Elusive HR commission

The prime minister herself wanted to constitute a national human rights commission with the objective of improving our HR record. But little progress has been made towards setting up the commission in almost three years. The law minister's assertion is a sharp pointer to the yawning gap between what the political parties profess and what they actually practise.

Not that a human rights commission would be a panacea for all human rights violations. But it is admitted on all hands that formation of a HR commission will be a solid step forward in protecting civil liberties. It will benefit the people and the whole legal system as a platform for highlighting violation of people's rights and demanding justice. Moreover, it will help enhance the government's credibility.

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That brings us to the issue of the existing laws and their enforcement. The laws that we have are generally good, though some of them seem to be in desperate need of reform. Government edicts and fiats at times impinge on human rights. To put it in clearer terms, there is abuse of power by government including the police, and other special squads and agencies.

Obviously, a country is better off having a human rights commission than without it. Most countries have such a commission. It would be no exaggeration to say that the absence of the commission in Bangladesh has had a highly negative impact on our HR situation. The government as a whole should be responsive to the law minister's express concern, and constitute the HR commission without wasting any more time.