Civil society representatives have called upon the government to pass the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance 2025 in parliament without any amendments, asserting that it has sufficiently empowered the commission to protect human rights.
The appeal was made during an exchange meeting with the newly appointed commissioners at the National Human Rights Commission conference room in Dhaka on Monday.
Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said the ordinance has given the commission adequate jurisdiction to protect human rights and should be turned into law unchanged. He expressed civil society’s confidence in the current commission and pledged support for its work.
“We have prior experience working with the current commissioners. I know them personally, and we are proud of them,” said Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). He emphasised that the ordinance should be turned into law verbatim, adding that any flaws could be amended later.
Khushi Kabir, Coordinator of Nijera Kori, said civil society organisations want to work together with the commission. She stressed that organisations would assist the commission in upgrading its international status from ‘B’ to ‘A’, noting that it is regrettable Bangladesh’s commission remains at ‘B’ status in South Asia.
Shamsul Huda, executive director of the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD), stated that despite some flaws, the ordinance should be passed in parliament unchanged.
Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury, Chairperson of the commission, said the commissioners are ready to work with sincerity, dedication and courage as far as the law permits.
“An effective, independent and credible human rights commission is not in the interest of any single institution. It is in the interest of the entire country, the state, and concerns the security and dignity of citizens,” he said.
“If a strong law, independent structure and credible implementation can be ensured in this new era of new Bangladesh, the country will soon be able to achieve ‘A’ status,” he added.
The meeting, moderated by Commissioner Dr Nabila Idris, was attended by commissioners Md Nur Khan, Professor Md Shariful Islam, and Ilira Dewan, along with representatives from various civil society organisations.
