No room for powerless Human Rights Commissions: Debapriya

Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), has criticised the past human rights commissions in Bangladesh as "toothless" and urged the formation of a strong, effective commission.

He made the remark while speaking at a discussion titled 'Draft Human Rights Commission Act 2025' organised by the Citizens’ Platform on Saturday (September 27).

Debapriya recalled that the draft law for the Human Rights Commission was first prepared in January 2009 under Dr. Fakhruddin’s government. Based on this, the commission was established and approved by subsequent governments, with several chairpersons appointed until 2024. However, the commission was dissolved on November 7, 2024, after the formation of the interim government led by Professor Yunus. Since then, Bangladesh has had no National Human Rights Commission for nearly a year, while other commissions were formed by the government during this period.

He noted that although no commission has been formed, the government is working on new human rights legislation, and today’s discussion focused on this draft. Reflecting on the commission’s history, he questioned whether there has been any real improvement in human rights.

He added that the previous commissions were ineffective and lacked the ability to take meaningful action. Bhattacharya stressed the need for a commission that can effectively protect human rights.

Debapriya also warned against appointing “spineless” individuals to lead the commission, emphasising the need for honest, principled, and courageous leaders who can stand up to the government and fight for human rights.

The event highlighted two main objectives: to analyse the mandate, scope, structure, and independent functioning of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in line with international standards, and to offer recommendations for strengthening the proposed draft ordinance to ensure reliable investigative powers, protection of victims and minorities, and preventive measures.