they have helped in

establishing certain civil, political, economic, social, and environmental

rights of people. Campaigns against police torture, extra-judicial killings,
gender disparity, and corruption have at least raised people's awareness
about establishing their fundamental rights as citizens. On the other side,
the NGO programs on poverty alleviation, women's empowerment, health,
education, children's
rights, and environmental development have gener
ated some successes
on the economic and social fronts. Nonetheless, civil
society and NGOs have a long way to go in making a "sustainable impact"
on the human rights situation in the country.


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Human Rights, Civil Society and Nongovernmental Organizations: The Nexus in Bangladesh

Author(s): Habib Zafarullah and Mohammad Habibur Rahman

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Human Rights, Civil Society and

This content downloaded from 62.109.17.50 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:43:13 PM

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However, as far as the issue of human rights is concerned, Bangladesh

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II. LINKINGHUMAN RIGHTS,CIVIL SOCIETYAND NGOS

In the past, human civilization underwent stages of transformation towards

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is broadly related to democratic principles, the second category is linked to

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dwellers, but also professionals, intellectuals . . .

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III.CIVIL SOCIETY IN BANGLADESH

In today's civil society in Bangladesh, liberal groups that have different

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17. See Blair, supra note 12, at 193-96.

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rights matters. They pursue strategies and programs designed to protect

However, it isworth mentioning that the perceptions and programs of

The Government limited freedom of assembly, particularly for political oppo

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and minorities was a problem. . . . The Govern

The rate of crime by professional mastans (gangsters) is alarmingly high.

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The present Awami League government did initiate the formation of an

23. See Country Reports 2000, supra note 19.

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The bill which is to establish the proposed National Human Rights

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ruling party activists.28 These activities reflect the unwillingness of the

V. THE ROLEOF NGOS IN SAFEGUARDING

Increasing concern with the detrimental influence of bureaucratic pathology

NGO-supported schemes to generate income have shown that development

28. See Country Reports 2000, supra note 19.

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projects.30 NGO-supported skills development training and micro credit

B. NGO-Local Government Collaboration on Poverty Alleviation

C. Group Mobilization and Conscientization

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organize themselves and develop synergy among members based on mutual

D. Education and Health

NGOs in Bangladesh have

Many NGOs, including BRAC, Proshika, Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha

This content downloaded from 62.109.17.50 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:43:13 PM

with calamitiesthrough community participation, short-term preparedness

This content downloaded from 62.109.17.50 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:43:13 PM

Continuous violation of labor rights occurs in Bangladesh. The biggest

I. Rights of Other Vulnerable Groups

The nature of the human rights problem of vulnerable populations is an

This content downloaded from 62.109.17.50 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:43:13 PM

(i.e. disabled persons, environmental refugees, displaced people, and so

J. Empowering Local Government

K. Grassroots Democratization and Advocacy

NGOs like Proshika,RDRS, Samata, Banchte Shekha, Ni jera Kori, and

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issues. The need for women's development/gender balance, child develop

NGOs Shekha are making

The creation Forum" by some twenty-five NGOs

This content downloaded from 62.109.17.50 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:43:13 PM