1

Assalam-U-Alaikum

DEPARTMENT OF LAW

SUMMER 2021
Program; LLB(Hon’s)
Course Title: Introduction To Human Rights
Course Code: LLB3227
Submitted To: RAISIN JAHAN; Senior lecturer; Department of law;
Northern University Bangladesh.
Submitted By:
1. Meherunnesa Haque
ID No: 28190170534
2. Farzana Akhter Smriti
ID No: 28190170534
3. Bristy Akter
ID NO: 28190170527
4. Sumaia Jahan Rima
ID NO: 180270503
5. MD. Nihal Shahriar
ID NO: 180270507
6. Sahanur Rahman Sohan
ID NO: 28190170533
Date of Submission: 10th August,2021
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ASSIGNMENT

ON

“CRITISISM On NATIONAL HUMAN

RIGHTS COMMISSION ACT, 2009”
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NO. HEADINGS PAGE NO.

1. Acknowledgement 4
2. Foreword 5
3. Background 5
4. Introduction 6
5. Criticism 7
6. Further Advancement 8
7. Way Forward 15
8. Suggested Proposals 16
9. Recommendation 18
10. Suggestion 19
11. Conclusion 20
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First, we want to thank our Almighty. Then we would like to thank our course
teacher for assign this type of opportunity in the field of Human rights. These types
of work chance our capacity to understand Human rights related knowledge. Our
honorable course teacher Raisin Jahan mam shows direction to understand The
Human Rights Commission Act,2009. To make this assignment, we get help from
different website especially Human Rights Commission Act,2009.
…………………………………….
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FOREWORD
It is our expectation that the National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh
(NHRC) will be pioneer of promoting and protecting human rights. Besides, as a
state institution, it is the duty of the Commission to provide necessary
recommendations to the government on human rights issues and create a bridge
between the civil society Organizations (CSOs) and the government. After the
continuous efforts of the CSOs, the NHRC started its journey in the year 2009,
marking it a decade of existence in next year. Since the beginning, the
Commission has been continuing its work overcoming various challenges. In this
assignment, It is our expectation that the Human rights commission will become a
more stronger institution and will work as a shelter to the victims of human rights
violations for ensuring justice for them.

BACKGROUND

The National Human Rights Commission Act, 2009 states that the commission
should be a statutory independent body, Yet, in many aspects, it acts as a
watchdog. While it has the power to investigate complaints of human rights
violations, it does little beyond basic fact-finding, writing a report, and does not
follow through until official investigations end or are brought to a satisfactory
close. The mandate of Bangladesh's National Human Rights Commission is
somewhat wide. Bangladesh's Constitution, National Human Rights Commission
Act, 2009 (NHRC Act, 2009), and the international human rights conventions and
treaties to which Bangladesh is a signatory, are the sources of this wide mandate.
In the preamble of the NHRC Act, 2009, it is said that the aim of this Commission
is to protect, promote, and ensure human rights.
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INTRODUCTION:

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex,
nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include
the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion
and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is
entitled to these rights, without discrimination.
Protection of human rights have been a core concern of United Nations since its
establishment. The fear of further violation of human rights world over made
United Nations General Assembly to adopt the Paris Principles on Human Rights.
Adoption of Paris Principles led to the constitution of national human rights
institutions in almost every country.
The Paris Principles is a set of international standards which frame and guide the
work of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) . An independent and
effective NHRC can be more than just a mouthpiece. The selection next month will
prove which way the government is leaning—a stilted organization with no real
impact or an independent and effective organization holding the government and
other institutions accountable, and standing up for human rights in a country which
sorely needs it.
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CRITICISM

 The selection committee tasked with appointing the Chairperson and the
member to the Commission is dominated by the ruling party. Political
interference in its working is a major drawback.
 Supreme Court called the NHRC a “toothless tiger”, as it does not have
powers to penalize the offenders. There is a conflict of interest, as the Police
officials on deputation, investigating for the NHRC remain attached to their
home cadre. The NHRC urgently requires officers of its own to carry out
independent investigations, and the government should provide it resources
for the same.
 Functions of the commission are mainly recommendatory in nature. And the
recommendations are not binding on the concerned authorities.
 The working of NHRC officials is not supervised. Officials do not owe
financial accountability to the Comptroller and Auditor General and have
often been accused of human rights violations themselves.
 Recruitment procedure is obscure and there is lack of transparent
recruitment mechanism. The criteria to assess candidates is also not
specified.
 The investment mechanism by the Commission is not clearly defined.
 Commission has a limited role with respect to the violation of human rights
by the members of armed forces.
 The Commission was also highly criticised for not providing effective
opinions on the draft law and policy to ensure compliance with international
human rights standards. NHRC's role to protect citizens' right to express
their opinion was also not up to the mark
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FURTHER ADVANCEMENT:

1.Shortcomings of Founding Act

B status accorded by the alliance on the NHRIs (GANHRI); the
Commission’s limited mandate to work on economic, social and cultural
rights; lack of adequate freedom, especially in addressing financial matters and
manpower shortage. The UN Committee has recommended making the
Commission fully independent and stronger. In addition, it has suggested
reviewing the National Human Rights Commission Act, 2009 (NHRC Act 2009) to
expand the Commission’s jurisdiction of work.
As a matter of fact, the Act has quite a few shortcomings which
stand in the way of the Commission’s attaining the A status. They are:
i) Inadequate definition of human rights.
ii) Lack of transparency in the election process of members.
iii) Lack of complete freedom in financial matters.
iv) limited mandate in matters of investigating allegations of rights
violation against law enforcement agencies and the security forces.
Nearly 10 years into the enactment of the existing Act, no step has been taken
to revise these shortcomings. Though then Commission, after discussing various
aspects with stakeholders, has submitted a draft guideline to the law ministry, no
progress has been reported on revising the Act. According to the Paris Principles -
The NHRC must have:
a. A mandate in line with the standards for universal human rights.
b. A separate law for its formation.
c. Sufficient fund that ensures its financial freedom.
d. An autonomous body as a state organ, or, it must have its own
unit of carrying out administrative works.
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2.SELECTION PROCESS OF MEMBERS

In selecting members for the Commission, standards set by the Paris Principles and
observations made by the GANHRI are not being followed. General
observations made by the UN Human Rights Committee clearly emphasizes
that the selection process has to be transparent, and that discussion must be
held on large scale surrounding the selection and recruitment process. The
present Commission was formed in 2016. In line with the Paris Principles, this
Commission ensures diversity in the composition of representatives that
include female members. However, the Committee that supervises the selection
process of the Commission has not taken any initiative for seeking counselling
from Civil Society members, publishing mass advertisements, or holding open
dialogues with them. An appeal was sent on behalf of ASK to the head of the
selection committee regarding the recruitment of new members for the NHR
through an open and transparent (selection) process. The appeal, however, went
unnoticed. Next year the Commission will complete its third year. Civil Society
members appeal to the government for ensuring a transparent and participatory
selection process. Besides, steps should be taken to make sure that the
Commission’s honorary members can contribute effectively
But the NHRC selection process in Bangladesh happens largely out of the public
eye—with no open calls or advertisements for recruitment, for example. There is
no public consultation with civil society. Who nominates the candidates and how
the committee decides on the members are a mystery, say members of civil society
and human rights organizations. "We never know who the alternatives for the
positions are. At the very least, two names should be nominated for each member's
position," says Sayeed Ahmad, Asia coordinator of Front Line Defenders, a global
human rights organization. Section 7.4 of the act also states that two names be
recommended by the selection committee against each vacant post.

3.Broad Interpretations of Law:

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According to Section 17 (2) of the NHRC Act, 2009, if the government does not
provide report, the Commission itself will reserve the right to investigate the
matter. However, many believe that when law enforcement agencies are
concerned, the NHRC is deprived of the right to investigate independently.
Section 18 of the Act states: ‘Notwithstanding anything contained in any other
provisions of this Act, the Commission may, suo moto or on any application
require the Government to submit a report in respect of the allegation of violation
of human rights against the disciplined force or any member thereof. ‘Often this
Section is interpreted in the following way: the Commission does not have the
power to investigate any allegations against law enforcement agencies
regarding extrajudicial killings or cases of enforced disappearance; it can
only ask the respective agency for reports. However, Civil Society members
believe that a progressive and courageous interpretation of this law does not
actually restrict the Commission’s jurisdiction for investigating such cases, or
contributing to resolving such cases through other means. Though, recently, we
have seen that the Commission has played a limited role vis-à-vis such cases.
India’s Human Rights Commission uses a similar description for these laws, but
the way it uses them can be an encouraging example for Bangladesh.
Besides, the Commission might as well appeal to the Government for defining
its power and mandate in clearer terms.

4.Appointment by Deputation (or on temporary basis)from Public

Administration:
Ever since its inception, the Commission has appointed secretaries, directors, and
joint directors from the Public Administration department on deputation or
temporary basis. At the very beginning, in order to give a shape to the
institution there was a need for appointing people with solid experience, but
appointment by deputation has created many operational complications in the
long run. This practice contradicts the standard, put in place by the GANHRI
and its Sub-committee on Accreditation (SCA), that nonappointment for the
Commission’s higher officials can be made on temporary basis.

5.Examining Draft Law, Policy, and Guidelines, and Maintaining Compliance

with International Human Rights Standards:
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It is within the Commission’s mandate to review draft laws, policies, and

guidelines, to weigh their conformity with international standards, and to
recommend the authorities concerned to legislate new laws or amend the old ones.
According to Section 12 (G) of the NHRC Act,2009, the Commission must
work to ‘examine the draft bills and proposals for new legislation for
verifying their conformity with international human rights standards and to make
recommendations for amendment to the appropriate authority for ensuring their
uniformity with the international human rights instruments.

6.Role of the Commission in Protecting Civil and Political Rights:

One of the basic principles of human rights is that there is no hierarchy in the
sphere of human rights—all human rights issues are integrally connected to each
other. It is not possible to enjoy economic, social, and cultural rights to their full
extent without ensuring civil and political rights; they complement each other.
However, in some countries, depending on their political, economic, and
cultural context, some human rights issues appear more important than others.
These issues displease the government because they allegedly involve state
security agencies. In the context of our country, enforced disappearances,
extrajudicial killings, torture, and impeding the right to exercise freedom of
association and freedom of expression constitute such issues. If these issues are
raised for discussion, there is a possibility that the government will be displeased.
It appears that the NHRC has not been working actively on these issues.
However, as a state institution, they have greater opportunity and power than
non-government organizations to work on these issues. The Commission has
consistently failed to make use of this opportunity; it has rather prioritized
economic and cultural rights, a fact which becomes apparent from the subjects it
chooses for seminars.

7.LACK OF EFFECTIVE FOLLOW-UP:

Incidents of human rights violations sometimes come into the limelight; rights
activists and Civil Society members become vocal on these issues and media
outlets start reporting on them regularly. When the NHRC speaks about an
issue and starts working on it, human rights activists and Civil Society
organizations hope that it will take care of the rest because such are the
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responsibilities of this institution, and thus justice will be delivered. But it

has been observed in most cases that the Commission does not follow them up
adequately.

8.FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE:
The Paris Principles specifically state that the NHRIs must have mechanisms
for institutional infrastructure and budget independence, so that they can enjoy
financial independence. Some provisions regarding the financial matters in the
existing Act fail to fulfil conditions stipulated by the ParisPrinciples8and have
restricted the NHRC’sautonomy about its own budget. Allocation for the
Commission does not come from the line item of the national budget passed
by the Parliament. It does not fall within the purview of the Parliament.
It is noteworthy that despite obstacles in financial matters, the Commission’s
budget has significantly increased since 2017. This allocation is paid directly
into the Commission’s own account. But many have opined that the
Commission still has limitations over making effective use of this fund

9.INVESTIGATION RIGHTS:
The biggest challenge for the NHRC is this—investigating rights allegations
against security or law enforcement agencies. It is criticised for not investigating
rights violations when the state and law enforcement agencies are involved.
When it comes to allegations of human rights violations against law enforcement
agencies, the NHRC claims that its hands are tied in investigating themselves and
it can only ask for reports from the government. It refers to section 18 of the 2009
act which outlines the procedure to be followed in case of 'disciplined force'—that
the commission can ask for reports from the government, make recommendations,
etc.
However, legal and human rights experts say that this does not impede the NHRC
from conducting investigations against law enforcement agencies. Previous
sections 12 to 17 grant the commission the same powers as a civil court—it can
summon witnesses, call for information from the government and relevant
authorities, or start an investigation suo-moto [on its own].
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10.RIGHT TO EXPRESS OPINIONS:

The Commission was also highly criticized for not providing effective opinions on
the draft law and policy to ensure compliance with international human rights
standards. NHRC's role to protect citizens' right to express their opinion was also
not up to the mark. A form of fear has indeed gripped the citizens, trapping their
freedom of expression in a cage. The adoption of the Digital Security Act has
made the situation more critical. People's views online are under strict surveillance.
As a national human rights institution, it is the responsibility of the Commission to
inform the government about the human rights situation in the country and to play
an effective role in ensuring that citizens enjoy the right to express themselves and
that they are not threatened or harassed when they do so. Unfortunately, the
Commission has not done anything significant in this regard. In some cases, the
Commission sent recommendations to the relevant government authority, but the
latter did not take steps to follow those recommendations.

11.STRUCTURAL LIMITATIONS:
The structural limitations largely relate to the Protection of Human Rights
Act,2009; and include: Recommendations only: Commissions make
recommendations to government, which include: payment of compensation to the
victim or to her/his family; disciplinary proceedings against delinquent officials;
the registration of criminal cases against those responsible; instructions to take
particular action to protect human rights and/or to refrain from actions that violate
human rights. However, they can only make recommendations, without the power
to enforce decisions. This lack of authority to ensure compliance has unfortunate
consequences:
Outright rejection of a recommendation: Governments often ignore the
recommendation completely or furnish a long bureaucratic discourse on how
compliance with the recommendation is not in the public interest (read
governmental interest).
Partial compliance: An example of this is a failure to release the full amount of
compensation. Another example is to take action on only one recommendation
when there were actually dual recommendations, such as to pay compensation and
take disciplinary action.
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Delayed compliance: While recommendations usually obligate governments to

take action within 4-6 weeks, compliance is rare within the stipulated time and
sometimes action is so delayed that it becomes meaningless.

12. PRACTICAL LIMITATIONS:

Structural limitations apart, the work of human rights commissions is also being
hampered by cultures that exist within governmental spheres. Some of the practical
difficulties faced by human rights commissions include:
i) Non-filling of vacancies:
Most human rights commissions are functioning with less than the prescribed five
Members. This limits the capacity of commissions to deal promptly with
complaints, especially as all are facing successive increases in the number of
complaints.
ii) Non-availability of funds:
Scarcity of resources - or rather, resources not being used for human rights related
functions - is another big problem. Large chunks of the budget of commissions go
in office expenses and in maintaining their members1 , leaving disproportionately
small amounts for other crucial areas such as research and rights awareness
programmers. 1 Members of the National Human Rights Commission receive the
same conditions as Supreme Court Judges. Conditions of state commission
members are commensurate with that of High Court Judges. 2 This followed a
report prepared by a high level Advisory Committee headed by a former Chief
Justice of India regarding amendments to the Protection of Human Rights Act.
iii)Too many complaints:
A common problem faced by most human rights commissions is that they are
deluged with complaints. In the year 2000-2001, the National Human Rights
Commission received over 70,000 complaints. State human rights commissions
too, are finding it difficult to address the increasing number of complaints.
iv)Bureaucratic style of functioning:
As human rights commissions primarily draw their staff from government
departments - either on deputation or reemployment after retirement - the internal
atmosphere is usually just like any other government office. Strict hierarchies are
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maintained, which often makes it difficult for complainants to obtain documents or

information about the status of their case. The presence of security guards, armies
of peons and office attendants creates barriers for ordinary people to personally
meet officials in regard to their complaint.

13. OTHER LIMITATIONS:

1. Only a recommendatory body: NHRC can only make
recommendations, without the power to enforce decisions. This lack
of authority to ensure compliance can lead to outright rejection of its decision
too.
2. Investigation: It does not have independent investigative machinery. Under
the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, human rights commissions
cannot investigate an event if the complaint was made more than one year
after the incident. Therefore, a large number of genuine grievances go
unaddressed.
3. Ceremonial body: It is often viewed as a post-retirement destination
for judges, police officers and bureaucrats with political clout. Bureaucratic
functioning, inadequacy of funds also hamper the working of the
commission.
4. Incapacity to award relief: It can only ask the authority to approach the
higher Courts to provide relief to the victims. The concerned authority has to
implement its recommendations within one month or communicate reasons
for not complying.
5. Armed forces: Commission can’t investigate the violation in case of armed
forces and has to rely on the report of the Centre.

Way forward:
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1. More powers: Its decisions should be made enforceable by the government.

The efficacy of commissions will be greatly enhanced if their decisions are made
enforceable by the government.
2. Armed forces: The definition should be restricted to only army, navy, and
air force. Further, even in these cases the Commission should be allowed to
independently investigate cases of violation of rights.
3. Commission’s membership: Members of NHRCs should include civil
society, human rights activists etc. rather than ex-bureaucrats.
4. Amending law: Misuse of laws by the law enforcing agencies is often the
root cause of human right violations. So, the weakness of laws should be removed
and those laws should be amended or repealed, if they run contrary to human
rights.
5. Independent Staff: NHRC should have its independent investigating staff
recruited by itself, rather than present practice of deputation.
6. Human Rights education should be promoted in India to make the population
aware about rights.
7. The dominance of judiciary’s presence in the Commission needs to be balanced
out by the inclusion of civil society members and academicians with proven track
record in the field of human rights. The diversification can bring with it the grass
roots level experience, widespread community outreach and the expertise of these
organizations or individuals.
8. Special Cells should be constituted under the concerned District Magistrates to
follow the progress of the investigation of cases not entrusted to the CBI, these
should be monitored by the Additional Director-General
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Suggested proposals

If human rights commissions are to truly protect and promote human rights in
Bangladesh, changes must be made to enable them to become more effective
institutions. Some suggested proposals are:
1.More teeth:
Commissions must also have clear and well-defined powers to proceed against
government departments furnishing false reports. This will assist in preventing the
many instances where the departmental version of events is more often than not a
white-wash, particularly in those cases where the police has been accused of
violations.
2. Including armed forces in their ambit:
Not allowing commissions to independently investigate complaints against the
military and security forces only compounds the problems and furthers cultures of
impunity. It is essential that commissions can summons witnesses and documents,
rather than the present situation where the National Commission is restricted to
seeking reports from the national Government.
3.Commissions’ membership:
As non-judicial member positions are increasingly being filled by ex-bureaucrats,
credence is given to the contention that commissions are more an extension of the
government, rather than independent agencies exercising oversight. If commissions
are to play a meaningful role in society, they must include civil society human
rights activists as members. Many activists have the knowledge and on-the-ground
experience of contemporary trends in the human rights movement to be an asset to
the Commission. Independent recruitment of staff: Human rights commissions
need to develop an independent cadre of staff with appropriate experience. The
present arrangement of having to reply on those on deputation from different
government departments is not satisfactory as experience has shown that most
have little knowledge and understanding of human rights issues. This problem can
be rectified by employing specially recruited and qualified staff to help clear the
heavy inflow of complaints. Separate agency to investigate police-related
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complaints: Complaints regarding police excesses and misbehaviour take up most

of the time of human rights commissions. It is perhaps time to think about an
alternative agency, dedicated solely to civilian oversight of the police.

4. SELECTION PROCESS OF MEMBERS:

The tenure of the current committee will be completed in June 2019. We expect a
transparent and participatory selection process. It is also high time for the
Commission to work strongly to overcome the challenges it has been facing as
well as to engage in discussions with the government to take immediate and
effective steps for ensuring an environment where NHRC can play its due role of
promoting and protecting human rights of the citizens of Bangladesh
independently

Recommendations from Civil Society

We also made recommendations to strengthen the role of human rights in the
public sector. They included the need for:
Recommendations to the Bangladesh Government
Intaking immediate steps to amend the NHRC Act, 2009 to get rid of its
shortcomings and strengthen the Commission, especially in
Ensuring representation of Civil Society in the selection process of the
Commission members;
Giving the Commission mandate to directly investigate allegations of rights
violation against members of law enforcement agencies; Taking certain steps
to improve the NHRC as a dignified national institution and at the same
time, to make it and independent institution so that it can be developed as
an internationally acclaimed institution;
Recommendations to the NHRC Making the Commission’s Action Plan relevant,
appropriate, and fit for implementation;nPlaying effective role in all necessary
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and possible ways by applying the NHRC Act, 2009 appropriately; Improving an
automatic mechanism for rights protection and increasing the skills of rights
activists by establishing a different desk for rights activists at the NHRC; Putting
emphasis on rights-related projects with the government and its law
enforcement agencies; organizing training or workshop about human rights for
members of law enforcement agencies; Bringing the Commission’s
recommendations to the notice of the government and other authorities
concerned, and playing an active role in implementing those recommendations;
Taking steps to increase visibility through statement and announcement of
formal stance on different issues; informing the public of the Commission and its
work by using news and social media platforms more extensively; Putting in more
efforts to develop and protect human rights; Ensuring financial independence,
transparency, and accountability through the following steps:
Having direct financial allocation in the National Budget as well as authority
about expenditure over its own sector;
Ensuring full financial transparency though publication of the records of its fund
allocation and expenditures.
Conducting yearly inspection of its expenditure and publishing it so that it
can be made public.
Prioritizing the opening of offices in each divisions and also devising plans
and strategies for reaching out to all divisions, and taking necessary steps to
implement them; Restructuring a yearly action plan for the Commission needs,
and each member’s duties and responsibilities; Sending recommendations on
behalf of the NHRC to the authorities concerned for cancelling the existing
Act’s stipulations about appointment (and transfer) in secretarial and other
positions of higher management by deputation (or on temporary basis).
Conducting research, study, survey, and evaluation on human rights issues; based
on the findings, sending recommendations to the government to improve the
situation. Making the NHRC visible at the local level.

Suggestions
 There is need for complete revamping of NHRC to make it more effective
and truly a watchdog of human right violations in the country.
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 NHRC efficacy can be enhanced by government if commission decisions are

made enforceable.
 There is need to change in composition of commission by including
members from civil society and activists.
 NHRC needs to develop an independent cadre of staff with appropriate
experience.
 Many laws in India are very old and archaic in nature by amending which
government can bring more transparency in regulations.
 To improve and strengthen the human rights situation in India, state and non
state actors need to work in tandem.

CONCLUSION
The situation of persistent human rights violations across the country presents
manifold challenges. There is a need to improve and strengthen the human rights
situation. It is important to empower NHRC to make it work more efficiently and
independently. The tenure of the current committee will be completed in June
2019. We expect a transparent and participatory selection process. It is also high
time for the Commission to work strongly to overcome the challenges it has been
facing as well as to engage in discussions with the government to take immediate
and effective steps for ensuring an environment where NHRC can play its due role
of promoting and protecting human rights of the citizens of Bangladesh
independently.
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THE END
Thanking in appreciation Mam…….