Perceptions, Attitudes and Understandings a Baseline Survey on Human Rights in Bangladesh

National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh

Perceptions, Attitudes and Understandings A Baseline Survey on Human Rights in Bangladesh

Final Report

October 2011

Supported by

Baseline Study by

Data Management Aid Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights

Table of contents

Study Team ...... iv Acknowledgements ...... v List of abbreviations ...... vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1 Summary of recommendations ...... 5 PART 1 - BACKGROUND ...... 12 1. Country background ...... 12 2. The National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh (NHRC) ...... 13 3. NHRC Strategic Plan and key themes ...... 14 4. Objectives of the Assignment ...... 15 5. Consultant team ...... 16 6. Quantitative survey ...... 16 7. Qualitative survey ...... 1918 8. Additional research ...... 2019 9. Limitations...... 2019 10. Household characteristics and profile of respondents ...... 2019 PART 2 – GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN RIGHTS...... 2221 1. Major problems identified ...... 2221 2. What are human rights and which should be protected? ...... 2524 3. Protecting human rights and the Constitution ...... 2726 4. Rights and obligations ...... 2827 5. Sources of information ...... 2928 6. Reporting human rights violations ...... 3029 PART 3 – CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS ...... 3433 1. Gender-based discrimination ...... 3433 a. Introduction ...... 3433 b. Problems faced by women in Bangladesh ...... 3634 c. Equality and discrimination...... 3736 d. Experiences of discrimination and abuse ...... 4038 2. Violence against women ...... 4039 a. Legal Framework and Services ...... 4039 b. Domestic violence ...... 4241 c. Sexual violence and acid violence ...... 44 d. Sexual harassment ...... 4645 e. Dowry ...... 4645 f. Has violence against women increased over the past five years? .. 4746 g. Access to justice for women survivors of violence ...... 4847 3. RELIGIOUS MINORITIES AND THE RIGHT TO EQUALITYError! Bookmark not defined.49 a. Introduction ...... 49 b. Major problems facing religious minorities in Bangladesh ...... 5049 c. Experiences of discrimination ...... 5453 d. Dalits or Harijans (‘untouchables’) ...... 5554 4. PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND THE RIGHT TO EQUALITY ...... 5655 a. Major problems facing people with disabilities in Bangladesh ...... 5655 b. Equality and discrimination...... 57 c. Women with disabilities ...... 5857 5. VIOLENCE BY STATE MECHANISMS ...... 58 i │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights

a. Introduction ...... 58 b. Extrajudicial killings ...... 5958 c. Torture...... 6261 6. ACCESS TO JUSTICE ...... 6564 a. Formal system ...... 6564 b. Barriers in accessing the formal justice system ...... 6665 c. Quality of services in the formal system ...... 6867 d. Access to justice in the informal system ...... 6968 e. Quality of services in the informal system ...... 7069 PART 4 – SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS ...... 7371 1. Introduction ...... 7371 2. Government services ...... 7472 3. Specific issues ...... 7674 4. Health ...... 7775 5. Education ...... 7876 6. Migrant workers ...... 7977 PART 5 - CHILD RIGHTS AND CHILD LABOUR ...... 8280 1. Child rights ...... 8280 2. Who is a child? ...... 8381 3. Major issues...... 8482 a. Underage marriage ...... 8482 b. Violence against children ...... 8684 c. Sexual exploitation ...... 8785 d. Trafficking...... 8785 4. What rights should be protected for children?...... 8886 5. Child labour...... 8987 a. Law and policy ...... 8987 b. Scope of the problem ...... 9088 c. Awareness of the harmful effects and law and policy ...... 9189 d. Hours of work ...... 9290 e. Hazardous work ...... 9391 6. Indigenous children ...... 9492 PART 6 - INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (ADIBASHIS) ...... 9593 1. Major problems facing Adibashis in Bangladesh ...... 9593 2. Equality and discrimination ...... 9694 3. Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) ...... 9795 4. Experiences of discrimination and access to justice ...... 10098 PART 7 - CLIMATE AND THE ENVIRONMENT...... 103101 PART 8 – CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 106104 1. Introduction ...... 106104 2. Methods – education and awareness ...... 106104 a. Joint campaigns ...... 106104 b. Will targeted campaigns be required? ...... 107105 c. Human rights in formal education ...... 107105 d. Television and radio ...... 108106 e. Publications ...... 108106 f. Workshops, street theatre and community meetings ...... 109107 g. Low cost and no cost methods ...... 110108 3. Other methods ...... 110108 a. Advocacy and lobbying ...... 110108

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b. Training ...... 111109 c. Investigations ...... 111109 4. Messages – and the methods to convey them...... 113110 a. Understanding of human rights and the Constitution ...... 113110 b. Equality and freedom from unfair discrimination ...... 113111 c. Violence against women ...... 115113 d. Violence by state mechanisms ...... 117114 e. Access to justice ...... 118116 f. Socio-economic rights ...... 119117 g. Child rights and child labour ...... 121118 h. Adibashis...... 122119 i. Climate change ...... 122120 Annex A – Terms of Reference ...... 124122 Annex B – Questionnaire (English) ...... 131129 Annex C – Quantitative Survey Methodology and Sample ...... 177175 Annex D - Focus Group Discussions ...... 182180 Annex E – Key informant interviews ...... 183181 Annex F – Bibliography ...... 184182 Annex G – Selected literature review ...... 189187 Annex H - Bangladesh’s compliance with international instruments (overview) ...... 206204 Annex I – Tips and ideas for education and awareness campaigns ... 210208

Disclaimer

The survey data, analysis, opinions and recommendations contained in this report are those of the authors, are based on the perceptions of interviewees, and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views or opinions of the NHRC or the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

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Study Team

Greg Moran Team Leader and International Human Rights Expert

Sara Hossain Human Rights, Gender and Law Expert

Mirza M. Hassan Justice Sector Institution and Governance Expert

Professor Kazi Saleh Ahmed Consultant Statistician

Maqbul H. Bhuiyan Lead Quantitative Survey Expert

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Acknowledgements

The successful completion of the Baseline Survey of Human Rights in Bangladesh was made possible by the contributions of members of NHRC and staff members of BNHRC-CDP, UNDP Bangladesh – all of whom deserve special thanks.

The authors would also like to thank Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman - Chairman, Mr. Kazi Reazul Hoque - Full Time Member, Prof. Dr. Niru Chakma, Ms Selina Hossain, Ms Fawzia Karim Firoze, Ms. Nirupa Dewan, Ms Aroma Dutta – Honorary Members of the Commission, Mr. Sheikh Abdul Ahad – Secretary to the Commission, Mr. Stefan Priesner, UNDP Country Director, Ms Munira Zaman Programme Analyst, Mr. Peter Ean Stringer, Programme Specialist, of UNDP Country Office, Ms Nazly Qumrunnessa, Project Officer of the BNHRC-CPD for their guidance and support. Their comments and suggestions during the design of the study, preliminary sharing of the findings and on the earlier draft of the report were extremely valuable and have significantly enriched the quality of the report.

We are especially thankful to Ms Mona M'Bikay Boin - Project Manager, and Ms Monisha Biswas, Expert, Research and Policy, of the BNHRC-CDP for their continuous support. The completion of the baseline survey would not have been possible without their support.

The extensive household survey would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the pool of enumerators and field supervisors who toiled hard to conduct the survey under difficult conditions. Their patience and perseverance was essential in convincing respondents to participate in this lengthy exercise.

Our most sincere thanks also go to every one of the respondents and participants in the survey who agreed to give up their precious time to answer questions and contribute to a better understanding of the human rights situations in Bangladesh.

Lastly, a note of thanks is due to Dr.Uttam Kumar Das, who wrote the initial version of the section on migrant workers and facilitated some focus group discussions and interviews.

The Study Team BLAST and DMA

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List of abbreviations

ASK Ain o Salish Kendra

BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

BCAS Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies

BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust

CAT Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment

CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

CERD International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

CHT Chittagong Hills Tracts

CIF Climate Investment Fund

CIDA Canadian International Development Agency

CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child

CrPC Criminal Procedure Code

DANIDA Danish International Development Agency

DfID Department for International Development

DMA Data Management Aid

FGD Focus Group Discussion

GBV Gender-based violence

GoB Government of Bangladesh

GTZ Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit

HIES Household Income and Expenditure Survey

ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

ILO International Labour Organization

IRIN Integrated Regional Information Networks

KII Key Informant Interview

NGO Non-governmental organisation

NHRC National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh

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NHRI National Human Rights Institutions

NITOR National Institute of Traumatology, Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation

NLASO National Legal Aid and Services Organisation

OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

OPSC Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography

OPAC Involvement of Children in the Armed Conflict

PPCR Pilot Program for Climate Resilience

PWD People With Disabilities

RAB Rapid Action Battalion

SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

SAHRC South African Human Rights Commission

SAILS South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies

SCF Strategic Climate Funds

SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

SIDA Swedish International Development Agency

SPCR Strategic Program for Climate Resilience

TIP Trafficking in Persons

ToR Terms of reference

UN United Nations

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund

VAW Violence Against Women

VPA Vested Property Act

WHO World Health Organization

WWD Women With Disabilities

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Part 1: Introduction The National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh (NHRC) is currently being supported by UNDP, DANIDA, SDC and SIDA through the “Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission Capacity Development Project”, which has four outcome areas. To assist in achieving Outcome 3 (human rights awareness), a detailed baseline study to determine public attitudes and awareness of human rights as well as the Commission’s existence and role, has been conducted and forms the basis of this report. The study involved both quantitative and qualitative methods, with the quantitative aspects involving a household survey targeting the entire country.

Part 2: General understanding of human rights Half of the respondents had not heard the term ‘human rights’ at all and a substantial number of those who had heard the term were not able to describe what it means. When asked what human rights people should have, people focused on key civil and political rights, socio-economic rights and access to services. A significant number of respondents did not know that human rights are legally protected and enforceable in Bangladesh, while responses generally indicate awareness that rights and obligations are interlinked.

Sources of information Television is by far the most common source of information on human rights as are neighbours and public discussions. Very importantly, people across the spectrum benefited from human rights education messages at school.

Part 3: Civil and political rights

Equality and discrimination While Bangladesh has made great strides in improving the status of women in areas such as education and employment, and the government has shown some commitment to reforming discriminatory laws, when asked whether levels of discrimination have decreased or increased over the past five years the majority answered that it has decreased. But while the status of women has improved in some areas, problems remain. Respondents listed at least 32 issues indicating that violence and abuse (especially domestic violence by husbands and other family members and violence related to dowry demands that can lead to serious injury and death), lack of security, poverty and access to socio-economic rights and services are the major issues facing women in Bangladesh.

While the Government publicly supports religious freedom, discrimination against religious minorities remains a significant issue. Some of the main challenges include underrepresentation in government and military jobs, incidents of violence, vandalism and harassment and the absence of redress. But when asked to identify the problems facing religious minorities in

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Bangladesh, the largest single response was that they, in fact, face no problems at all. When asked whether levels of discrimination have decreased or increased over the past five years, slightly more than half answered that discrimination against religious minorities has decreased.

Research indicates that Dalits (or Harijans) face numerous problems directly related to their status in Hindu society, including lack of education, low-income employment, poverty and poor living conditions, child labour, lack of access to justice and violence and discrimination against women. Reasons advanced during the survey for why Dalits are discriminated against create a sense that some people unquestionably accept that discrimination is inevitable.

Results of the survey indicate that it is well understood that people with disabilities face considerable difficulties in Bangladesh, especially related to poverty, deprivation of basic rights, lack of access to health care and discrimination in the home and community.

Violence against women (VAW) Bangladesh has many laws aimed at protecting women against violence yet research indicates that violence persists – in particular domestic violence (especially by husbands), sexual violence including rape, acid attacks and sexual harassment in schools, universities, the workplace and public spaces. These findings were borne out during the baseline study with respondents identifying many of the same issues. When it comes to attitudes towards domestic violence, more than 60% of respondents believe violence against wives is acceptable for ‘disobedience’ and ‘bad behaviour’, or when a wife’s conduct affects the reputation of the family. The majority of respondents (60%) believe that VAW has increased while just less than 20% believe it has increased, largely as a result of poverty and because of girls moving around more freely and behaving more ‘wantonly’. When asked to name any laws that protected women from violence, 68% of respondents could not.

Although illegal, dowries continue to be demanded and paid. The survey aimed to test why this is so and whether people understand the consequences of maintaining the practice. Responses indicate that the majority of respondents cannot relate to the problem as a rights oriented issue and that this is clearly an area where awareness is required.

Violence by state mechanisms Bangladesh is party to all major international instruments related to the right to life and on arrest and detention, while all relevant rights are protected in the Constitution. Despite this, research shows a steady and unacceptably high rate of extrajudicial killing and that there are no recorded cases of police or RAB officials ever having been prosecuted for their actions. According to some commentators, compounding the issue is that there appears to be some public acceptance or support for their actions. However, this analysis is not supported by the results of the survey. Instead, when asked when it is acceptable for the police to use lethal force, the most commonly held view was ‘never’ (38%). But there are clearly situations where law enforcement agencies must be allowed to use lethal force, which is fairly well understood

2 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights amongst respondents as well. On the other hand, responses during the survey suggest high levels of acceptance of torture, although this is probably compounded by the lack of any clear definition of torture in national legislation.

Access to justice Bangladesh has both a formal and informal system of justice. With regard to the formal sector, respondents were asked to rate the services of the police, subordinate courts, High Court and Government legal aid. Although respondents generally agreed that services in these have improved, barriers to accessing justice persist in both the civil and criminal justice systems mainly as a result of corruption, harassment by lawyers, complicated process and an intimidating system. Low conviction rates in the criminal justice system also lead to a denial of justice for many victims of crime, especially for women and other marginalised groups.

All of these problems help to account for the fact that the majority of Bangladeshis rely more on the informal justice system than the formal when seeking justice. Almost all respondents were aware of the traditional Shalish system and more than half believe the services offered by them have improved. The major reasons cited for poor quality of service were corruption, politicisation and arrogance or bad behaviour by members of the Shalish.

Part 4: Socio-economic rights Bangladesh has made significant progress in the areas of access to food, health and education. But given the prevailing rate of poverty and high level of dependence on the state for basic services, socio-economic rights and issues are the major concern for the vast majority of Bangladeshis – as evidenced by their prioritisation of socio-economic issues throughout this report. When asked to list the services government should provide to citizens for free, the most commonly mentioned by respondents were health care, education, road and communications, food and job opportunities.

The study looked in particular at issues facing migrant workers. Bangladesh is a major source country for migrant workers and the migration sector is the major contributor to the country’s foreign exchange earnings. Though the sector has huge potential to grow (given the demand for migrant workers overseas), there are challenges that are compounded by low skills of potential migrants, lack of capacity in both public and private sector to manage the sector, and lack of a regulatory framework and administrative and judicial measures in preventing and prosecuting exploitation and abuse in migration processes. The study also highlighted the link between human trafficking and migrant workers.

Part 5: Child rights and child labour To determine what messages public awareness on child rights should contain, the survey included questions on what people understand by the word ‘child’ (since it is used in both human rights and legislation in Bangladesh). Responses suggest people’s understanding of the age of majority appears to

3 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights be determined to some degree by religion, economic status, education and whether they are rural or urban.

The major issues facing children identified during the survey include underage marriage, violence against children, sexual exploitation, trafficking and child labour (which was a particular focus of the study). From the results, it is clear that levels of awareness that child labour is potentially harmful to a child appear to be very high (91.5%), with all groups agreeing fairly uniformly. There are also fairly high levels of awareness that law and policy exist to regulate this. Some support was also found for the idea that indigenous children should be educated in their own language, participate in their own culture and follow their own religion.

Part 6: Indigenous peoples (Adibashis)1 According to Bangladesh's now disputed 2011 census, of the country's more than 142 million inhabitants, just 1.2 per cent are described as indigenous, with most living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Adibashis are reportedly amongst the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh yet a large proportion of respondents (67.2%) in the household survey were unable to identify any problems facing Adibashis in Bangladesh while an additional 8% believe they face no problems at all. Of the problems identified, the most common were discrimination in their communities, unequal rights, land occupations and restrictions on freedom of movement. When asked whether discrimination against Adibashis has increased over the previous five years, approximately one-third answered that it has decreased.

The study included a specific focus on the CHT. Despite widely reported issues, particularly regarding the failure to fully implement the Peace Accord, establish the Land Commission and issues related to land invasions, when asked whether the situation in the CHT has improved, most people (65.4%) simply did not know, while only 3.7% believe it has become worse. The study also notes particular problems faced by Adibashis in the CHT, when attempting to access justice in both the traditional and formal justice systems.

Part 7: Climate and the environment Bangladesh is one of the countries most at risk of problems associated with climate change and the projected rise in sea levels. The Government of Bangladesh is at the forefront of responses to climate change and the effect on the environment and numerous policies and legislation have been passed and adopted to address its impact. However, because Bangladeshis are primarily the victims of climate change, it is hard to see how an NHRC awareness campaign can target this from a public education and awareness perspective. Instead, the survey recommends various options for monitoring the human rights implications of climate change.

1 ‘Adibashis’ is an indigenous word that indigenous people in Bangladesh use to define themselves and is used throughout the report.

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Part 8: Conclusions and recommendations The report ends, in Part 8, with a consideration of various methods for conducting human rights education and awareness, including joint campaigns and ideas for low and no cost activities. But given that some issues are best addressed through other strategies rather than education and awareness, the report considers options available to the NHRC such as advocacy, lobbying and training.

The report then makes concluding observations based on research and both the qualitative and quantitative part of the survey that are too numerous to include in an executive summary. For each area covered by the survey, recommendations are made for how these could be addressed and which areas should be prioritised. A summary of these recommendations appears on the following pages.

Summary of recommendations

The following recommendations are made in this report:  It will be important for the NHRC to liaise with NGOs and UN agencies prior to entering into any awareness and education campaign to see what these are doing or planning, what messages and methods will be used, and whether these are in line with its own strategy. The NHRC has two options: o To leave the awareness and education to others to conduct and then to focus on areas where gaps exist; or o To consider a joint campaign bringing its own resources and outreach to the table to increase the effectiveness and impact of any such campaign.  Except for campaigns on the rights of Adibashis specifically targeting communities where Adibashis are commonly found, public awareness and education campaigns should target the entire country.  The NHRC should lobby for human rights education to be included in the formal education curriculum as a distinct subject at different levels.  Once this has been achieved, the NHRC can assist in the development of the curriculum and learning material, and can assist in training educators using the training of trainers approach.  In the interim, the NHRC might consider: o A separate activity to review all existing textbooks for discriminatory, abusive, sexist and other comments and issues o Campaigns (such as art and essay writing competitions) targeting schoolchildren as a way of raising awareness and understanding of human rights.  Radio and television should be prioritised, or at minimum considered, when designing education and awareness campaigns.  It is recommended that the NHRC consider a broad range of publications targeting specific human rights issues, and at minimum a plain language pamphlet on the role and functions of the NHRC. Ideas for what publications might work best are included in the recommendations that follow.  The NHRC should consider developing a general workshop (including a manual for trainers) on human rights and the role and functions of the commission. Ideas for other workshops that might prove useful are included in the recommendations that follow.

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 Limited awareness of the term ‘human rights’ and the role of the Constitution suggests that all information, awareness and education messages (print and non-print) should contain a basic definition of what the term means, as well as that human rights are protected by the Constitution (and, when dealing with specific issues, by other laws covering that issue as well).  All human rights messages should include the fact that human rights come with obligations to respect the law and the rights of others, and that they apply equally to everyone  Education and awareness of institutions that exist to deal with rights violations (such as the NHRC), needs to be provided. This could easily be included in booklets and pamphlets produced on the role of the NHRC by including a list of other institutions, their mandates and how to contact them.  There is probably a need for a general anti-discrimination campaign that focuses on the consequences of unfair discrimination rather than merely that it is wrong. This should focus on the consequences for the victims of discrimination as well as the consequences for the perpetrators, the families of victims and perpetrators, the community, and the country as a whole.  One of the best ways of addressing discrimination is to target children and young people to try to prevent discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes taking hold. In addition to including anti-discrimination messages in any human rights curriculum developed for schools, the NHRC could consider running cultural events in schools and communities as well as essay, art or other competitions for school children on anti-discrimination themes.  Given that most problems faced by religious minorities are reported at the community level, awareness campaigns in this area should focus on social inclusion rather than protecting one’s rights against the state and its mechanisms. Such programmes could be aimed at schools and young people generally, with the purpose of educating them on and building tolerance towards each other’s religions, ceremonies and beliefs, and at Bangladeshis generally on the importance of respecting other people’s beliefs and value systems. As previously mentioned, such campaigns should also include a focus on rights and responsibilities so that people realise that if they want to claim rights for themselves, they need to respect the rights of others in their homes and communities.  Given the attitudes towards Dalits in Hindu society, education and awareness aimed at redressing discrimination against religious minorities generally should include messages that both raise awareness of their rights amongst the majority of the population, and that raise awareness amongst religious minorities that if they want their rights to be respected, they have an obligation to respect the rights of others – including Dalits.  There is a need for more targeted campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the rights of religious minorities and Adibashis coupled with awareness that discrimination is unfair, and with messages about consequences for victims, perpetrators, families, communities and the country.  With regard to people with disabilities, public awareness campaigns should focus on social inclusion and decreasing levels of discrimination in the community and less on protecting one’s rights against the state and its mechanisms. Although legally entrenched barriers remain and affirmative action is still required, these are issues better dealt with through advocacy and lobbying than through awareness and education.  When it comes to the issues facing women with disabilities (WWD), many of these could be addressed by including them in other, general public awareness or education campaigns aimed at child and/or women’s rights. For example, a campaign on early marriage could include a specific focus or message on the

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risks facing girl children with disabilities, while a campaign on violence against women could include a message aimed at women/girls with disabilities as survivors of domestic violence. Other issues – such as access to health care, would be better dealt with through advocacy and lobbying campaigns, including those focused on the rights of people with disabilities generally.  The NHRC should consider a programme to review existing laws and policies to identify which of these lead to discrimination against women, religious minorities, people with disabilities and indigenous peoples – and then lobby for changes to such laws and policies and for affirmative action legislation and policy for women and girls, religious minorities, people with disabilities and indigenous peoples.  The NHRC could lobby for greater compliance with UN principles and guidelines on minorities, in particular recommendations of the concerned UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Rights, with a particular focus on Dalits and the recommendations of the CEDAW Committee.  Given that most respondents already know that violence against women in any form is unacceptable, education and awareness measures need to focus on the legal and criminal consequences of such violence and should target both perpetrators (to dissuade them) and victims (to empower them to report). It should also focus on the consequences for families, communities, and the country as a whole. This would require at least some information, in very plain language, of the laws that exist and the penalties and protections they create.  Messages aimed at reducing levels of sexual violence, acid attacks, harassment and use of dowry can be included in more general campaigns on women’s rights and violence against women (VAW) that, once again, should focus on the consequences for women and perpetrators, families of perpetrators, and on the community and country as a whole.  Campaigns on VAW should include a focus on reducing the levels of stigmatisation experienced by survivors of such violence as a way of encouraging women to report such crimes. Campaigns on domestic violence in particular, should include information on where women who have been abused can report this and access services, as a way of empowering women to claim and enforce their rights.  The NHRC could lobby o For changes to the law relating to rape in marriage and for increased training on victim empowerment and victims’ rights to be provided to police, prosecutors and courts. Any such training programmes should be vetted and approved by the NHRC, and staff should attend randomly selected training sessions to audit that the correct messages are being conveyed. o To commit funds for the rehabilitation of acid survivors, to include quotas for government jobs for acid survivors, and for disability allowances from the social welfare department to be paid to such survivors.  The perception that a woman or girl who has been raped needs to be married off to the perpetrator to avoid stigmatisation, or because she can no longer expect to find a husband, needs to be specifically addressed.  A campaign aimed at school children and college students (as part of, or in addition to human rights education as part of the formal curriculum) on sexual harassment and its consequences for girls and women might also be considered.  The perception held by 60% of respondents that violence against women has decreased despite the fact that research shows no such decline needs to be addressed. The NHRC could both lobby for accurate statistics to be kept by government in this regard and should also include statistics based on other

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research that show the levels of incidence of violence and how underreported such violence is in the country.  As a way of highlighting VAW and raising the profile of the Commission, the NHRC should take the lead in Bangladesh awareness raising activities and events around the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.  Campaigns to address violence by state mechanisms should start with lobbying for changes to the law to remove the impunity that police officers and members of RAB currently enjoy. A test case, where the NHRC puts pressure on the government to authorise a prosecution under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code should also be considered.  The NHRC should lobby ministers, bureaucrats and heads of police, prisons and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to include training as a separate topic or (better still) to mainstream human rights into all the training materials and programmes used in that institution. Once such a commitment is received, the NHRC could consider training trainers within these institutions and monitoring / auditing training programmes to ensure that the training is being provided, that the correct messages are imparted, and that messages are not diluted by the trainers.  With regard to extrajudicial killings, the NHRC has already begun playing a role in the matter and has been at the forefront of calls for a RAB officer to be held accountable in the ‘Limon’ case. Such work can be furthered by public awareness and education on the rights of detained and arrested people and the right to a fair trial and to seek redress through the courts when these rights are violated.  With regard to torture, the NHRC should lobby for clear legislation outlawing torture and providing compensation to victims in compliance with the Convention Against Torture (CAT).  Education on the right to be free from torture is suggested for both law enforcement agencies and the general public. Such education and awareness messages could be specifically targeted at the right to be free from torture and a clear definition of what the term means, or they could be combined with more general campaigns on access to justice, the rights of arrested and detained people, and the right to a fair trial.  The NHRC should lobby for the ratification of the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Optional Protocol to CAT that provides for the establishment of a system of regular visits by independent international and national bodies to places of detention.  Role players in both the formal and informal systems would benefit from education on human rights generally and women’s rights in particular. Although the NHRC will clearly not be able to provide all of the training required, consideration could be given to: o Partnering with or assisting NGOs providing such training in the informal sector. o Vetting existing training programmes for members of the formal system to ensure human rights are included and accurately reflected.  While the NHRC does not currently include anti-corruption in its strategic plan, education and awareness campaigns on the rights of detained, arrested and accused people can contribute to reducing corruption and empowering people to claim and protect their rights in this regard. Consideration could also be given to: o Ensuring that all training programmes in both the formal and informal systems include anti-corruption measures and a focus on accountability and bias. o The approach by the Nepal NHRC to address corruption in the civil justice system: With the consent of the Judiciary, the Nepal NHRC has painted the amounts to be paid for all court related services (issuing

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and serving summons etc.) on the walls of Courts so that everyone knows exactly how much they are legally required to pay.  Some human rights organisations are already conducting training on human rights, women’s rights and non-discrimination. It might prove useful for the NHRC to consider partnering with these.  The NHRC should lobby for greater compliance with the fundamental principles of state policy in Part II of the Constitution and should raise awareness of what people are entitled to expect from the state with regard to their socio-economic rights in Part II of the Constitution and in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.  Although it is government’s responsibility to raise awareness of the services it provides, the NHRC could consider a booklet that first discusses what socio- economic rights are and how these are protected in Bangladesh, and that then sets out all services offered by government, summarises them, and provides information on how to access them.  Given the recognition by Government of the need to provide critical services to vulnerable groups, the NHRC should also consider other options for improving access to socio-economic rights such as monitoring government’s compliance with such rights (referring to the relevant Fundamental Principles of State Policy in Part II of the Constitution); the ICESCR and other relevant international instruments; research into how many people have access to these services, the barriers they currently face and the gaps that exist in services provided; and then lobbying and advocacy for greater measures and efforts on the part of government to provide services equitably (regardless of political affiliation, sex, gender, disability, or any other ground other than the need of the applicant) and to allow greater participation in the decision-making processes.  The survey confirms families are more likely to invest time and money into a boy child’s education than for a girl child. This indicates that public awareness on equality, the rights of the child and the need to invest in the education of girls could have some impact. Such messages could be reinforced by including similar messages in campaigns on child rights and child labour (see below).  There is clearly a role for the NHRC in raising awareness of the rights of migrant workers, the role and responsibilities of recruiting agents, and what to do when these violate the rights of workers. However, it appears that the major problem in this regard is the lack of controls and attention to the problem by the authorities, which tends to suggest that advocacy and perhaps test cases will be required as well. On the other hand, the majority of human rights violations per se take place outside of Bangladesh where there is little that the NHRC can do to address the complaints. Nonetheless, the following options are suggested: o Lobbying for revision of the laws and systems to protect migrant workers from abuse by recruitment agents while at the same time ensuring that those who want to work abroad are able to do so to reduce the incidence of trafficking. o Lobbying for a regional forum for national human rights commissions, particularly targeting those countries to which migrant workers regularly travel. o Forming links with NHRCs in other countries to encourage them to deal with complaints by migrant workers in their countries, and to raise awareness of the rights of workers and of the right to complain to the NHRC in destination countries. o Lobbying for Bangladesh Missions in destination countries to play a greater role in job certification and protection of the rights of the migrant workers.

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o Working together with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment to ensure appropriate training on migrant/human rights issues for staff of Bangladesh Missions.  The NHRC should urgently lobby for changes to the Children Act (currently under review) and other legislation to bring these in line with the CRC.  Any campaigns on child rights and child labour must include an explanation on who is a ‘child’. In the absence of a constitutional definition, it is suggested that the definition in the CRC is used, with an explanation of where it comes from.  There is clearly a need for continued education and awareness on the law prohibiting early marriage and the consequences of early marriage for girls. Poverty will continue to drive under age marriage and cannot be addressed through awareness raising, but given the knowledge that it is unacceptable and the understanding of the consequences, there is fertile ground for awareness raising emphasising health and other risks, advocating for an end to the practise, and simply asserting the legal prohibition on both early marriage and the consequences for those who arrange such marriages.  Answers to the types of discipline that are acceptable suggest that awareness of the rights of children to be free from all forms of violence, including domestic violence and violence in schools, could be strengthened with a public awareness campaign on child rights generally.  Awareness on sexual exploitation and trafficking of children is required. This could be included in general campaigns, but the low levels of understanding of these as issues facing children suggests that a specific campaign on sexual violence including trafficking of women, children and men should also be considered.  Although it can and should be mentioned in any other child rights campaigns, child labour is also one of the areas where a specifically targeted campaign would appear appropriate. Such a campaign should be targeted at the general public, but the messages in these should specifically target employers, children and parents, and should focus on the consequences for the child and for those employing them when law and policy in this regard is ignored.  Given the role already being played by UNICEF in child labour and trafficking, the NHRC should consider how best to jointly campaign with UNICEF in this regard.  The NHRC should advocate for greater acceptance of the status of Adibashis as indigenous peoples covered by the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989, and for ratification of the Convention.  A general campaign on the rights of Adibashis is indicated (given the general lack of awareness across all groups). Given that government is currently resistant to recognising Adibashis as indigenous peoples, a campaign for the rights of Adibashis to at least follow their religions and cultures could be subtly woven into a campaign for greater respect within the community for the rights of religious minorities.  Awareness raising campaigns should also raise awareness of the advantages of diversity for a country and of the importance of recognising the unique cultures and customs of all people in the country. Such campaigns may find particular purchase amongst school children and could form the basis of art and essay competitions in schools.  The NHRC should advocate for greater compliance with the CHT Accord, immediate activation of the Land Commission  Although the report does not consider the rights of refugees in general and the particular issues and problems facing the Rohingya in particular, campaigns on diversity and indigenous peoples should include similar messages on the

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Rohingya and seek to raise awareness of the cultures and customs and the particular problems they face.  NHRC efforts should focus on: o Ensuring the GoB continues to plan for any impact climate change will have on the lives of all those living in Bangladesh, especially more marginalised or vulnerable communities. o Articulating and monitoring the human rights implications of climate change (given that it impacts on rights in areas such as food, health, shelter and livelihoods).  It has also been suggested that the NHRC should engage in international intergovernmental negotiations about human rights of people who are vulnerable to disaster and climate change etc.  The NHRC could also monitor coordination and initiatives at district level, for example, by monitoring the usage of Climate Fund disbursements to avoid any risk of embezzlement.

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PART 1 - BACKGROUND

1. Country background Bangladesh has made significant economic progress over the past few years. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics’ (BBS) 2010 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES)2, the national poverty headcount rate in Bangladesh has declined to 31.5% in 2010 from 40 % in 2005.3

Rural poverty has declined to 35.2 % in 2010 from 43.8 % in 2005, while urban poverty has fallen to 21.3 % from 28.4 % in the same period. Other indicators of welfare related to human development, access to services, and coverage of social welfare schemes also saw tremendous progress.4

But despite impressive achievements in a variety of fields and steady economic growth, Bangladesh continues to experience high levels of poverty and remains one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 109th out of 135 countries in the UNDP Human Development Report (2010).5 The HIES 2010 found that the Gini coefficient6 for Bangladesh, which is a summary measure of inequality, has a value of 0.32.7 This represents a small improvement on the 2005 figure of 0.33, but regional variations in consumption remain high.8 The gross national income per capita is around USD 590 (2009) while the total adult literacy rate in 2005-8 stood at 55%.9

Bangladesh also suffers from weak governance and limited government capacity to deliver basic services. Access to justice, respect for the rule of law and knowledge of human rights are also generally acknowledged as inadequate.10

With a population of 142 million11 living in a country that has an average elevation of 4 to 5 meters above mean sea level12, Bangladesh is particularly

2 Carried out by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) with technical support from the World Bank. 3 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) – Ministry of Planning: Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2010 (2011). 4 ibid. 5 United Nations Development Project: Country Profile of Human Development Indicators. (2010). By comparison, Cameroon ranks at 108th and Madagascar at 110th. Australia ranks highest in the report, with Zimbabwe lowest ranked at 135th.

6 The Gini Coefficient measures the disparity between the poor and least poor in a country. 7 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) – Ministry of Planning : Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2010. 8 ibid. 9 UNICEF: Statistics on Bangladesh. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/bangladesh_bangladesh_statistics.html 10 US Department of State: 2012 Human Rights Report Bangladesh (2013). Available at: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/sca/204395.htm 11 According to the provisional results of the 2011 census conducted by the BBS, the population on 15th March, 2011 was 142,319 million. This figure includes people that were

12 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights vulnerable to climate change and at grave risk of immeasurable flood damage and devastation anticipated as sea levels rise.13

2. The National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh (NHRC)

The establishment of the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh (NHRC) was completed on 1 December 2008 with the appointment of three Commissioners. Subsequent to the promulgation of the National Human Rights Commission Act in June 2009 and upon retirement of the then Chairman, the Commission was reconstituted on 23 June 2010. In addition to a new Chairman, the newly constituted Commission comprises of one full time member and five honorary members.14

In accordance with its official mandate, the NHRC will serve as the major national human rights watchdog, monitoring implementation of state obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of every single member of society, addressing specific human rights complaints through investigation, mediation and conciliation, and where necessary, through constitutional litigation, and more broadly through raising public awareness. It is expected to play a strong role in ensuring consistency of laws and policies with international standards.

The project document for the “Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission Capacity Development Project” was signed in May 2010 and will last for a period of 5 years.15 The Project’s objective is to improve the promotion and protection of human rights of all, particularly for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, such as women, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples (Adibashis), religious minorities and children through institutional capacity development of the NHRC. It aims at building the capacity of the NHRC to function as an effective and credible institution that can fulfil its legislative mandate and an institution which itself determines its targeted human rights priorities in the short, medium and long term.

The project has four outcome areas: 1. Institutional development, 2. Human rights monitoring and investigation 3. Human rights awareness 4. Human rights research reporting and policy development. present in the territory of Bangladesh and were enumerated in the different types of households: general, institutional and other households. 12 Climate Investment Funds: Bangladesh: Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (2010): p. 12 13 ibid. pp. 15-18 14 The current members of the Commission are Prof. Dr. Mizanur Rahman (Chairman), Mr. Kazi Reazul Hoque (Full Time), Prof. Dr. Niru Kumar Chakma, Ms Selina Hossain, Ms Fawzia Karim Firoze, Ms Aroma Dutta, and Ms Nirupa Dewan. 15 The project is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Sweden and the Switzerland.

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The objective of Outcome 3 of the Project Document is to build the capacity of the NHRC to undertake human rights education, training and awareness- raising in Bangladesh. To achieve this objective, the project document makes provision for a detailed baseline study to determine public attitudes and awareness of human rights as well as the Commission’s existence and role.

3. NHRC Strategic Plan and key themes Through a broad consultative process, the NHRC has developed and is implementing its first Strategic Plan, which identifies 16 ‘pressing human rights issues’ that can be summarised into the following broad themes: 1. Discrimination: a. On the basis of gender. b. Against people with disabilities. c. Against religious minorities (including Dalits within the Hindu community). d. Against indigenous peoples. 2. Gender-based violence (GBV). 3. Violence by state mechanisms. 4. The situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, including local access to justice. 5. Migrant workers. 6. Socio-economic rights, with a special focus on health and education (including barriers to girl child). 7. Child rights and child labour. 8. Access to justice for the poor (especially the barriers in seeking redress in both the formal and informal justice systems). 9. Climate change and the environment. 10. Compliance with international instruments.

While there are numerous other human rights issues facing Bangladesh, these themes will determine the areas for NHRC public awareness campaigns and have thus been used to guide the entire baseline survey.

A note on the Rohingyas Although Bangladesh is one of the few nations that has not ratified the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the NHRC has recently begun working together with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on issues related to refugees and the Rohingyas in particular.

The Rohingyas are an ethnic and religious minority that have long faced persecution in Myanmar (Burma). According to UNHCR, Bangladesh is host to 28,700 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar's northern Rakhine State, in what it calls ‘one of the most protracted refugee situations in the world’.16 Most of these, who are all what remains of an original 250,000 refugees who arrived in 1991, live in appalling conditions in two camps (Kutupalong and Nayapara)

16 UNHCR: 2012 UNHCR country operations profile - Bangladesh

14 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights in the south-eastern district of Cox's Bazar, around 150 km from Chittagong.17 While Government of Bangladesh (GoB) policies are reported to have led to some improvements for refugees, the Rohingya are reportedly subjected to unprecedented levels of violence (including rape) and attempts at forced repatriation (including demolition of the shacks in which they are forced to live).18 Those in the Kutupalong Camp, reportedly lack food and are being harassed by local authorities and residents when they leave the camp to seek supplies, while more than 18% of children under five suffer from acute malnutrition.19 In addition, according to Médecins Sans Frontières:

‘They (the Rohingya) are largely perceived as a burden on already scant resources and a threat to the local job market through the provision of cheap labour. Their unpopularity, fuelled by the local media, makes them an easy punch ball for unscrupulous local politicians wishing to score political points’.20

Unfortunately, issues relating to refugees and the Rohingya were not identified in the NHRC’s strategic plan and were not covered during the survey. Nonetheless, recommendations for how this issue might be addressed are contained in Chapter 8 of this report.

4. Objectives of the Assignment Based on the terms of reference (ToR) and subsequent discussions with the NHRC and UNDP, the objectives for the assignment can be summarised as:21  To assist the NHRC to develop appropriate public education and awareness of human rights messages, and methods targeting the most important human rights issues facing Bangladeshis by: o Determining the levels of understanding and awareness of human rights amongst Bangladeshis generally. o Determining the major types of human rights issues facing Bangladeshis generally, but with a primary focus on the human rights issues prioritised by the NHRC.  To assess the level of awareness and understanding of the NHRC, its mandate, and its roles and functions.  To determine where people go when seeking redress for human rights violations, why they choose this option rather than other options available to them, and to assess their level of satisfaction in the services provided.  To assess the strengths and weaknesses of the legal and policy framework for the protection of human rights in Bangladesh, including the level of commitment to and domestication of key international human rights instruments.

17 UNHCR: 2012 UNHCR country operations profile - Bangladesh 18 Médecins Sans Frontières: Violent crackdown fuels humanitarian crisis for unrecognised Rohingya refugees (2010). 19 Radio Free Asia: Bangladesh: UN urged to protect Rohingya (2010). 20 ibid. 21 The terms of reference are attached as Annexure A.

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 To determine and suggest how stakeholders and role players in human rights protection and promotion will support the NHRC to improve the human rights situation in Bangladesh through placing special emphasis on the selected priority thematic areas.  To determine a baseline / benchmark against which to measure the success of future public education and awareness campaigns (and NHRC other interventions).

It is important to stress at the outset though that the study, and this report, deals primarily with perceptions, attitudes and understanding. While it includes references to previous research and identifies major problems under each theme, it does not and cannot analyse each and every issue in detail. Many of the issues considered in the baseline study appear ripe for further and more detailed study and analysis and these have been mentioned where appropriate.

5. Consultant team The original proposal for the assignment was submitted jointly by Data Management Aid (as lead firm) and Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), with the following key personnel:

 Greg Moran – Team Leader and International Human Rights Expert.  Sara Hossain - Human Rights, Gender and Law Expert.  Mirza M. Hassan - Justice Sector Institution and Governance Expert.  Professor Kazi Saleh Ahmed - Consultant Statistician.  Maqbul H. Bhuiyan – Lead Quantitative Survey Expert.

6. Quantitative survey To assess perceptions, attitudes and understanding of human rights issues falling under the current NHRC list of priorities, a national household-level, multi-indicator survey was designed and implemented in 3,400 households. The survey used random selection criteria and results were generalised to the household level for defined domain/strata. The survey was conducted with any adult household member aged between 18 and 60 years with the gender ratio of respondents controlled by selecting male-female respondents alternatively. The survey was designed to cover both urban and rural areas including indigenous peoples in Bangladesh.

The survey was based on a questionnaire developed for the household survey, was reviewed by the NHRC and UNDP and pre-tested twice.22 The survey was implemented by Data Management Aid (DMA) and was completed on 17 July 2011. Data collection and data entry were carried out simultaneously using a customised data entry package.

22 The survey questionnaire in English is attached as Annex B.

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A preliminary findings report was submitted to the NHRC and UNDP on 15 August 2011 and an internal presentation on the findings was provided to the NHRC and UNDP professionals on 17 August. Additional comments to the preliminary findings report were received on 30 August 2011.

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Fig. 1: Geographic Coverage of the NHRC Baseline Survey 2011

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Table A: Sample Coverage Samples Geographic coverage CHT Plainland Villages/ Divisions Total National special Adibashi Districts Upazilas Mahallas All Divisions 3,952 3,344 320 288 38 56 222 Barisal 306 234 72 4 4 17 Chittagong 964 644 320 0 8 14 56 Dhaka 1,098 1,026 72 11 16 61 Khulna 414 414 0 4 6 23 Rajshahi 576 432 144 4 8 32 Sylhet 216 216 0 3 3 12 Rangpur 378 378 0 4 5 21

A complete discussion and overview of the quantitative survey methodology and sample selection is attached as Annexure C.

7. Qualitative survey To validate findings from the household survey, to identify issues not raised in the survey, and to provide additional understanding, the household survey was supported by a qualitative survey involving both focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs).

A total of 24 FGDs were held over the period 24 June to 18 September 2011. These covered some 186 persons. They involved discussion of a wide range of rights, and the concerns of particular sections of the population, in particular marginalised communities and vulnerable groups. Specifically, the FGDs focused on access to justice, discrimination against marginalised communities (Adibashi rights, disability rights, Dalit rights, linguistic minorities) or vulnerable groups (child workers, domestic workers), violence against women (gender-based violence, domestic violence, acid violence), and socio- economic rights (health rights and services, education rights and services, labour rights) , as well as the interconnections of climate change and rights, and social safety nets, poverty and rights.23

FGDs were conducted by facilitators identified by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST). Except for the FGD with Adibashis in the Chittagong Hills Districts, all FGDs were held in Dhaka but with a diverse range of organisations, including men and women from different religious and ethnic and linguistic groups, and with representatives from human rights organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), advocates, journalists, health professionals, economists, and others.

The process of conducting Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) was hampered somewhat by interviewees not being available, being abroad and through requests from interviewees for interviews to be rescheduled. These difficulties were at least in part anticipated by the team, since it is to be expected that some people in positions of authority might be reluctant to be interviewed as

23 A full list of those conducted is attached as Annexure D.

19 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights part of the survey.24 Nonetheless, a total of 23 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted, including government officials, judges, human rights advocates, academics and family members of women victims of violence.

In addition, it was decided not to conduct FGDs with survivors of torture or rape as originally planned since those selected by the team were currently engaged in pending cases or did not wish to speak in front of others. Instead, two KIIs were held with family members of a rape survivor, and of a woman who had been killed following severe domestic violence.

8. Additional research As previously mentioned, the baseline survey does not research into the issues, but rather, researches into people’s attitudes to and understanding of issues from their own perspectives. Nonetheless, to provide context and to determine what the major issues are under each of the themes addressed by the survey, the team conducted substantial desk-based research which is included in this report as appropriate.25

9. Limitations Generally, there were no major limitations experienced during the survey. However, very low numbers reported being victims/survivors of discrimination or abuse themselves, or of knowing anyone in their family or community who may be victims. It was also noted that some people became uncomfortable when these types of questions were asked, believing these to be private or family matters that ought not to be discussed. Consequently, the results from these parts of the survey have limited value. On the other hand, the fact that discrimination and violations of rights indisputably occur, but that people are reluctant to report them, clearly indicates that greater awareness and understanding needs to be created so that rights are protected and violations of these can be reported – to the police (since many also amount to crimes), but also to the NHRC and civil society organisations established to deal with complaints. It also suggests efforts need to be made to open up a debate on human rights in the private and public spheres and how these relate to the individual both in their interaction with the state, and within the family itself.

10. Household characteristics and profile of respondents The profile of the respondents indicates that the split across age group, economic level and women and men is largely reflective of society and a very good balance has been achieved. The survey was weighted between rural and urban residents (67% of those surveyed were from rural areas and 33% from urban areas) to ensure the views of sufficient numbers of urban and rural people were elicited.

24 A list of those conducted is attached as Annexure E. 25 A full bibliography is attached as Annexure F. Although not required by the survey, the report also provides a review of selected literature in Annexure G.

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Considering the geographic distribution of Adibashis (most of whom live in the three districts within the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) as well as in certain other pockets in the plain districts), a special sample was taken to assess awareness, perception, and attitudes of Adibashis regarding human rights.

Of the households surveyed, 94% were headed by males and only 6% by females and the average household size was found to be 5 (consistent with the national average). The proportion of female-headed households is slightly higher in urban areas than in rural areas (6.1 per cent and 5.5 per cent, respectively). Among the surveyed households 53% were poorest, 34.2% were middle income and 12.8% were least poor.

Table B: Coverage Plainland Adibashi Characteristics National CHT special Upazila Type of Area N % SE(p)26 N % SE(p) N % SE(p) Rural 2228 66.6 0.008 304 95 0.012 216 75 0.026 Urban 1116 33.4 0.008 16 5 0.012 72 25 0.026 Religion of the household Islam 2755 82.4 0.007 3 0.9 0.005 145 50.3 0.029 Religious minorities 589 17.6 0.007 317 99.1 0.005 143 49.7 0.029 Ethnic identity of the household Bangali 3172 94.9 0.004 0 0 174 60.4 0.029 Adivasi and others 172 5.1 0.004 320 100 114 39.6 0.029 Economic Category Poorest 1772 53 0.009 218 68.1 0.026 183 63.5 0.028 Middle class 1144 34.2 0.008 95 29.7 0.026 86 29.9 0.027 Least poor 428 12.8 0.006 7 2.2 0.008 19 6.6 0.015

More than one-third of the respondents (35.4%) were under 30 years of age, 28.2% were between 30-39 years, and 22.9% were between 40-49 years. Respondents aged 50 and over accounted for 13.5 per cent of the total respondents and the average age of the respondents was 35 years. Among the respondents, 39.3 per cent were household heads, 37.3 per cent were the spouse of the household heads, and 23.5% were other household members. 34% were illiterate and 22.2% were educated. Eighty nine per cent of the respondents had been or were married.

26 This is called the sampling distribution of p. Its variability tells us how precise our sample proportion p is likely to be, and an estimate of the true proportion p. If the distribution is wide, there is lots of sampling error and our p may be a long way from the true value p. If it is narrow, there is little sampling error, and our p is likely to be very close to . It can be shown that the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of p is given by the following formula:

π(1- π) SE(p) = n SE stands for standard error, which is the term, we generally use for the standard deviation of a sampling distribution. The standard error tells us how precisely our sample value p estimates the true value, p. Notice that if we increase the sample size, n, we decrease the standard error. It is possible to show mathematically that 95% of all the sample estimates will fall within two standard errors of the true value ;

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PART 2 – GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN RIGHTS

1. Major problems identified Respondents were asked to identify the major problems facing Bangladesh. Since almost any problem facing a society will have a human rights related dimension, this question was deliberately kept vague, requiring respondents to focus on problems and issues without using the term ‘human rights’, with which some people might not have been familiar.27 Of the problems mentioned, the following emerged as the most pressing:

Table 1 – Major problems identified N 3632 Price hike of essentials % 80.9 Electricity/gas/water problem % 51.6 Communications and roads problem % 44.7 Unemployment % 30.6 Education % 24.5 Lack of income and employment opportunities % 23.6 Population % 23.3 Lack of health care facilities % 18.8 Non-availability of agricultural inputs % 15.3 Corruption % 15.3

Understandably for a poor country like Bangladesh, the major issues facing people in their daily lives relate to poverty and lack of access to and protection of socio-economic rights. Other than socio-economic issues, the following problems facing the country were raised:  Political instability (10.1%)  Hartal (general strikes) (7.8%).  The situation regarding law and order (7.5%).

27 The presumption that respondents may not have been familiar with the term ‘human rights’ was verified by answers to the question ‘what are human rights’ – see below.

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Fig. 2: Major problems facing Bangladesh at the moment

100 Total 90 Male 80 Female 70 Rural 60 Urban

% 50

30 20 10

Education Population Corruption Unemployment Political instability

Price hike of essentials

Lack of health care facilities Electricity/gas/water problem

Communications and roads problem Non-availability of agricultural inputs

Lack of income and employment opportunities

Generally, no major differences are noted when the data are disaggregated, other than predictable differences between those in rural areas compared to those in urban areas, and differences across levels of income and education. For example:  People in urban areas (36.6%) were more inclined to identify ‘unemployment’ as a problem than those in rural areas (27.7%), most probably because most rural people are engaged in subsistence farming and are less dependent on formal employment for survival.  Unemployment is also reported as a bigger issue for the least poor (37.8%) than the poorest (26.6%); and for the educated (48.1%) when compared to the non-literate (21.7%). Although it is not possible to say to what extent respondents were talking about their own unemployment as opposed to unemployment as a national issue, this may reflect the fact that the poorest and non-literate are more accustomed to a lack of employment opportunities than others. Despite these differences though, it is clear that unemployment is regarded as a problem by large numbers of all groups.  Problems with communication and roads are a considerably greater problem in rural areas (53.1%) than urban areas (27.6%) where more money is invested in such infrastructure.  Political instability appears to be more of a problem for the least poor (23%) and educated (24.9%) than the poorest (5.4%) and non-literate (3.5%), which may be explained by the fact that the least poor and educated are perhaps more likely to be aware of and impacted on by the political instability of Bangladesh’s recent past.  Corruption is seen as more of a problem in urban areas (20.5%) than in rural areas (12.7%), possibly because people are more exposed to it in urban areas, it impacts more on their lives and is more common, and people in urban areas are more likely to have been exposed to anti- corruption messages in public awareness campaigns and in the media.

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Nonetheless, it is clearly a major issue for all Bangladeshis, regardless of where they live.

Some differences were noted between men and women. For example:  Men (23.2%) appear significantly (p28<.000) more concerned about the lack of agricultural equipment than women (7.4%) – possibly reflecting men’s greater involvement in agricultural work requiring the use of equipment.  Problems with communication and roads is more (p<.000) of a problem for men (51.8%) than women (37.7%), possibly due to women’s relatively restricted mobility outside the home, although mobility is reportedly improving for women.  Although more (p<.000) males (35.8%) reported ‘unemployment’ as a major problem than women (25.5%), lack of income and access to employment opportunities is more (p<.000) of a problem for women (28.0%) than men (20.4%). This may reflect cultural values (with men as ‘breadwinners’ more concerned by the lack of formal employment than women) but also that those women who do seek employment find it more difficult to access than men. Either way, issues of unemployment, lack of access to employment opportunities and lack of income are all closely related and very important to both men and women.

When asked to rank these, a similar picture emerges:

Table 2: Major issues raised by ranking Issue Ranked 1st Ranked 2nd Ranked 3rd N 3510 3311 2791 Price hike of essentials 50.6 18.2 10.6 Electricity/gas/water problem 10.8 19.7 12.1 Communications and roads problem 10.7 11.5 16.6 Unemployment 4.8 7.1 10.7 Population 4.7 5.6 5.8 Lack of income and employment 3.9 8.3 6.4 opportunities

It is clear then that access to socio-economic rights is an area on which the NHRC should focus (as dealt with in more detail later in this report). But poverty impacts on all aspects of life and poorer people struggle to demand their civil and political rights and to protect themselves from government abuse of power. Given that the question was framed broadly to include any type of problem facing the country from the respondent’s personal perspective, and given levels of poverty, it is to be anticipated that civil and political rights issues identified by the NHRC during the consultative process to develop their Strategic Plan would score lower than the issues related to poverty that people face on a daily basis. Nevertheless, similar civil and

28 Here and elsewhere in this report the p (probability) value is quoted. A p value of <0.05 implies a significant difference between the items being compared. As the p value becomes smaller so the result becomes more significant. So a p value of 0.025 implies that 1/40 times this result occurs by chance alone, but if the p value was 0.001, then this result only occurs 1/1000 by chance.

24 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights political rights related issues at the national level were identical to those prioritised by the NHRC in its Strategic Plan – for example:  Lack of access to justice (4.1%)  Harassment by law enforcement agencies (2.2%)  Extrajudicial killing (1.2%)

2. What are human rights and which should be protected?

Half of the respondents (50.2%) had not heard the term ‘human rights’ at all, which indicates the need for at least some basic awareness raising regarding the term and what it means, in all public awareness messages.

Differences were fairly pronounced when the data was disaggregated:  Those in urban areas (62.5%) were far more familiar with the term ‘human rights’ than those in rural areas (43.6%).  More men (57.1%) have heard the term than women (42.5%).  The higher the level of education, the more likely that someone will have heard the term – 88.2% of educated people have heard it compared to 23.8% of non-literate respondents.  The least poor (74.3%) are also far more familiar with the term than the poorest (39.8%).

Fig. 3: Heard the term 'human rights’ before

40 %

0 Total Rural Urban Male Female

When asked to identify what the term ‘human rights’ means, the following were the most common responses:  The rights we all have (43.7%)  Basic rights (28.4%)  Freedom of movement (17.4%)  Right to express opinions freely (11.1%)  Personal freedom (10.1%)  Rights we have from birth (7.5%)

25 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights

 Right to education (6.1%)  Protects our basic liberty and freedoms (5.9%)  Right to vote in elections freely (6.1%)

This indicates a fairly good understanding of what the term means amongst those familiar with it and can be compared with responses to the question asking what people have to do to earn their rights. When responding to this, many people understood that privilege and influence (‘be rich’, ‘good relationship with the administration’) play no role (at least in theory). Instead, knowledge of rights is regarded as the most effective way of claiming one’s rights.

Table 3: What do you have to do to earn your rights? Rank What do you have to do to earn your rights? % of respondents N 1809 1 Be aware 50.0 2 People to be made aware 33.8 3 Be educated 26.5 4 Don’t know 16.0 5 Not to tolerate any illegal activity 15.3

No marked differences in understanding of the term were identified when disaggregating the data.

When asked what human rights people should have, people recognised the right to life as the primary human right as well as key civil and political rights such as equality and freedom from discrimination, personal freedoms and freedom of expression. Understandably in a country with such high levels of poverty, there was also a strong focus on socio-economic rights and access to services:

Table 4: The rights citizens should have Rank Rights % of respondents N 3632 1 Right to life 50.6 2 Right to education 46.4 3 Rights to have food 40.2 4 Right to health 31.8 5 Rights to have shelter 30.8 6 Right to clothing 17.0 7 Freedom of expression opinion 15.3 8 Personal Freedom (to do anything what I want to do) 13.1 9 Equal treatment / equality 11.5 10 To protect myself and my property 8.7

26 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights

When asked to prioritise these, a similar pattern emerged:

Table 5: The rights citizens should have (ranked) Rights Ranked Ranked Ranked 1st 2nd 3rd N 3253 2821 2095 Life 35.0 11.4 10.5 Food 16.4 17.4 12.0 Education 15.0 17.9 18.6 Shelter 8.9 12.3 10.6 Personal freedom (to do whatever I want to) 5.1 4.9 4.0 Freedom of expression and opinion 4.3 6.6 5.6 Equality 3.8 4.4 3.2 Health 3.3 11.0 18.8 To protect myself and my property 1.9 3.4 4.5 Women's rights 1.8 1.9 2.3

No marked differences in prioritising rights were identified when disaggregating the data save for some predictable differences between men and women when it comes to women’s rights (men 2.6%; women 10.2%) and equality (men 9.9%; women 13%).

3. Protecting human rights and the Constitution When asked how human rights are protected in the country, many respondents (30.8%) either did not understand the question or simply did not know that human rights (or at least some of them) are legally protected and enforceable in Bangladesh. 19.5% answered that they are ‘not protected’, but it is not clear whether this meant that they were unaware of the legal protections or whether they meant that they are not protected in practice.

Of those who believed rights are protected, the most common answers for how they are protected were:  By the law (34.7%)  By the administration (6.8%)  By the Constitution (6.1%)  By social norms and values (4.6%)

The low level of understanding that the Constitution protects human rights was mirrored in the answers to the question ‘what is the Constitution’:  58.4% of respondents had not heard of the Constitution, with those in the urban, least poor and higher education categories apparently more aware of it than those in lower income and rural groups.  Men (57.2%) are more (p<.000) likely to have heard of the Constitution than women (26%).  The educated (89%) appear considerably more familiar (p<.000) with the term than non-literate (14.3%).

When asked to describe in more detail what the Constitution is, those who knew of it understood the basic idea:  The law that regulates the state and how it is governed – 22.9%

27 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights

 It is a law – 21.4%  A law for ruling the country – 15.9%  Highest law – 12.4%  Parliamentary law – 12.0%  Supreme law – 9.0%  Basic law – 6.8%

4. Rights and obligations The survey included two questions to test people’s understanding of the link between human rights and the attendant responsibility to respect the law and the rights of others. When asked ‘if you have the right to life, what duties or obligations do you have regarding other people’, the top five responses were:  Abide by the law (40%)  Make yourself and others aware (22.5%)  Protest injustice (21.4%)  Protect other people (14.8%)  Be aware of specific rights (10.9%).

Similar responses were received from respondents asked to consider what obligations arise if you want to claim protection of the law:  Not break the law (43.1%)  Be aware of the law (20.3%)  Respect the rule of law (15.1%)  Cooperate with government (10.3%)  ‘Protest when someone breaks the law’ (4.1%) and ‘cooperate with law enforcement agencies’ (4.2%).

These responses generally indicate an awareness that rights and obligations are interlinked – especially the obligation to know and abide by the law. However, a large number of respondents answered ‘don’t know’ to these questions (23.3 % and 32.1% respectively), indicating a need for public awareness campaigns to include messages that human rights create obligations as well.

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5. Sources of information Table 6 indicates the most common places where people had heard about human rights:

Table 6: Most common source of information by rural/urban, gender, education and wealth Source Total Rural Urban Male Female Non- Educated Poorest Least literate poor N 1809 1066 743 1037 772 277 711 779 332 TV 59.7 50.5 72.9 64.6 53.1 36.1 73.6 48.1 79.2 Public 25.0 29.0 19.2 24.7 25.4 45.1 13.2 31.1 17.8 News 23.6 18.3 31.2 33.0 11.0 3.2 42.5 14.8 38.9 paper Books 18.9 17.2 21.3 13.9 25.5 1.1 32.3 14.0 23.8 School 11.6 11.3 12.1 10.4 13.2 0.4 21.1 7.3 14.2 Neighbour 11.5 13.4 8.7 9.5 14.1 18.1 6.2 15.9 7.2 On the 4.9 5.8 3.6 6.0 3.5 3.2 6.5 5.9 2.7 radio From 3.0 3.3 2.7 2.2 4.1 5.8 1.3 3.5 2.4 NGOs

Despite high levels of poverty, television is by far the most common source of information on human rights. This is particularly true for the richer, urban and higher educated sectors of society, but even poorer, rural and less educated people seem to have access to television and almost invariably rate this higher than any other sources. Radio was only identified by 4.9% of respondents to this question, which may reflect the fact that some radio stations are under government control and do not conduct human rights awareness raising or report from a human rights perspective, while relatively new, privately owned stations tend to be more commercial and focused on music and youth culture. Of course, the answers may just as well indicate that television is simply a more popular source of entertainment, and thus information, than radio generally.

Fig. 4: Source of knowledge about human rights

80 Total Male 70 Female

60 Rural Urban 50

% 40

Public Books At school Neighbours At tea stall On television On the radio From a friend

In the newspapers

At a community meeting

Surprisingly, NGOs feature fairly low on the list (3%), but these do appear to be effective in raising awareness of rights in rural areas and amongst women.

29 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights

Of course, respondents may have focused on where they most often hear about or first heard about human rights.

Both television and radio, including community radio stations, have the potential to reach wide target audiences and benefit from being able to convey messages to everyone, including the non-literate, poorest and rural dwellers who are less likely to be reached using printed materials (books, newspapers) than their richer, wealthier and better educated fellow citizens.29 And the high levels of people reached through neighbours and public discussions indicates that community meetings, workshops, courtyard meetings, street and popular theatre, (even e-learning and television programmes using Skype communications)30 should be considered when attempting to reach this audience.

Very importantly, people across the spectrum benefitted from human rights education messages at school. Although the total percentage is currently not that high (11.6%), this provides an excellent opportunity for the NHRC to lobby for the inclusion of human rights in the formal education system and to target schools for specific campaigns (such as workshops and competitions and the new e-books and e-learning programmes).

6. Reporting human rights violations When asked what they would do if government violated their rights, only 16.9% replied that they would do nothing. Instead, the majority would take some form of action themselves, or collectively, rather than look to someone else to protect their rights:  40.7% would protest the violation.  31.5% would not re-elect those guilty of violating rights.  24.6% would demand that the government step down.  8.7% would try to influence public opinion to ensure the public’s participation in protests.  Only 0.2% would report it to a lawyer.  Only 0.8% would report to the NHRC (although this is of course understandable given how recently it has been established).  1.1% would report it to the police.

Although there are differences when the data are disaggregated, the level of similarity in responses across all groups is more remarkable than any differences noted. While this shows a deep-rooted understanding of how democracy works (especially through citizen mobilisation and articulation of concerns), it does indicate a lack of awareness of human rights as legally enforceable, of the institutions that are able to deal with violations, and possibly a lack of trust or confidence in existing institutions.

29 A number of community radio stations are being established across the country, with 14 12 such stations currently in place. See: http://www.apc.org/en/blog/bangladesh-community- radio-forum-2012

30 See for example the ‘Connecting Bangladesh’ programme on ATN News.

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7. Bangladesh’s compliance with international instruments (overview)

Bangladesh’s compliance with its obligations under various international instruments can be examined from three angles:  At a procedural level regarding the fulfilment of Bangladesh’s reporting obligations under ratified instruments.  At a substantive level, in terms of whether Bangladesh has incorporated the ratified conventions into domestic law and respects its obligations under these.  From a broader perspective, with regard to Bangladesh’s cooperation with the monitoring bodies, its reservations to the ratified instruments and failure to date to be party to several major conventions.

Bangladesh has ratified all of the major international instruments including the:  International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).  International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).  International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).  Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CAT).  Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).  International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ICRPD).  International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and members of their families (CMW).31

Bangladesh is also a party to the Statute of the International Criminal Court.32

Pursuant to the ratification of these instruments, Bangladesh should report to the treaty monitoring bodies regarding their implementation.

However, Bangladesh is in breach of most of its reporting obligations to date. The only treaties for which Bangladesh has submitted all reports to date are

31 An overview of Bangladesh’s ratification of and compliance with major international instruments is attached in Annexure H. For a full list of the core international human rights treaties, including signatory states and those that have ratified the conventions, Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CoreInstruments.aspx 32 Bangladesh is also the only country in South Asia to have ratified the Rome Statute. For a full list of states party to the Statute, Available at: http://treaties.un.org/UNTC/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII- 10&chapter=18&lang=en

31 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights those created under CEDAW (reports in: 1997, 2003, 2010), CRC (reports in: 1995, 1997, 2003, 2008, 2012) / CRC-OP-AC (2004), CRC-OP-SC (2005). For the ICCPR, ICESCR, CAT, CED, and CMW no reports were submitted.33

Bangladesh’s substantive compliance with ratified instruments can also be examined by analysis of the case law regarding fundamental rights. International human rights law has occasionally been referred to by the High Court of Bangladesh as an interpretative tool for constitutional and statutory obligations34, which is one way of ensuring compliance with international norms, but there are also obiter dicta in some decisions that domestic law prevails if in conflict with international norms.35 This position is obviously problematic under international law.

From a broader perspective, it is of interest to examine Bangladesh’s reservations to the ratified instruments, its poor cooperation with the monitoring mechanisms, and its non-acceptance of several major conventions.

Firstly, Bangladesh maintains a high number of reservations and interpretative declarations to the treaties it has ratified36. While reservations are legal under international law and are specifically provided for by Article 19 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties,37 commentators have noted that some of those maintained by Bangladesh are of uncertain validity in international law. For example, Bangladesh maintains a reservation according to which it does not consider itself bound by Article 2 of CEDAW which provides that ‘States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating

33 UNHCR, Bangladesh: Reporting Status. Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/BDIndex.aspx

34 Ershad, State v. Deputy Commissioner, Satkhira, 45 (1993) DLR (HCD) 643; Salma Sobhan v. Government of Bangladesh, unreported case; Massamat Renu v. Bangladesh, unreported case; Professor Nurul Islam v. Gvt of Bangladesh, 52 (2000) DLR (HCD) 413; Bangladesh v. Professor Golam Azam, 46 (1994) DLR (HCD) 132; all these cases are referred to by M. Shah Alam, Enforcement of International Human Rights Law by Domestic Courts, Dhaka, New Warsi Book Corporation, 2007 at pp. 112-114.

35 Bangladesh v. Sombon Asavhan, 32 DLR (1980) p. 198 and Hussain Muhammad Ershad v. Bangladesh, 21 (2001) BLD (AD), p. 69 also cited by Alam, ibid. at pp. 104-109.

36 CEDAW, reservation to articles 2 and 16(1)(c); CAT, declaration to article 14(1); ICCPR, declaration to articles 10, 11, 14 and reservation to article 14; ICESCR, declaration to 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 13; CRC, reservation to article 14(1) and 21. The text of these can be found online on the United Nations Treaty Collection website: http://treaties.un.org/.

37 Article 19, Formulation of reservations: “A State may, when signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to a treaty, formulate a reservation unless: (a) the reservation is prohibited by the treaty; (b) the treaty provides that only specified reservations, which do not include the reservation in question, may be made; or (c) in cases not failing under subparagraphs (a) and (b), the reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty.”

32 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights discrimination against women’. The CEDAW Committee has expressed concerns about the validity of the reservation since Article 2 is fundamental to the rest of the convention38 and indeed seems to express the object itself of the convention.39 Similarly, Bangladesh has made a declaration to Article 14(1) of the CAT (regarding the right of victims of torture to fair and adequate compensation), according to which it “will apply Article 14 (1) in consonance with the existing laws and legislation in the country." This declaration prompted several objections from other state parties complaining that it is not precise enough and therefore does not permit determination of whether Bangladesh acts in conformity with its obligations.40

These reservations and declarations cast a shadow on Bangladesh’s commitment and should be reconsidered or further specified. Withdrawing the reservations, a procedure that can be done at any time and without the consent of third parties41, would bring Bangladesh closer to a full recognition of international human rights.

In terms of cooperating with the monitoring mechanisms, Bangladesh has to date refused to recognise the jurisdiction of any monitoring bodies other than the CEDAW Committee to receive individual complaints or conduct inquiries.42 As a member of the United Nations, Bangladesh is also subject to the jurisdiction of the Human Rights Council and to scrutiny of its human rights record by mechanisms such as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the Special Procedures. Bangladesh participated in the last UPR in 201243, but it has not to date extended a standing invitation to any representative of the Special Procedures to visit the country. Although two such Special Procedures representatives have conducted recent visits to

38 CEDAW Concluding observations, supra note 7 at para. 11-12. On this topic, also see Michele Brandt and Jeffrey A. Kaplan, “The Tension Between Women’s Rights and Religious Rights: Reservations to CEDAW, Bangladesh and Tunisia” (1995-6) 12 J.L. & Religion 105.

39 International Court of Justice, Advisory Opinion on Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 28 May 1951 at p. 24 : “But even less could the contracting parties have intended to sacrifice the very object of the Convention in favour of a vain desire to secure as many participants as possible. The object and purpose of the Convention thus limit both the freedom of making reservations and that of objecting to them. It follows that it is the compatibility of a reservation with the object and purpose of the Convention that must furnish the criterion for the attitude of a State in making the reservation on accession as well as for the appraisal by a State in objecting to the reservation.”

40 The objections can be found on United Nations Treaty Collection website: Available at: http://treaties.un.org/ under each specific instrument and the list of reservations.

41 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), Article 22 states: “Unless the treaty otherwise provides, a reservation may be withdrawn at any time and the consent of a State which has accepted the reservation is not required for its withdrawal”.

42 Bangladesh has not recognized the jurisdiction of the following committees to receive individual complaints: CAT Committee, CERD Committee, CESCR Committee, Human Rights Committee; or to conduct inquiries: CEDAW Committee.

43 OHCHR: Universal Periodic Review by Country. Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/Documentation.aspx

33 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights

Bangladesh (the Independent Expert on Water, and on Poverty in 2009), five visit requests from mandate holders remain pending since 2005.44 And although Bangladesh responded to 85% of the letters of allegations and urgent appeals sent by special rapporteurs and working groups, it has not responded to the 12 questionnaires received from them.45

Finally, Bangladesh has not ratified several major human rights conventions, including the:

 1951, Convention related to the Status of refugees.  International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Minimum Age Convention No 138 (1973) - one of the eight (8) core labour standard conventions.  First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty (1989).  ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169 (1989).  International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990).  Optional Protocol to CAT (2002), which establishes a system of regular visits by independent international and national bodies to places of detention).  International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (2006).

PART 3 – CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS

1. Gender-based discrimination a. Introduction While Bangladesh has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and has made great strides in improving the status of women over the last few decades, many challenges remain.46

In a recent report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, a coalition of organisations highlighted numerous causes for the on- going discrimination against women in Bangladesh, including:

44 OHCHR: Country and other visits by Special Procedures Mandate Holders since 1998 A-E, (updated June, 2013). Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/Pages/countryvisitsa-e.aspx

45 See the Compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: Bangladesh, Doc. no A/HRC/WG.6/4/BGD/2, 2 December 2008, at p. 4, online: supra note

46 An overview of Bangladesh’s ratification of and compliance with major international instruments is attached as Annexure H.

34 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights

 Personal laws based on religion, that discriminate against women in family and property matters.  Obstacles to access to education, employment, and essential services including healthcare.  Low levels of participation in political and public life.  Violence against women, including violence sanctioned by religious leaders (so-called ‘fatwas’).47

The CEDAW Committee in its 2011 concluding observations notes several positive aspects such as the adoption of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution (that includes, inter alia, 45 reserved seats for women in the Parliament); the Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Act (2010), the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2009 (which changes all references to ‘father’ in the Act to ‘father and mother’); policies such as the Policy for the Advancement of Women; the allocation of a gender responsive budget to 10 ministries in 2010-2011; and the achievement of gender parity in primary and secondary education.48

However, the Committee also highlights areas requiring attention and reform. In rural areas in particular, it noted that stereotypes and the dominance of men as decision-makers continue to prevent women from accessing adequate health care and education.49

Large numbers of women continue to work in informal sectors, such as domestic work, which go unregulated and expose them to risks of exploitation, trafficking and violence.50 Those who work in the formal sector, while theoretically protected by labour laws, receive lower wages than their male counterparts and work in extremely poor conditions.51 While many women have gained a sense of economic independence by finding work outside the home, this can come at a high cost, including detrimental effects on their health.52

In the education field, the Committee was concerned by the high level of drop- out by girls, the gender gap that remains at higher levels, the lack of facilities for women in educational institutions and the sexual harassment that some face.53 With regard to the right to equality more generally, the Committee recommends that the constitutional guarantee of equality between men and women be made applicable to the private sphere and urged Bangladesh to

47 Citizen’s Initiative on CEDAW Bangladesh: p.13. Since the CEDAW report was compiled by leading civil society organizations working on women’s rights and extensively drew upon available research, it provides a unique and up-to-date overview of all issues on discrimination against women. 48 CEDAW Committee, C/BGD/CO/7 “Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women” (2011). 49 ibid. pp. 3-4, 9. 50 ibid. p. 7. 51 ibid. 52 ibid. 53 ibid. p.6

35 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights amend its discriminatory laws relating to marriage, divorce, nationality, guardianship and custody and to adopt a uniform family code.54

In the area of health, the CEDAW Committee points to the inadequate attention given to reproductive health services, contraception and family planning and recommends women be provided with better access to health services in rural areas and that Bangladesh tackles the high maternal mortality rate.55 b. Problems women face in Bangladesh When asked to identify the problems facing women in their communities, respondents (both men and women) listed at least 32 issues.56 The 10 (ten) most commonly mentioned were:

Table 7: What are the most important problems facing women in your community? N 3,632 Problems of dowry % 46.0 Poverty % 37.7 Violence by husbands % 35.6 Lack of Health care % 20.4 Violence by family members % 18.9 Physical violence % 16.5 Mobility restrictions % 14.7 Difficulty getting a job/work % 12.8 Lack of access to education % 12.2 Lack of security % 11.9

These answers indicate that violence and abuse (especially domestic violence by husbands and other family members and violence related to dowry demands that can lead to serious injury and death); lack of security; poverty; and access to socio-economic rights and services are by far the major issues facing women in Bangladesh.

54 ibid. p. 3. 55 ibid. 7-8 56 Again, the approach was to ask people to identify problems rather than the more technical term ‘human rights related problems’, since almost every problem people face can be couched as a human rights related issue.

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Fig. 5: Most important problems facing women in community

60 Total Male 50 Female Rural 40 Urban

% 30

Poverty

Lack of security Lack of medicare Physical violence Problems of dowry Mobility restrictions Violence by husbands

Difficulty getting a job/work Violence by family members Lack of access to education

Women are subjected to harassment

Interesting points to note from the disaggregated data are:  Dowry related issues are reported as less of a problem for religious minorities generally (28.3%) and Adibashis (15%). However, when one disaggregates the data related to religious minorities further, it appears that the problem is highest amongst Hindus (51.3%) and fairly high amongst Christians (21.2%) compared to Buddhists (1.7%).  More women raise violence by husbands (42.7%) and family members (24.4%) as a problem than men - 28.5% of men mentioning violence by husbands and 13.4% of men raising violence by family members as problems facing women.

The above ranking is confirmed by the splits noticed in answer to the three subsequent questions asking respondents to rank the top three issues:57

Table 8: Most important problem facing women in the community (ranked) Problems Ranked 1st Ranked 2nd Ranked 3rd N 3143 2845 2220 Problems of dowry % 24.2 16.6 10.8 Poverty % 15.1 14.0 12.6 Violence by husbands % 13.1 13.2 10.6 Lack of health care % 7.2 6.9 5.6 Lack of access to education % 3.8 4.2 3.2 c. Equality and discrimination Even though violence against women and discrimination continue, the basic principle of equality between men and women is clearly understood:  The majority of Bangladeshis (74%)58 appear to agree women and men should enjoy equal rights, while 23% answered that they should not.59

57 Similar differences are noted when these data are disaggregated and are not reflected in the table. 58 ‘Yes’ (63%) and ‘Absolutely’ (13.3%) 59 ‘No’ (21.4%) or ‘definitely not’ (2%)

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 Women (85.3%), members of religious minorities (89.7%) and Adibashis (89.1%) are far more in favour of equal rights than men (63.4%), Muslims (70.5%) and Bengalis (73.1%) respectively.  The most in favour of women enjoying equal rights (those answering ‘absolutely yes’) are the educated (22.2%) and the least poor (20.1%), while only small percentages of men (3.2%) and Bengalis generally (2.2%) remain firmly opposed to the idea (answering ‘definitely not’).

For purposes of comparison with previous research in this area, the following table disaggregates this data according to similar groups covered in the previous survey:60

Table 9: Do you think that men and women should have equal rights in Bangladesh? Type of Area Respondent's sex Respondent's educational level Non- Some Opinion Total Rural Urban Male Female literate education Educated N 3,632 2,444 1,188 1,815 1,817 1,163 1,662 806 Definitely not % 2.0 2.3 1.4 3.2 0.8 1.9 2.3 1.6 No % 21.4 21.5 21.0 31.2 11.6 24.6 21.4 16.7 Yes % 61.0 61.5 60.0 53.4 68.7 61.0 62.3 58.6 Absolutely yes % 13.3 12.0 16.1 10.0 16.6 8.3 12.5 22.2 Don’t know % 1.5 1.9 0.8 1.3 1.8 3.4 0.8 0.2 Not sure % 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.7 0.6

The main reasons advanced for why women should enjoy equal rights were:  They are already almost equal – 34.2%  They are also human beings – 28.1%  It will contribute to development – 20.8%  Men and women are completely equal in today’s world – 17.6%

Of the 849 (23.4%) respondents who answered this question, reasons for why women should not be treated equally were centred on perceived ‘innate’ differences between men and women and religious belief – the main being:  There is a great difference between men and women (34.5%)  Religious texts give superiority to men (25.7%)  Religious laws bar equality (24.3%)  Men are superior to women in all respects (22.4%)

When asked when it is acceptable for community members to discriminate against women, the vast majority could think of examples and only 6.2% answered ‘never’ – the highest proportion answering this way being Adibashis (15.7%) and those from religious minorities (10.7%). Although 21.2% were unable to answer the question, the most common examples of when discrimination is permitted were:  At work – 25.6%  When they walk alone on the streets – 25.1%  During religious ceremonies – 17.5%  In the home – 15.8%

60 See for example the BLAST Survey on Gender Relation and Human Right Situations in Bangladesh (2003).

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 When they are pregnant – 14.5%

Similar responses were received to the question ‘when is it acceptable for the government to treat women differently (although 33.9% were unable to answer the question):  At work – 22.6  During pregnancy – 15.6%  During education – 15.8%  12.1% believed that women should be given preference when riding on transport.

However, it is impossible to know for sure whether respondents clearly understand the term ‘discrimination’ or that there are both positive or negative forms of discrimination, so it cannot be categorically stated that respondents were in favour of better treatment and services for pregnant women or girls when it comes to education, or whether they meant the government may negatively discriminate against pregnant women and in education. However, the fact that many people mentioned ‘during education’ does appear to indicate some understanding of the notion of positive discrimination since it can be anticipated that most Bangladeshis are aware of government’s affirmative action policies to increase access to education for girls.

Fig. 6: Status of discrimination against women over the past 5 or 6 years

Female 17 10 55 18 20 16 55 Male 8 17 14 60 Urban 9

Rural 19 13 53 16

Total 19 13 55 13

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 % Increased Stayed the same Reduced Don’t know

Lastly, when asked whether levels of discrimination have decreased or increased over the past five years:  18.5% of all respondents felt it has increased.  13.1% believed it has stayed the same, with men (16%) more likely to answer this way than women (10.3%).  The majority (55%) answered that, in their opinion, discrimination against women has actually decreased.

Similarity across the answers in this part of the survey when the data are disaggregated is encouragingly high and is perhaps an indication of the fact that gender equality is a central and ‘mainstreamed’ theme in all human rights

39 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights messages. It may also be the case that most people know what the ‘correct’ answer is when answering questions related to gender, even though they may not necessarily agree with or put this understanding into practice. d. Experiences of discrimination and abuse Only 4.2% of those surveyed (152 out of 3,632 respondents) answered that a female member of their household had been discriminated against or suffered abuse, which is somewhat surprising given the attitudes of people to discrimination reflected above. This makes it impossible to draw any conclusions from their answers, but from those who did reply:  The major forms of abuse reported were: o Physical assault – 54.6% o Verbal assault (including verbal assaults on the street and sexual harassment) – 39.5% o Failure to get due share in property – 13.2% o False allegations – 12.5% o Denial of justice – 9.2%  The most common perpetrators of such violence and abuse were household members (57.2%) and neighbours (21.7%).  More than half (52.6%) reported the matter, while the majority (94.4%) who did not report it to maintain their family honour.  The most common authority to which the matter was reported was to a community leader (57.5%) followed by the Chairperson or member of a Union Parishad or local MP (45%) and the police (35%).  71.3% reported that a Shalish or mediation took place – the most common being traditional Shalish (63.2%), followed by a Union Parishad Shalish (31.6%) and the Village Court (31.6%).

The major reasons why people did not report such abuse to the formal justice system was that it is too expensive (53.6%), they viewed the abuse as a strictly family matter (25%) and community leaders did not support the reporting of such abuse (17.9%).

2. Violence against women a. Legal Framework and Services Bangladesh has a long list of laws aimed at protecting women against violence including the recently adopted Domestic Violence Act, the Prevention of Cruelty to Women and Children Act, the Acid Crime Control Act, the Child Marriage Restraint Act and the Dowry Prohibition Act.61

However, these laws have only had a limited effect on the prevalence of violence against women, as pointed out by Elora Halim Chowdhury in a paper published in Violence Against Women:

61 CEDAW Committee: Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2011): p. 4.

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‘Many laws exist that aim to address violence against women. However, because of ineffective implementation of these laws by the state and inherent conceptual defects in some of them, such laws fail to punish the perpetrators of violence against women. These laws are thus useless, ornamental additions to the statute books. Lack of funds for collecting and preserving evidence; protecting the victims and witnesses; improper documentation of testimony; and lack of understanding and sensitivity of violence against women issues among police, judges, doctors, and social workers all contribute to lack of punishment of the perpetrators of violence against women and inadequate redress to the victims of such violence.62

In addition, knowledge of the law redress remains low. When asked to name any laws that protected women from violence, 68% of respondents could not. Marked differences were noted in some areas when the data were disaggregated, but knowledge of the law is common across all groups.

Of the laws that were mentioned:  Only 1.1% of people identified the Constitution  23.3% mentioned the Suppression of Violence against Women and Children Act (2000).  4.4% mentioned the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act (2010).  4.1% mentioned the criminal law generally.

It should be noted of course that the Suppression of Violence against Women and Children Act is a much older piece of legislation than the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act and may account for the greater awareness of the former – indicating the need for awareness campaigns to specifically include information on the Constitution and these laws to both raise awareness that these actions are criminalised and to empower women to seek redress. Of course it is remarkable however that 4% of the survey respondents acknowledged awareness of the Domestic Violence Act, which has only come into force less than a year ago, and which is only just starting to be used.

When asked to identify the most prevalent forms of violence against women (VAW), the most commonly mentioned during the household survey were:

Table 10: Most common forms of VAW Forms of VAW N=3,632 Violation related to dowry demands % 68.5 Beatings by husband / family members % 62.6 Physical abuse % 43.3 Sexual harassment (including eve teasing) % 20.3 Mental violence or cruelty % 16.5 Sexual abuse % 16.1

62 Chowdhury: pp 864-865.

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Economic violence % 14.9 Polygamous marriages % 14.6 Acid attacks % 12.2 Trafficking in women % 10.1 Don’t know % 5.5 Others % 3.6 Victim of fatwa % 2.1

Men and women seem generally to agree on the major forms of violence, with some predictable differences - for example, 70.1% of women believe beatings by their husbands are a major problem, while only 55.1% of men answer this way (although it should be noted that 55.1% is a substantial percentage of men identifying such violence as a major problem). Similar differences are noted when looking at other forms of domestic violence like physical abuse.

Fig. 7: Most common forms of violence against women

80 Total Male 70 Rural Urban 60 Female

% 40

0 Violation Beatings by Physical Sexual Mental Sexual Economic Polygamous Acid attacks Trafficking in related to husband / abuse harassment violence or abuse violence marriages w omen dow ry family (including cruelty demands members eve teasing) b. Domestic violence In answer to the question ‘whether a husband can use violence against his wife’, 55.6% replied it is never acceptable.63 Yet given the high levels of domestic violence, this once more suggests that campaigns by others on domestic violence have raised awareness of the issue and its unacceptability.64

63 An unexpected difference in this regard was noted between educated and non-literate people, with the more educated much less likely to answer this way (44.5%) than those with no education (57.5%). Although it is possible that some people did not understand the question, it is equally possible that middle class values are proving harder to shift than attitudes on the ground, and that there has been more mobilisation and services for the latter category. 64 While it is generally agreed that domestic violence is prevalent, the exact number of women who are or have been victimised is inconsistent from one study to the next. It seems as though the percentage of women who are victims of physical violence by their husbands during their lifetime falls somewhere between 40% and 76%. (Sambisa: p 166).

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Of those who felt there are circumstances when violence by husbands against their wives is acceptable, the most common responses were:  If she has an ‘illicit’ relationship with another man (27.8%).  If she does not listen to anyone (28%).  When disobedient to her husband (17.8%). Again, unexpected differences are noted with the urban (25.6%) and educated (35.4) more likely to accept that there may be a justification for such beatings than those in rural areas (14%) and the non-literate (9.7%).  If she behaves ‘wantonly’ or ‘immodestly’ (19.4%) in the view of the respondent.  For any fault (10.2%)

These responses can be compared to the answers when married women and unmarried women were asked whether it is acceptable for a husband to beat his wife:

Table 11: Is it acceptable for husbands to beat their wives? (Responses from married women) Responses % amongst SE(p) married women (n=1741) If disobedient to husband 63.6 0.012 When she misbehaves 27.2 0.011 For getting involved in “illegal sexual relations” 24.0 0.010 For any default 10.0 0.007 When she talks to other men 9.3 0.007 I do not consider it right 9.2 0.007 When I don’t observe purdah properly 7.9 0.006 When she disregards the father- or mother-in-law 7.5 0.006 If she affects the dignity of the family 6.7 0.006

Table 12: Is it acceptable for husbands to beat their wives? (Responses from unmarried women) Responses % amongst unmarried women (n=1741) When she misbehaves 51.3 When she talks to other men 27.6 If she affects the dignity/respect of the family 27.6 When she disregards the father- or mother-in-law 23.7 When she doesn't observe purdah properly 22.4 When she leaves the house without his permission 13.2 When she doesn’t look after the children properly 7.9

When asked if it is acceptable for a family member to use violence against an adult female family member:  36.9% said it is never acceptable. The educated (49.5%) and least poor (44.5%) were more likely to answer this way than the non-literate (28%) and the poorest (33.8%), indicating that violence by family members may be more of a problem in the latter groups than others.  The most common reason given was that it is acceptable when she is ‘disobedient’ – 44.4% indicating a fairly high degree of acceptance that women may be beaten for disobeying a family member.

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Similarly, when asked if it is acceptable for a mother-in-law to control or discipline her daughter-in-law, the majority answered:  When she is ‘disobedient’ – 71.9%  If she does not pay sufficient attention to her housework – 25.5%  If she does not maintain the family’s traditions – 14.6%  If she goes out without the permission of the mother-in-law – 15.3%

Despite differences when the data are disaggregated, there is sufficient similarity in the attitude that wives may be beaten by their husbands for disobedience or when their behaviour is considered to bring ‘dishonour’ to the husband or family to indicate the nature of issues on which greater public awareness is required – particularly the right to be free from domestic and other forms of violence and the right to freedom of opinion.

When asked similar questions about the acceptability of members of the community beating women:  36.5% of respondents said it is never acceptable.  25.9% of people felt this was acceptable when she commits ‘adultery’.  23.7% accept such behaviour when a woman is ‘disobedient’.  20.5% would accept it in the case of ‘wanton’ behaviour.

The consequences of domestic violence are severe and range from immediate injury and death to reproductive health problems, depression and suicide.65 And yet perpetrators of domestic violence tend to go unpunished. While the legal framework is certainly sufficient to prosecute offenders, access to justice for victims is limited and beset with obstacles including social pressure, feelings of shame, perceived and actual discriminatory attitudes in the informal and formal judicial systems, long delays in formal court systems, and geographical distance from legal services.66 This was reflected in the FGD with survivors of domestic violence where all participants said that they are ready to return to their husbands if there are assurances that the violence will stop. They were ready to risk further violence for the sake of their children, seeing no alternative beyond the marriage to bringing up the children with dignity. Participants also reported finding it difficult speak out against abuse because of the shame of being left by their husbands. c. Sexual violence and acid violence When asked what the most common forms of VAW are generally, sexual abuse was mentioned by 16.1% of respondents in the survey. When asked what the most common forms of violence against women are within the community (as opposed to within respondent’s family), 29.3% reported no violence against them and 6% did not know. Of those who did reply, the most common forms reported were:

Table 13: Most common forms of VAW perpetrated outside the family

65 According to one study, domestic violence survivors are six times more likely to attempt suicide than other women. (Johnston, B: pp. 369 and 374). 66 WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence Against Women: Bangladesh: p. 2; Citizens’ Initiative on CEDAW-Bangladesh: pp. 24-25.

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Forms of VAW N=3,632 Harassment of girls (including stalking) % 30.3 No violence % 29.3 Oppression / harassment related to dowry % 18.9 Harassment by cell phone % 17.6 Beatings by husband % 9.5 Sexual harassment % 8.1 Don’t know % 6.0 Sexual abuse % 4.8 Violence by mastans % 4.1 Violence by family members % 3.1 Kidnapping/abduction % 2.0 Violence for economic reasons % 1.9 Acid throwing % 1.0 Death threats by miscreants % 0.6

Sexual violence, including rape, represents a high percentage of the total incidents of violence against women reported to the police. In a report of the Citizens’ Initiative on CEDAW-Bangladesh for example, the official number of reported rapes in 2008 was 3387.67 One of the major concerns is the non- recognition of marital rape as a crime, both in law and in the socio-cultural tradition.68 As such, Bangladesh does not recognise a woman’s freedom to refuse to consent to intercourse with their husband, and, more broadly, a woman’s absolute freedom of choice over her own body.69 At the same time, perpetrators get away without being punished in many cases while victims of sexual violence are further victimised while testifying and face social stigma.

Acid attacks were first reported in Bangladesh in the 1980s, and since then, approximately 300 incidents are reported each year.70 While acid attacks against men are on the rise, the majority of victims are still young women.71 Understandably then, this issue was raised by 12.2% of respondents in the household survey.

Obviously, acid attacks cause serious and long-lasting physical and psychological damage.72 As pointed out during the FGD on the issue, the attacks infringe on many of their basic rights:  The right to freedom of movement (since many are too ashamed to appear in public after the attacks).  Right to access to justice and fair trial: In many cases the perpetrators subject them to threats using their influential position in the society, and

67 Citizens’ Initiative on CEDAW-Bangladesh: p. 91. 68 ibid. p. 50. 69 ibid. 70 Chowdhury: p. 861. 71 International Dalit Solidarity Network (ISDN): Joint NGO Submission Related to the 4th UPR Session, February 2009 on the Human Rights Situation of Dalits in Bangladesh (2009): p. 1; Citizen’s Initiative on CEDAW Bangladesh: pp. 161-162. 72 For example, one survivor consulted during the qualitative survey was fed acid by her husband and can no longer eat solid food, while others have lost their sight and can no longer close their eyes fully.

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police and prosecutors take bribes from the perpetrator or demand bribes to continue with the investigation or prosecution.  Right to equal treatment and non-discrimination: Many feel discriminated against in their communities while their children face discrimination at schools.  Right to employment and fair wages: Survivors became disabled and struggle to find employment. Where they are employed, they are often paid less than other workers.  Right to shelter: In most of the cases, survivors are separated from their husbands after the incident and struggle to find shelter or housing.  Right to health: Medical costs are very high, both immediately after the attack and on-going medical expenses, while government assistance is very poor. The social welfare ministry has allotted a special allowance but very few people know of it and there is no monitoring system in place. d. Sexual harassment Incidents of sexual harassment in schools, colleges and universities, the workplace and public spaces continue to be reported. According to a study of women in Dhaka City, 84.7% of garment workers, 100% of day labourers, 28.9% of school teachers, and 10.9% of office staff report some form of harassment (physical, psychological or sexual) in the workplace.73 This is reflected in the answers to what type of VAW (other than domestic violence) are most prevalent, with 30.3% answering harassment of girls (including stalking), 17.6% answering harassment by cell phone, and 8.1% answering sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment has had an effect on women’s mobility in general, and contributes to the high dropout rates in secondary schools. There have also been reports of suicide by girls who were being stalked or harassed by young men.74 As a result, this is clearly an area where education and awareness of the consequences of harassment (for victim and perpetrator) and how and where to report this is required. e. Dowry Although illegal, dowry continues to be demanded and paid and leads to serious abuse, even death in some cases. The survey aimed to test why this is so and whether people understand the consequence of maintaining the practice.

When asked for their opinions on dowry and why it persists, the five most common were:  If it is not given, it will not be possible to keep the marriage going (53.1%).  For the happiness of the girl (47.8%).  To ensure marriage to a suitable man and a ‘good’ family (18.5%).  Pressure from the husband’s family (18.3%).  Since it is a widespread practice, no one thinks of it as illegal (17.2%).

73 Citizens’ Initiative on CEDAW-Bangladesh: p. 49. 74 ibid. p. 49.

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When the data are disaggregated, it would seem that the belief that it is a requirement for a marriage, that it is necessary for marriage to a ‘good’ family and to ensure the happiness of the girl are most widely held amongst women, Bengalis and Muslims indicating strong social pressures on, and socialisation of, women and girls in these groups.

Table 14 – Why does dowry persist? Reason Sex Religion Ethnicity Total M F Islam Minorities Bangalis Adibashis N 3632 1815 1817 2900 732 3346 286 Required for marriage 53.1 43.6 62.6 54.4 47.7 54.5 37.1 Happiness of girl 47.8 41.3 54.3 49.8 40.0 49.4 29.4 Marry into “good” family 18.5 20.0 17.0 19.1 16.3 19.2 10.8 Pressure from husband’s 18.3 11.0 25.6 19.6 13.1 19.4 5.2 family Widespread/ not thought 17.2 18.5 15.9 17.8 14.8 17.8 10.5 illegal

When asked how the payment of dowry affects people’s rights, most identified this as a problem directly affecting, and perhaps confined to, the poorest – 47.1%. Although nearly one-fifth (18.8%) did not know how it affects women, a fairly high percentage (9.3%) believe it makes commodities of women and 7.8% recognised it violates women’s rights. However, these answers suggest that the majority of respondents cannot relate to the problem as a rights oriented issue and that this is clearly an area where awareness is required. f. Has violence against women increased over the past five years?  60% of respondents are of the opinion that VAW has decreased over the past five years.  18.9% believe it has increased.  12.4% believe it has stayed the same.

Responses are similar across all groups, although women generally believe the situation to be deteriorating more than men – 22.6% replied VAW had increased and only 56% believe it has decreased when compared to men who answered 15.3% and 64% when asked the same question.

The reasons advanced for why people believe violence has increased are:  Poverty – 31.8%.  Girls moving around more freely and behaving more ‘wantonly’ – 30.6%. Men (40.9%) were far more likely to identify this as a reason than women (21.4%), indicating male perceptions towards women and the way males would prefer them to behave.  Dowry demands are on the increase – 30.5%.  Lack of women’s education and awareness – 11.8%.

Indicating the power and importance of education and awareness in claiming and protecting one’s rights, the reasons for a decrease in violence were given as:  Women have become more educated and aware – 60.2%

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 Women have equal rights – 23.2%  Women have become more empowered – 23.1%

There were no major differences between men and women when answering this question. g. Access to justice for women survivors of violence

Table 15 – What can women survivors of violence do?

alis ated ashis Response - igious el Total Rural Urban Islam R Minorities Non literate Educ Poorest Least poor Bang Adib Police 65.1 62.3 71.0 67.9 54.1 56.8 74.7 62.1 73.8 67.6 36.4 Shalish 44.4 48.9 35.1 43.3 48.5 47.0 37.5 48.6 30.6 43.5 54.5

In answer to what a woman survivor of violence could do:  65.1% said she should report it to the police. Urban people (71%), the educated (74.7%) and the least poor (73.8%) were more likely to suggest this than rural (62.3%), non-literate (56.8%) and the poorest (62.1%).  44.4% recommended seeing justice from a Shalish – especially rural people (48.9%), the non-literate (47%) and the poorest (48.6%).

When asked what members of a family can do when a female family member is the victim of violence, similar responses were received, with similar features when the data were disaggregated. Answers here also focused on the police (47.4%) and Shalish (43%), but just as many (46.1%) preferred to try and solve the problem within the family rather than to report it to the police or Shalish. This has significant impact on official figures for violence against women and tends to suggest a very high percentage of cases of family violence are never reported.

When asked what an unmarried woman or girl who has been raped should do, similar attitudes were found to those in earlier research into this issue:75  57.5% said she should report the matter to the police, which was favoured most by the educated (66.3%) and the least poor (64.2%).  36.4% said she should report it to a Shalish – most favoured by Adibashis (59.1%) and religious minorities (45.6%), which may indicate a preference for keeping the matter within the community, making it harder for women within these communities to access legal redress.

An extremely worrying percentage (35%) of respondents believed that a marriage should be arranged between an unmarried woman or girl and the perpetrator. Although this indicates some reduction in this attitude from previous research, it does suggest a perception that awareness and education campaigns ought to address.76

75 See for example the BLAST Survey on Gender Relation and Human Right Situations in Bangladesh (2003). 76 During the BLAST Survey, women respondents of age 18 years and over were asked to give their views on what action should be taken when an unmarried girl is raped. The highest proportion of women (39.5%)thought that the girl should be married with the man who raped

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When asked what married women victims of VAW should do:  51.2% said she should report the matter to the police, which was favoured most by the educated (59.9%) and the least poor (57%).  41.1% said the perpetrator should be sentenced to death - most favoured by the least poor (47.4%) and urban (46.2%).  34.4% said she should seek justice through a Shalish – most favoured by Adibashis (60.8%) and religious minorities (43.6%).

When asked where survivors of VAW would go to seek redress, only 4.9% of those surveyed (179 out of 3,632 respondents) answered that they or a female member of their household had been subjected to VAW, which is surprising but also reflects the general underreporting of such crimes. These numbers make it impossible to draw any conclusions from their answers, and those that follow, since they do not constitute a representative sample. Of those who did deal with the questions:  The most common perpetrators of domestic violence were reportedly husbands (76.5%).  Reflecting prevailing attitudes and understanding of rape and its legal definition, only 0.6% reported sexual abuse.  Nearly three-quarters (72.1%) did not report the matter to anyone. The major reasons for this were they did not want it known in the community (79.1%) and to avoid future conflict (22.5%). Instead, such cases were most commonly reported to community leaders and elders (68%), with a fair amount reporting to the police (20%).  A Shalish or mediation took place in 68% of the cases – the most common place where redress was sought being the traditional Shalish (73.5%), UP Shalish and Thana (each 17.6%).  Only 17.6% attempted to resolve the matter through the courts. The major reasons why the 24 people who answered this did not report the abuse to the formal justice system was that it is too expensive (33.3%) and that these are viewed as strictly family matters (29.2%).

3. RELIGIOUS MINORITIES AND THE RIGHT TO EQUALITY a. Introduction According to the 2001 Census, religious minorities account for 10% of the total population of Bangladesh and include Hindus (9%), Roman Catholic Christians (less than 1%) and Theravada Hinayana Buddhists (less than 1%). The Buddhist population is mainly concentrated in the Indigenous communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, while Hindus and Christians are present in several districts across the country.77

her. This view was as high as 84.1% and 78.3% respectively in Khulna and Rajshahi divisions and as low as 15.8% and 15.0% respectively in Barisal and Chittagong divisions.

77 U.S. Department of State: 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom (2010).

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While the Government of Bangladesh publicly supports religious freedom, discrimination against religious minorities remains an issue. Some of the main challenges include underrepresentation in government and military jobs; violence, vandalism and harassment; and the absence of redress for Hindus who suffered violations of their property rights under the now repealed Vested Property Act (2001).78

Incidents of violence and harassment are also targeted at Ahmadiyas, a 100,000 person strong Muslim sect whose views are criticised by some hard- line Muslim groups79. While the majority of Muslims respect the Ahmadiyas’ religious freedom, recent incidents of hate speech have been reported in some communities. Violence against Ahmadiyas and their places of worship, however, has decreased since 2003-04, when the worst incidents were reported.80

Incidents of violence against Hindus and Buddhists continue to be reported, though infrequently. Authorities are often slow or unwilling to respond to these incidents; in one remarkable incident, in 2010, security officers stood by as 500 homes and a Buddhist Pagoda were burned in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.81 Given the relative infrequency of attacks on religious minorities, the climate of impunity for those carrying out such crimes may be a more pressing issue. b. Major problems facing religious minorities in Bangladesh When asked to identify the problems facing religious minorities in Bangladesh, the largest single response (41.3%) was that they in fact face no problems at all. Of course, a marked difference of opinion is found when the data are disaggregated with Muslims (45%) far more likely to answer that there are no problems facing religious minorities than religious minorities themselves (26.8%). Similarly, a substantial percentage (29%) answered ‘don’t know’ with a marked split between Muslims (32.6%) and religious minorities (15%).

Those who believe religious minorities do face problems (29.7%) listed 16 issues, the most common being:  Discrimination in the communities – 15.1%  Violence or abuse by other religious groups – 11.6%  Obstacles created in practising religious events– 8.4%  Occupation of their land by others – 4.3%  Discrimination within their own religious communities/caste – 3.7%  Abuse by law enforcement agencies – 1.4%

78 The Vested Property Act (VPA), which allowed the government to seize ‘enemy’ property until it was repealed in 2001, has affected 43% of Hindu households over the years, leaving many families landless. While previous governments have attempted to legislate to enable victims to recover their expropriated land, a list of ‘returnable properties’ has to date not been published, a pre-condition under the Vested Property Return Act to stake a claim for recovery. (Mohaiemen: pp. 173-174). 79 U.S. Department of State: 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom (2010). 80 Mohaiemen: p. 177. 81 U.S. Department of State: 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom (2010).

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Discrimination by government (1.3%), the administration (0.6%) and in finding employment (1.5%) on the other hand were all low, indicating that public awareness campaigns in this area should focus on social inclusion rather than protecting one’s rights against the state and its mechanisms (with the possible exception of law enforcement agencies).

The following table lists the top five problems disaggregated according to area and religion:

Table 16 – Major forms of discrimination against religious minorities Type of Area Religion of the household Religious Types of discrimination Total Rural Urban Islam minorities N 3,632 2,444 1,188 2,900 732 No problems faced % 41.3 38.7 46.6 45.0 26.8 Don’t know % 29.0 31.7 23.5 32.6 15.0 Discrimination in the community % 15.1 14.4 16.5 12.2 26.4

Violence/abuse by other % 11.6 12.2 10.4 8.4 24.2 religious groups Obstacles created in practicing % 8.4 8.3 8.5 5.9 18.3 religious events Occupation of their land by % 4.3 4.5 3.8 1.9 13.7 others Politically victimized % 3.8 3.5 4.3 3.2 5.9

Religious minorities predictably appear far more likely to understand and report problems they face than Muslims, while problems are not confined to rural or urban environments but are experienced more or less to the same degree in both areas.

Fig. 8: Problems facing religious minorities

30 Total Islam

25 Religious minorities Rural Urban 20

% 15

0 Discrimination in the Violence/abuse by Create obstacle in Occupation of their land Politically victimized community other religious groups practicing religious by others events

When asked whether all religious groups should enjoy equal rights, the majority answered ‘Yes’ (73.8%) and ‘Absolutely’ (12.4%), while only 10.1%

51 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights answered ‘no’ or ‘definitely not’ (0.8%). Of those that answered yes, no major differences were noted when these replies were disaggregated, save that (fairly obviously) 90.2% of Adibashis (most of whom belong to religious minority communities) and 84.2% of religious minorities believe religious minorities should enjoy equal rights, compared to 72.4% of Bengalis and 71.2% of Muslims. At the same time, the attitudes of both Bengalis and Muslims reflected in these answers confirm the perception that discrimination in this area, while present, is not serious.

Fig. 9: All religious groups should have equal rights

90 Total Islam 80 Religious minorities Rural 70 Urban

50 % 40

0 Yes Absolutely yes No

The main reasons advanced for why religious minorities should enjoy equal rights were:  We are all human beings – 63.8%  All religious groups should be treated the same – 31.3%  All are citizens of the same country regardless of belief - 30.0%  We are all creations of Allah (regardless of belief) -24.5%

Reasons for why they should not be treated equally were centred on chauvinism and religious belief – the main being:  Muslims are superior (55.8%)  People’s own religions are the most important to them (28.1%)  Bangladesh is a Muslim state (27.9%)  Islam is the state religion (16.8%)

When asked when it is acceptable for people to discriminate against religious minorities, 13% answered ‘never’ – the highest proportion (unsurprisingly) being Adibashis (25.5%) and those from religious minorities (21%), which tends to suggest that those belonging to the dominant religion are far more likely to accept discrimination against religious minorities.

The most common examples of when discrimination should be permitted are:  When deciding who can attend religious ceremonies – 47%  When deciding who to allow your children to marry – 13.5%  When deciding who to marry - 11.7%

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These answers clearly reflect commonly held views and attitudes amongst all religious groups, wherever they are in the world, and human rights awareness by itself is likely to do little to change such deeply held attitudes.

When asked when it is acceptable for government to discriminate against religious minorities, 21% answered never (with Adibashis and religious minorities again scoring highest) while 33.3% could not answer - indicating at least a struggle amongst some respondents to think of when discrimination should be allowed. Of those who believe there are circumstances where government can discriminate, the most common answers were:  On religious occasions or during religious events (31.4%)  When deciding who is entitled to religious holidays (20%).

Table 17 – Percentage of those who answered discrimination has decreased

alis ated ashis

ale - orities igious erate Rural Urban Male Fem Non lit Educ Islam Rel Min Bang Adib Poorest Least poor 49.9 61.7 55.1 52.4 41.7 67.7 54.3 51.6 55.5 33.6 49.2 63.8

Lastly, when asked whether levels of discrimination have decreased or increased over the past five years:  Only 7.8% of all respondents felt it had increased. Predictably, Adibashis (9.8%) and, religious minorities (10.4%) were most likely to answer this way.  16.9% believed it has stayed the same.  Slightly more than half (53.7%) answered that discrimination against religious minorities had decreased. As indicated by the table below, this view is more widely held in urban areas than rural areas; amongst the educated than amongst the non-literate; and by Muslims rather than religious minorities.

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Fig. 10: Discrimination status against religious minorities over the past five years

70 Total Islam 60 Religious minorities Rural Urban 50

40 %

0 Increased Stayed the same Reduced Don’t know c. Experiences of discrimination Only 2.2% of those surveyed (79 out of 3,632 respondents) answered that they or a member of a religious minority in their community had been discriminated against or suffered abuse (Quest D08), which largely tallies with the attitudes of people to discrimination reflected above. Of these, 5.2% were members of religious minorities.

The low numbers of people answering this question (and those that follow) make it impossible to draw any conclusions from their answers. From those who did reply:  The major forms of abuse reported were: o Could not perform religious acts – 29.1% o Physically assaulted – 27.8% o Restriction on mobility – 16.5% o Evicted from land – 15.2%  The most common perpetrators of such discrimination and abuse were neighbours (54.4%), local influential people (25.3%), mastans (16.5%) and political workers or leaders (13.9%).  Less than half (43%) reported the matter. The main reasons for failing to report it were to avoid future clashes (28.3%), because their opponents are powerful (17.4%), that they did not want to disclose it for social reasons (10.9%) and no faith in the justice system (10.9%).  The most common place where the matter was reported was to a community leader (61.8%) followed by the Chairperson or member of a Union Parishad or local MP (52.9%) and the police (38.2%).  A Shalish or mediation was held in 70.6% of cases reported – the most common being traditional Shalish (62.5%), Thana (50%) and UP Shalish (29.2%). Only 8.3% used court based mediation services.  The major reasons why people did not report this to the formal justice system was that it is too expensive (45.5%), community leaders did not support this (36.4%) and pressure from political leaders (18.2%).

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d. Dalits or Harijans (‘untouchables’) Despite Article 28 (4) of the Constitution, which mandates special measures for the advancement of ‘backward’ sections of the population, Bangladesh has multiple obligations towards members of the Dalit community under international human rights treaties, including CEDAW, CRC and CERD.82 Yet Dalits83 (or Harijans84) continue to face numerous problems directly related to their status in Hindu society. For example, a 2007 survey found that 64% of Hindu Dalits and 61% of Muslim Dalits have no education at all.85 Discriminatory attitudes both within and outside the Dalit community are also to blame for their inability to break into other sectors of the economy. In addition to overt discrimination by employers, many Dalits are faced with stigma from members of their community when they attempt to pursue “non- Dalit” employment.86 As a result, poverty is a major problem and many Dalits live in sub-standard housing reserved for occupations ‘traditionally’ carried out by Dalits, such as sweepers or cleaners for the municipalities.87

Dalit women face three-fold discrimination based on caste, gender and socio- economic status, and have no representation in public or political life.88 As in many underprivileged communities, violence against Dalit women is common, with little hope for any type of judicial redress.89 And like many other children from their socio-economic backgrounds, Dalit children are also engaged in child labour.90

To determine how well these problems and their causes are understood amongst the general population, respondents in the household survey were first asked specific questions relating to their knowledge of Dalit or Harijans and the problems they encounter.91

The major reasons advanced as to why Dalits are discriminated against were:  Because their work is of lower class and they do dirty work (50.9%).  Hindus are divided by caste (19.7%).

82 International Dalit Solidarity Network (ISDN): Joint NGO Submission Related to the 4th UPR Session, February 2009 on the Human Rights Situation of Dalits in Bangladesh (2009): p. 1; Citizen’s Initiative on CEDAW Bangladesh: pp. 59-60. 83 Dalit is the term chosen by members of the so-called ‘untouchable’ caste in Hindu societies by which to refer to themselves. 84 “Harijans’ (‘children of God’) is a term reportedly coined by Mahatma Gandhi as an alternative to the offensive term ‘untouchables’. 85 International Dalit Solidarity Network (ISDN, 2009): p. 3. 86 ibid. pp. 3-4. 87 ibid. p. 1.; International Dalit Solidarity Network: Caste-based Discrimination in South Asia, Case Study on Bangladesh (2008): p. VII. 88 ibid. p. 4; Citizen’s Initiative on CEDAW Bangladesh: p. 59. 89 Citizen’s Initiative on CEDAW Bangladesh: p. 59. 90 Supra note 85: p.4 91 Although the terms Dalit and Harijans are commonly used on the internet and in media reports, they are not widely understood amongst the general public and 93.8% of respondents had not heard of them. However, when the term was explained to them and the names of specific occupational groups were given (such as chamar, dom, methor), most respondents were able to understand who was meant by the terms.

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 Society discriminates against them (13.1%).

Although it cannot be stated for certain, there is a sense that some people take the caste system as natural and accept unquestionably that discrimination is inevitable.

When asked whether discrimination against Dalits has increased over the past five years, 28.2% could not answer (probably because the issues around Dalits are mostly confined to the Hindu religion). Of the rest:  6.1% believe discrimination has increased.  28.3% believe it has stayed the same.  37.4% replied that discrimination has decreased. Those most likely to answer this way are urban (43.4%), educated (46.1%) and the least poor (41.2%) compared to rural (34.3%), non-literate (30%) and poorer (33.1%) members of society.

All of these answers are supported by the qualitative survey – for example, during the FGD on ‘Dalit Rights – Discrimination and Exclusion’, the major reasons for the discrimination against Dalits were cited as: . Social practices and stereotypical attitudes of society and the state. . Lack of social and economic power. . Discrimination by state agencies. . Absence of Dalit rights in political agendas. . Policy makers and respective officials do not acknowledge their plight and there is no implementation of existing laws (including the Constitution) prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race and religion.

4. People with disabilities and the right to equality a. Major problems facing people with disabilities in Bangladesh When asked to identify the problems facing people with disabilities in Bangladesh, no one appears to believe that people with disabilities face no problems at all, while only 10.9% answered that they did not know. When compared to the answers provided and the closeness of the percentages, it seems very well understood that people with disabilities face considerable difficulties in Bangladesh.

The most common problems people with disabilities (PWD) face are:

Table 18 – What are the problems facing people with disabilities in Bangladesh? N 3,632 Poverty % 38.2 Deprived of basic rights % 31.0 Discrimination in the community % 30.5 Lack of health services % 25.5 Discrimination in the family % 23.0 Lack of employment opportunities % 15.2 Limited opportunities to access services % 12.0

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Don’t know % 10.5 Problems of movement % 9.4 Discrimination by the government % 2.8 Lack of opportunities for education % 2.7

This ranking is confirmed by the splits noticed in answer to the three subsequent questions asking respondents to rank the top three problems affecting PWDs:

Table 19 – What are the problems facing people with disabilities in Bangladesh (ranked) Problems facing Ranked Ranked Ranked 1st 2nd 3rd N 3206 2,350 1,088 Poverty % 23.8 18.9 13.1 Discrimination in the community % 18.7 13.4 12.4 Deprived of basic rights % 16.6 15.4 17.6 Others % 10.6 5.9 5.0 Discrimination in the family % 9.6 13.4 13.6 Lack of health services % 8.4 15.8 19.4 Lack of employment opportunities % 5.9 9.3 9.7 Limited opportunities to access services % 5.3 6.4 6.8 Discrimination by the government % 1.1 1.4 2.6

Although there are differences when data are disaggregated92, these would not have much effect of any public awareness in this area, since there is substantial consensus that discrimination exists and around the forms it takes.

These answers were supported and amplified during the FGD on disability, where the following amplification was provided on some of the issues highlighted during the household survey:  In the area of access to health care, it was noted that the hearing-impaired are not able to communicate with the doctor, surgical equipment is not suitable for PWDs, or not adjusted to their special needs.  With regard to access to employment, it was pointed out that there is no classification of jobs for PWDs. In addition, the quota for PWD is combined with that for orphans which limits their ‘share’ of the quota.

In addition, the FGD raised the following issues:  Access to education is limited. There are only 5 special schools at primary level, and only one government school for the visually impaired in Barisal. Although there are 43 hostels, there are none for girls.  Inaccessibility of public transport, buildings and hospitals. b. Equality and discrimination When asked whether people with disabilities should enjoy equal rights, the majority answered ‘Yes’ (72.5%) and ‘Absolutely’ (19.7%), again indicating

92 For example, more (p<.000) men (46.6%) believe poverty is a bigger problem than women (29.7%) and the least poor (34.9%) regard discrimination in the family as a bigger problem than the poor (21%)

57 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights how well understood issues facing people with disabilities have become. No major differences were noted when these replies were disaggregated.

The main reasons advanced for why people with disabilities should enjoy equal rights were:  They are also human beings – 84.3%  They are not responsible for the challenges they face – 30.7%  They are equal in the eyes of the law – 11.4%

This again shows the relatively high level of understanding of the issues and levels of empathy in the country.

When asked whether levels of discrimination have decreased or increased over the past five years:  Only 7.1% of all respondents felt it has increased. The most likely to answer this way are Muslims (7.9%), Bengalis (7.5%) and those with some education (6.1%).  18.9% believed it has stayed the same, with men (23.7%) and Adibashis (19.1%) most likely to answer this way.  57.9% answered that discrimination against PWDs has decreased, with the educated (70.8%), the least poor (67.1%) and men (58.3%) most likely to answer this way. c. Women with disabilities Although not covered in the quantitative survey, the FGD on disability issues included a discussion on the particular problems facing women with disabilities (WWD), and on problems that women faced linked to disability (such as women with disabled children). The following was noted:  Lack of maternal care and appropriate treatment  Forced marriage for women with intellectual disabilities or the hearing impaired, apparently based on the perception of parents that it is best to ensure their security or to avoid financial obligations. This also leads to a high rate of divorce.  A pension is provided for government employees with disabled children, but women are being deprived in practice.  WWD are prone to violence against women – especially those with intellectual disabilities, the blind and the hearing impaired. Victims are sometimes blamed for what happened and/ or cannot respond or report the matter.  Lack of shelters for women with disabilities even in safe homes.

5. Violence by law enforcement agencies a. Introduction Violence by law enforcement agencies takes many forms including extrajudicial killings by the army, police and the Rapid Action Battalion

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(RAB)93, torture and ill-treatment of suspects while in custody, excessive force used in putting down demonstrations, and arbitrary arrests and detentions. In this section, we focus primarily on people’s understanding and perceptions of the role, powers and responsibilities of the police and RAB in arresting, detaining and questioning suspects and on the use of torture and extrajudicial killings. b. Extrajudicial killings Bangladesh is a party to all major international instruments related to the right to life, fair trial, rights on arrest and while in detention including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).94

The Constitution enshrines the following relevant human rights in Part III:  Article 27. Equality before law.  Article 31. Right to protection of law (including that no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law).  Article 32. Protection of right to life and personal liberty.  Article 33. Safeguards as to arrest and detention.  Article 35. Protection in respect of trial and punishment (including the right to a speedy and public trial by an independent and impartial court or tribunal, and the right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment).95

A prominent Bangladeshi human rights organisation, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), has regularly monitored killings and torture by the RAB and the police. Based on their reports, the following picture emerges for the period 2004-9.

Table 20: Extra Judicial Killings from 2004 to 200996 Nature of Violence 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Total

Crossfire (without arrest) 46 94 62 81 127 112 522 Crossfire (in custody) 88 260 196 34 31 13 622 Physical Torture (without arrest) 3 1 7 9 2 2 24 Physical Torture (in custody) 23 11 26 18 7 8 93 Shot (without arrest) 33 11 61 24 n/a 89 218 Shot (in custody) 12 - - - n/a n/a 12 Suicide (as claimed by the police after arrest) 2 - - - 2 2 6 Sick (in custody) n/a n/a n/a n/a 6 3 9 Total 207 377 352 166 175 229 1506

Although figures vary over the period, it is clear that the rate of extrajudicial killings remains high. Of these, the majority appear to be committed by RAB. Based on the ASK reports for the period 2007-9, of the 483 extrajudicial

93 The RAB consists of members of the Bangladesh Police, Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard and Bangladesh Ansar. It was formed on 26 March 2004 as an elite anti-crime and anti-terrorism force of the Bangladesh Police and started its operations from 14 April 2004. The RAB's operations are based on the Armed Police Battalions (Amendment) Act 2003, passed by parliament in July 2003, amending the Armed Police Battalions Ordinance, 1979.

94 Acceded to on 6 September 2000. 95 Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (1972) Part III. 96 ASK: Human Rights in Bangladesh reports (2006-9)

59 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights killings in the period, 218 were attributable to RAB acting alone, and a further 154 to joint operations with RAB and the police:

Table 21: Extra Judicial Killings 2007-9 (ASK Statistics)97 Force / 2007 2008 2009 Agency RAB RAB & Police Police RAB RAB & Police Police RAB RAB & Police Police (combined (combined (combined operation) operation operation Nature of Violence Crossfire 59 2 20 68 42 11 33 55 22 (without arrest) Crossfire (in 19 1 14 10 20 1 9 3 1 custody) Physical 2 5 - 2 - - 1 - Torture (without arrest) Physical 2 11 - 4 2 1 7 - Torture (in custody) Shot (without 9 15 - - - - 10 - arrest) Shot (in ------custody) Suicide (as - - - - 2 - 1 1 - claimed by the police after arrest) Sick (in - 9 4 2 - 1 2 - custody) Total 91 3 74 82 72 14 45 79 23 Total by 168 168 147 year

In the absence of official figures and reliance on secondary sources, statistics in this area understandably differ. However, Odhikar (another renowned human rights NGO) put the figure at least 732 people killed between RAB’s inception and March 2011.

These statistics are largely uncontested and the Director-General of the RAB has officially acknowledged that it had, as of March 2010, killed at least 622 people since its establishment in 2004.98

Although the use of deadly force continues, there are no recorded cases of police or RAB officials ever having been prosecuted for their actions.99 This, together with the impunity RAB officers have enjoyed is said to have contributed to an increase in similar killings by the police. 100

Perhaps because of the lack of official statistics and that no one is ever prosecuted, 27.7% of respondents in the household survey could not say

97 ASK: Human Rights in Bangladesh reports (2007-10) 98 Human Rights Watch: Crossfire (2010): p. 1 99 The major impediment to prosecution is reportedly Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires government to approve the prosecution of any police officer who commits an offence while acting in their official capacity. In the absence of clear political will to end the practice, no criminal charges have ever been brought against those involved in ‘crossfire’ killings. Instead, if the matters are dealt with, they are dealt with ‘internally’. 100 US State Department (2010) Report: p.7

60 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights whether such killings had increased or decreased and 40.1% actually believed there had been a decrease in extrajudicial killings. Only 18.8% believed the problem has become more prevalent, with the educated (27%), the least poor (23.5%) and urban dwellers (22.1%) most likely to hold this view.

According to some commentators, compounding the issue for anyone wishing to address extrajudicial killings, particularly those by RAB, is that there appears to be some public acceptance or support for their actions. However, this analysis is not necessarily supported by the results of the household survey. Instead, when asked when it is acceptable for the police to use lethal force, the most commonly held view was ‘never’ (38%). The most likely to hold this view were the least poor (45.9%), urban (43.7%) males (43.3%).

But while it is encouraging that substantial numbers of people believe neither the police nor the RAB should use lethal force, there are clearly situations where law enforcement agencies must be allowed to use lethal force to perform their primary role of ensuring public safety, preventing crime and apprehending criminals. It is generally accepted in all countries that anyone (not only law enforcing agencies but private citizens) may kill in self-defence and it is likewise accepted that law enforcers may use lethal force not only to protect themselves, but also to protect the lives and property of members of the public, provided of course that the specific rules relating to the defence in each country are met. Similarly, it is generally accepted that deadly force can be used where there is simply no other way to arrest a person (they may be firing on the police at the time) or to prevent a dangerous criminal escaping. However, it is generally accepted that deadly force should not be used to stop a serious crime if there are less deadly options available. And it is never acceptable to use deadly force simply because the suspect is a member of a gang.

This is fairly well understood amongst respondents as well. Of those that believe deadly force by the police is justified in some situations, the most commonly mentioned circumstances were:  12.8% would accept it in self-defence or in defence of a member of the public (9.9%).  When it is necessary to stop someone stealing or robbing (18.3%). Religious minorities (25.4%) and the non-literate (21.7%) were the most likely to answer this way, with the least poor (9.4%) and educated (10.4%) least in favour.  When it is clear that the person has committed a very serious crime (14.6%).

On the other hand, 4.7% of respondents felt such killing would be acceptable when the person is a member of a gang.

These answers can be compared with those regarding when it is acceptable for the RAB to use deadly force:

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 29.3% answered ‘never’. Again, the educated (41.7%), least poor (39.1%), urban (34.8%) males (32.6%) are least in favour of allowing the RAB to use deadly force for any reason.  13.5% would accept it in self-defence or in defence of a member of the public (13.1%).  19.2% think it acceptable for the RAB to use deadly force when it is clear the person has committed a serious crime.  17.3% said it was permissible to stop someone from stealing or robbing.  7.8% answered ‘when it would be too difficult to confine the suspect’.  6.3% answered when it is the only way to stop someone committing a crime or when the person is a member of a gang.

These answers must be compared, though, to those for the question on whether serious criminals should be entitled to a fair trial:  Encouragingly, 59.9% of respondents recognised that everyone is entitled to the right to a fair trial.  37.1% agreed that serious criminals are entitled to a fair trial.  29.8% replied that the law should apply equally to all accused.  11.8% answered that serious criminals’ right to life should be recognised.

These answers indicate high levels of understanding that simply killing someone who is regarded as a notorious criminal when they could otherwise be arrested and tried is a violation of their rights. c. Torture Bangladesh has ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).101 However, it is not a signatory to the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and there is therefore no scope for individual communications to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding torture. Bangladesh is also not a signatory to the Optional Protocol to CAT (which provides for the establishment of a system of regular visits by independent international and national bodies to places of detention).

Although no current national legislation specifically deals with torture, a draft Private Members Bill that aims to incorporate the provisions of CAT into national legislation has been before Parliament for some time.102 Of course, although those guilty of torture could be prosecuted for various criminal offences ranging from common assault to murder (depending on the circumstances), similar problems arise with Section 197 of the Criminal Code’s requirement that government approval is required before officials can be prosecuted and the apparent lack of political will to prosecute offenders.

Although statistics on torture are hard to come by, Odhikar provides the following tables in their 2009 and 2010 Human Rights Reports for Bangladesh:

101 Acceded to on 5 October 1998 with a reservation to Article 14 (2) that reads ‘Nothing in this article shall affect any right of the victim or other persons to compensation which may exist under national law’. 102 Proposed by Saber Hossain Chowdhury MP.

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Table 22 – Torture by state agency 2009103

Table 23 – Torture by state agency 2010104

Month(s) RAB Police Total January 0 14 14 February 0 0 0 March 2 2 4 April 0 0 0 May 0 4 4 June 0 4 4 July 0 0 0 August 2 4 6 September 0 3 3 October 0 2 2 November 0 1 1 December 5 2 7 Total 9 36 45

From these figures, it appears that the police are most likely to use torture but that the practice is common amongst members of the RAB as well (although the figures also suggest complaints of torture against the RAB declined over the years 2009-10). Such torture can also often lead to death, with Odhikar reporting 20 people dying from torture by police and two from torture by the RAB during 2010.105

Such findings were verified during the FGD, where it was reported that the main reason for torture is that the police lack investigative techniques and

103 Odhikar: Human Rights Report 2009: Report on Bangladesh (2010): p 17 104 Odhikar : Human Rights Report 2010: Report on Bangladesh (2011): p. 36 105 ibid. p. 17

63 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights skills and rely on torture to extract confessions or other information from suspects and potential witnesses. But torture is not simply used to extract evidence or force confessions. According to the US State Department Report (2010):

“At the local level, the police regularly illegally arrest individuals without any specific complaint, justification or legal basis. The motive is to extract money from the detained persons or their relatives, who often, ironically, belong to the poorest sectors of society. Such persons are subjected to threats and ill- treatment during arrest. At the police station the police officers demand bribes, which are typically beyond the capacity of the arrested persons. Failure to pay typically results in severe ill-treatment or torture. Such abuses are not the exception but the rule”.106

The household survey sought to investigate Bangladeshi attitudes towards the use of force and torture by police and the RAB and the level of awareness and understanding of the rights of suspects to life, to be free from torture, and to a fair trial – regardless of their levels of notoriety. Respondents were therefore asked to identify what they would regard as torture. The main forms identified were:  Rough behaviour (49.1%)  Beating (38%)  When a police officer demands a bribe (38.7%). This supports the view in the US State Department research above that torture is used as a means to extort bribes from suspects and others.

However, it should be noted that respondents might possibly have been confused by this question, since the Bangla word nirjaton can mean both torture and violence.

When asked when it is acceptable for the police and the RAB to use torture, only 15.8% answered ‘never’ while:107  35.2% said ‘to get accurate information (although it is well accepted internationally that information obtained under duress is most often unreliable).  For any crimes (22.5%).  When the person is a suspected terrorist – 7.8%  When it is urgent that information be obtained – 7.6%.

As to whether torture is on the increase, 27.7% of respondents could not say and 40.1% believe it to have decreased. Only 19.8% believed the use of torture has become more prevalent, with the educated (27.8%), the least poor

106 ibid. p. 4 107 This question might be seen as leading, but it was intended to determine whether anyone knew the correct answer – ‘never’. The fact that few people understand this and that many believe there are cases when it is ‘acceptable’ indicates that such views are widely held. If the question had been asked in any other way (for example, ‘is torture ever allowed’), respondents could be expected to provide the answer they believed the enumerator would prefer – ‘never’.

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(23.9%) and urban dwellers (23.1%) most likely to hold this view (virtually mirroring the responses to whether extrajudicial killings are increasing).

These answers suggest high levels of acceptance of torture, although this is probably compounded by the lack of any clear definition of torture in national legislation. Either way, it would seem that education on this right for both law enforcement agencies and the general public is required.

6. Access to justice Bangladesh is a party to all major instruments related to fair trial and equality before the law, including the ICCPR.108 The right to a fair, public trial, to equality before the law, and the rights of suspects in criminal trials (including the presumption of innocence and all the rights that flow from this) are all protected in the Constitution, Criminal Procedure Code and Code of Civil Procedure (1908) and various other laws.

As with most countries in the developing world, Bangladesh has two systems of justice:  The formal justice system made up of the police, prisons, prosecutors, lawyers and courts.  The informal system consisting of Shalish (mediation) at the community level, informal mediation at the Union Parishad, NGO organised Shalish, and NGO supported Shalish at the local community level. a. Formal system The court system for civil and criminal trials is divided into two levels – Supreme Court and Subordinate Courts.

The Supreme Court is split into two divisions, the High Court and the Appellate Division. The High Court is a court of first instance for original cases dealing with constitutional issues and is the appeal court for appeals from the lower courts. The Appellate Division hears appeals of judgments, decrees, orders, or sentences of the High Court. The Appellate Division is the highest court of appeal and its rulings are binding on all other courts.

There are a range of subordinate courts and tribunals, which deal with almost all criminal and civil cases as courts of first instance. The civil courts are created under the Civil Courts Act of 1887 and include:  Court of Assistant Judge.  Court of Senior Assistant Judge.  Court of Joint District Judge.  Court of Additional District Judge.  Court of District Judge.

Courts of Additional District Judges and District Judges are usually courts of appeal from courts below them in civil matters.

108 An overview of Bangladesh’s ratification of and compliance with major international instruments is attached as Annexure H.

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Criminal Courts are divided into:  Courts of Sessions  Courts of Metropolitan Sessions  Special courts/tribunals  Courts of Metropolitan Magistrate  Courts of Magistrate b. Barriers in accessing the formal justice system The major barriers to accessing justice in the formal system include the fact that police and the courts are often geographically distant, requiring money to get there and long periods of time away from work; and complicated procedures usually requiring the services of a lawyer which most people cannot afford. Predictably then, the major reasons cited during the household survey for people not using the formal system when faced with problems were:  The costs involved – 73.8%  Corruption – 22.1%  Harassment by lawyers -19.5%  Complicated process – 15.7%  It is intimidating – 13.7%

Problems relating to the police, the RAB and others during arrest and while in detention, all of which radically impact on access to justice for suspects in criminal trials, are dealt with elsewhere in this report. More generally:

‘It is widely perceived that the police entertain false accusations without making adequate investigations and rely on confession-based evidence rather than visiting scenes of crime and/or seeking corroborating evidence in support. They also refuse to accept complaints where, in their view, the issue concerned does not constitute a crime, most notoriously in cases of domestic violence, or in cases of violence against certain minorities, or in other cases where some powerful quarter has exerted either monetary or political influence over them to refuse to record a First Incident Report. Their treatment of women, young persons and Adivasis – whether as the complainant or the accused – are unprofessional and often insensitive. At both police stations and magistrates courts, there is insufficient use of bail, referral mechanisms such as those for compoundable offences under s345 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and even the simplest diversionary mechanism such as a caution or conditional discharge. Prisons are overcrowded and prisoners have little access to legal advice or assistance’.109

109 Joint Assessment of Prospects for Harmonisation within the Justice Sector in Bangladesh (2007), p.15-16. The study was commissioned by the Justice and Human Rights Working Group of the Local Consultative Group of the Development Partners in Bangladesh. It was funded by the CIDA, DFID-WB Trust Fund, DANIDA and the GTZ. Section 345 of the Criminal Code allows for minor offences (so-called ‘compoundable’ offences) to be settled by agreement and can help to reduce the burden on the courts. However, an interesting observation was made during a focus group on this issue: apparently some matter are settled this way that are not capable of settlement and in the VAW Tribunals courts reportedly allow the parties proceedings to settle serious cases, including rape. Unfortunately, this cannot be independently verified in a baseline study of this nature, but it does indicate a possible area for the NHRC to investigate further.

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High levels of poverty in the country exacerbate problems that suspects face. So while all suspects are entitled to be defended by a lawyer, very few people are able to afford a lawyer. Although government provides legal aid in both civil and criminal matters, the system is stretched and most criminal trials, at least in the lower courts, are undefended.

Corruption, backlogs and lengthy postponements also take their toll:

Corruption and a substantial backlog of cases hindered the court system, and trials were typically marked by extended continuances, effectively preventing many from obtaining a fair trial due to witness tampering, victim intimidation, and missing evidence. Human rights observers contended that magistrates, attorneys, and court officials demanded bribes from defendants in many cases filed during the year. According to the National Human Rights Commission (of Bangladesh), 90% of those eventually brought to trial were not convicted.110

The low conviction rate reported by the NHRC leads to a denial of justice for many victims of crime, especially women and other marginalised groups as is evidenced by answers received during the household survey and during the qualitative survey. For example:  All of the interviewees in the focus group on violence against women stated that when they tried to lay charges against their husbands, they had been implicated in a false case. Even after they sought legal protection, their husbands managed to avoid justice by paying officials to buy their way out of the system.  Whenever a woman goes to the police station to complain against her husband, the police do not take the case, saying that it is a family matter and should be solved in the family not in the court.  Women complainants face further harassment from the police from whom they seek assistance.

When it comes to access to civil justice, similar problems related to case backlogs and corruption are reported and although alternative dispute resolution allowing litigants to mediate matters has helped to speed up the administration of justice, no independent assessment has been made of its fairness or impartiality.111 Once again, while access to justice remains a problem for the majority of Bangladeshis, women and other vulnerable groups struggle harder than others. Some of the problems noted during the qualitative survey included a lack of security or social support or shelter; the lack of family support; and the absence of a gender-sensitive environment in the courts (for example, there is nowhere for women with children to sit and no toilets for women at many courts). This is supported by findings of the CEDAW Committee that, in addition to discrimination against women that results from the implementation of religious laws and practices, women’s access to justice is often curtailed by patriarchal language and content in civil

110 US State Department (2010) 111 ibid.

67 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights laws, a lack of knowledge of legal options, and officials’ lack of gender sensitivity.112 c. Quality of services in the formal system In light of previous research, respondents in the household survey were asked to assess and provide an opinion on the quality of services provided by institutions and organisations in the formal justice system in the past five years - irrespective of whether they had used such services.

Table 24: Quality of service provided by the formal justice system over the past 5 years Govt. Subordinate Legal Aid Quality of service Police Courts High Court Scheme N 3632 3632 3632 3632 Improved 33.7 29.0 19.1 21.9 Stayed the same 15.0 9.5 4.1 5.1 Got worse 28.7 17.3 7.6 7.5 Don’t know 22.5 43.8 68.0 54.6 Haven't heard of this institution / body 0.1 0.4 1.2 10.9

Police More people (33.7%) believe that the quality of service provided by the police has improved than those who believe it has declined (p<.000). The most likely to answer that it has improved are Bengalis (34.6%) and the educated (33.4%), while Adibashis are least likely to state it has improved (22.7% - although 43.7% did not know or want to answer).

The major reasons cited for poor quality of service were corruption (80%), politicisation (29.7%) and impunity (10.7%).

Subordinate Courts Although most people had heard of these, nearly half (43.8%) could not say whether services have improved or declined – indicating that very few people have any direct experience with these and those that do have infrequent contact and could not make a comparative analysis. The least likely to venture an opinion related to these courts are the Adibashis (71.3%), most probably because of the remoteness of courts for many of these and the prevailing reliance on traditional justice institutions. The non-literate (58.2%), religious minorities (51.6%) and women (51%) were also less likely to venture an opinion (answering they did not know whether services have improved or not).

Of those who answered the question, 29% believe these courts have improved, while 17.3% believe services have deteriorated (p<.000).

The major reasons cited for poor quality of service were corruption (77.4%), politicisation (35.4%) and that they are not accountable to the community (10.8%).

112 Ibid: p. 24

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High Court This Court is clearly less well known and less accessible to most people, with 68% not able to answer any question with respect to access. Women and Adibashis were least likely to have heard of the High Court than anyone else.

Of those who did answer (32%), most (19.1%) felt services have improved. Men (22.5%) were more likely to believe it has improved than women (15.7%), as are the educated (27.3%) and least poor (23.7%) when compared to the non-literate (13.2%) and poorest (16.3%) – presumably since they are more likely to use the services or read about them in the media.

Government legal aid The Government provides legal aid in civil and criminal trials through the National Legal Aid and Services Organisation (NLASO), and its District Legal Aid Committees (headed by the District Judge) established under the National Legal Aid Act 2000.

Relatively high numbers (10.9%) had not heard of the NLASO at all while more than half (54.6%) could not provide an opinion. Indicating more reliance on traditional forms of justice (since legal aid is only provided for matters in the formal system), Adibashis appear least familiar with legal aid with 9.8% stating they had not heard of it and 82.9% answering that they did not know whether the service has improved or declined.

Of those who rated the services (34.5%), most (21.9%) believe services have improved. The educated (13.3%), least poor (12.5%) and urban dwellers (10.8%) were more likely to believe services have declined over the past five years.

When asked what problems exist that impact on services, the most commonly mentioned were corruption (70.5%) and that it has become politicised (38.4%). d. Access to justice in the informal system Given difficulties in accessing justice in the formal system, Bangladeshis generally, and the disadvantaged in particular, are far more likely to seek justice in the informal system. The principal informal justice institution in rural Bangladesh is Shalish (mediation), and the most common form of this is the community Shalish made up of a small panel of local influential leaders or social elders who assist in resolving local conflicts by agreement or imposing sanctions on parties. Community Shalish is generally informed by the local norms and values and the principal motive of Shalishkars (mediators) tends to be to maintain peace, stability and moral balance in the community. Shalish, in general, successfully resolve conflicts since the decisions tend to uphold the dominant values of the local community - compromise, consensus and restorative over retributive justice.113

113 Hassan, Mirza and Daphne Harold: Empowering Poor and Women Through Legal Means, Research And Evaluation Division, BRAC, 2006; Das, M and V Maru: Framing Local Justice in Bangladesh, World Bank, 2008

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Shalish address a wide variety of civil matters and disputes with criminal implications including gender and family issues, violence against women (whether within or outside marriage), inheritance, dowry, polygamy, divorce, and financial maintenance for wives and children.

The landscape of informal access to justice has changed considerably due to community legal service oriented programmes provided by NGOs, aimed at making informal justice institutions and processes more effective, gender and poor friendly and sustainable, through programmes to reform the traditional Shalish and/or provide mediation services themselves. These programmes essentially target two levels:  Meso-level interventions (targeted at communities in rural areas and institutions from the local level to the district level). These include reforming traditional dispute resolution mechanisms, community outreach for legal awareness and changing community values, outreach programmes with district level organisations and departments, and assisting village courts and arbitration councils at the Union Parishad level.  Micro-level interventions (targeting the household and individual level) that involve conducting mediation at the community level, monitoring traditional Shalish and assisting individuals to access legal aid. e. Quality of services in the informal system As with the formal system, respondents in the household survey were asked to assess and provide an opinion on the quality of services provided by institutions and organisations in the informal justice system in the past five years - irrespective of whether they had used such services.

Table 25: Quality of service provided by the informal justice system for the poorest over the past 5 years Traditional NGO led Arbitration Legal Aid Quality of service Shalish Shalish Council NGOs Improved 53.3 19.1 53.9 16.3 Stayed the same 12.7 1.1 9.6 0.9 Got worse 22.1 2.3 15.0 1.6 Don’t know 11.7 61.0 21.1 64.9 Haven't heard of this institution / 0.1 16.5 0.4 16.4 body

Traditional Shalish Almost all respondents know about this institution and were able to answer – only 0.1% of respondents have never heard of it and only 11.7% were not able to provide an opinion.  More than half believe services have improved (53.3%) compared to 22.1% who believe they have declined. 12.7% believe they have stayed the same.  Urban people (49.1%) are less likely to believe services have improved than rural people (55.4%), which is encouraging for access to justice for the rural population.  58.2% of males see improvement compared to 48.5% of women. This may possibly reflect the lack of change within the traditional Shalish in giving women a voice in the proceedings.

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As with many of the institutions in the formal system, the major reasons cited for poor quality of service were corruption (67%), politicisation (33.5%) and arrogance or bad behaviour by Shalishkars (15%).

NGO Shalish Given that these do not operate throughout Bangladesh, more people (16.5%) had not heard of this than the traditional form, and 61% could not make a comparative analysis. Of those who did reply:  Most (19.1%) believe services have improved.  Women (20.7%) and those in urban areas (19.7%) are slightly more likely to notice improvements than men (17.5%) and those in rural areas (18.8%).  Corruption (45.1%) and lack of accountability to the community (23%) were the major reasons for any perceived decline in services.

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Arbitration Council114 Arbitration Councils are well known and only 21.1% could not answer whether services have improved. More than half (53.9%) believe services have improved, with an additional 9.6% stating they have stayed the same.

Fewer women (47.7%) believe services have improved compared to men (60.2%) although 32.3% of women answered that they could not say or did not know whether services have improved or declined - far higher than the average) (p<.000).

Corruption (69.8%), politicisation (45.3%) lack of accountability (11%) and arrogance or bad behaviour (13.2%) were the main reasons advanced for any decline in services.

NGO Legal Aid 16.4% had not heard of this, while a further 64.9% could not answer, indicating constraints that NGOs who provide this service face in outreach and access to communities. Of the small percentage that answered (18.7%), most (16.3%) believe services have improved while only 1.6% believes services have declined. Although corruption as a reason for decline in services was mentioned, these NGOs scored lowest (40.9%) among all organisations, institutions and bodies surveyed.

114 The Arbitration Council is also known as a ‘shalishi porishod’ - a council constituted under law by members of the Union Parishad in rural areas, or City Corporations or Paurashavas in urban areas. They deal with marital disputes (arbitration in case of divorce, polygamy etc).

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PART 4 – SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS

1. Introduction Part II of Bangladesh’s Constitution contains an elaborate set of Fundamental Principles of State Policy. These include the state’s obligations to secure basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care, together with the right to work for a reasonable wage, to social security arising from unemployment, illness or disability, and free and compulsory education for all children, improvements in public health and nutrition, among others. Article 8(2) makes it clear that although the principles are fundamental to the country’s governance and shall be applied by the State in the making of laws and a guide to interpretation to the Constitution and other laws, they shall not be judicially enforceable. The Supreme Court had initially emphasised that the Fundamental Principles of State Policy, whilst they must be applied by the State in the making of appropriate laws, are not justiciable by the courts (for the ‘obvious reason,’ according to the Court, that they are directed towards socio-economic development which can only be achieved gradually by the State according to available resources and technical knowledge) and that where they are in conflict with fundamental rights, the latter must prevail. However, the Court has since recognised that the Fundamental Principles of State Policy are ‘fundamental to the Governance of the country,’ and guide the interpretation of Constitutional provisions. The Court has also observed that the article 8(2) provisions are compulsory and binding through the use of the word ‘shall’ and that non-justiciability does not mean that the State can continue to ignore the Fundamental Principles of State Policy indefinitely.

In addition to the Constitution, Bangladesh is committed to the achievement of socio-economic rights through the ratification of various international human rights instruments (including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). In terms of socio-economic indicators, the country has made significant progress in the areas of access to food, health and education. 115 There has been a significant reduction in poverty and gender disparity in education and health services; enrolment in primary education has increased; and girl students have moved forward thanks to state provided incentives. A vast immunisation programme, the control of infectious child diseases, and the availability of oral rehydration technology and wider access to safe drinking water have contributed to a substantial reduction in the child mortality rate. The state’s pro-active policy to avert famine and ensure food security has seen Bangladesh provide subsidies to agriculture, focused on better storage and distribution of food, and reasonably well targeted social protection programmes that have allowed the poorest to enjoy far greater access to food than over previous decades.

115 World Bank: Bangladesh Country Assistance Strategy 2011-2014 (2010); World Bank: Bangladesh Strategy for Sustained Growth.

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But if one judges the country’s achievements in these areas from a human rights perspective (that is, from the standpoint of equity, participation and accountability) the achievements are less than might be expected116, mainly as a result of various governance and political economy factors.117 The state has also made little effort to pursue developmental policies to ensure interdependence and complementarities among various rights. For example, budget allocations are typically guided by sectoral considerations (allocations in food, health and education sectors are mainly done in isolated fashion) rather than considering the interdependence and complementarities among different sectors. In the areas of food, education and health, accountability mechanisms and institutions that are in place do not currently ensure accountability of the state to the citizenry. The much-lauded Food for Education Programme is an exception in this regard and has contributed significantly to improving access to education for girls.

Socio-economic rights are not only about outcomes (availability of resources and services), but also about the nature of the process of citizen’s engagement with the state in securing these resources and services and the extent to which citizens, especially marginalised groups, can participate in the process of decision-making in formulating policies and implementing programmes. Bangladesh’s commitment in this area has to date been very low but, with the recent passing of the Right to Information Act and the establishment of the Information Commission, the possibility has emerged for accountability to improve. However, while it may be too early to judge, initial indications (including bureaucratic resistance to cooperation with citizens) are not encouraging and difficult challenges lie ahead.

2. Government services In light of the above, respondents were asked to list the services government should provide free as a way of determining whether people understand government provision of socio-economic services as a right or as a favour from government. The following services that should be provided free (as a right) were identified:

Table 26 – Services government should provide for free N 3632 Health care % 73.4 Education % 68.2 Road communications % 48.1 Food % 45.5 Job opportunities % 30.8 Security % 27.1 Shelter % 26.1 Clothing 9.3 Agricultural inputs % 4.1

116 Osmani, S : Realising the Rights to Development in Bangladesh: Programmes and Challenges (2010) 117 Osmani, S ibid; Rahman, R: Human Rights, Health and the State in Bangladesh (2006)

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This links very well with the socio-economic priorities set down by the Fundamental Principles of State Policy in the Constitution and indicates a high degree of awareness of people of their right to basic services and the obligation on the state to provide for everyone’s basic needs.

Fig. 12: Services government should provide as free

90 Total

80 Male Rural 70 Urban Female 60

50 % 40

Food Others Security Shelter Clothing Education Health care

Job opportunities

Road communications

Some interesting observations can be made when the data are disaggregated:  Educated, urban and the least poor Bangladeshis are generally more likely to understand the provision of basic services as a governmental responsibility than other groups.  Men (80.3%) are much more likely to focus on health care than women (66.5%) (p<.000). Women on the other hand are more likely to focus on shelter (29.6%) and food (53%) than men (who scored 22.6% and 38% respectively (p<.000)).  When it comes to road and communications, 59.7% of men believe this is a service government should provide compared to 36.5% of women. Although this appears to conflict with other studies that have shown women prefer better road communication to access health and other facilities, 36.5% of women mentioning this is nonetheless still relatively high. Better communication allows women to use safer transport (such as buses) and can also take other women along with them. Better communication actually allows women to facilitate increasing mobility and women are keen to take advantage of this. Understandably, this was also a more pressing issue in rural areas (51.8%) than urban areas (40.5%).  Ensuring access to food is recognised as a state responsibility by a substantial number of respondents although some difference is noted between rural dwellers (48.6%) and those in urban areas (39.1%).

Despite these differences, substantial agreement as to what government should provide is found across all groups.

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When it comes to which services should be provided as a right rather than at the whim of government, the following were regarded most as services entitled to as of right rather than a favour:  Road and communications for rural areas (92.4%)  Free education – 90.7%  Health care – 90.2%  Electrification of rural areas – 89.6%

Shelter for the poorest (78.7%), food for the poorest (76%), old age allowances (73.7%) and assistance for widows (72%) were ranked lowest amongst responsibilities of government but were still regarded as a right by the majority of respondents.

3. Specific issues Respondents were asked a variety of specific questions to measure their understanding of specific socio-economic rights issues:

When is it acceptable for government to evict people from unauthorised, urban slums? Though a high percentage did not know (40%), those who did answer felt it would be acceptable:

Table 27 – When can government evict people from urban slums? Opinions Total Type of area Sex Income level Rural Urban Male Female Poorest Least N=3632 poor To reduce crime % 24.8 20.4 33.8 30.2 19.4 20.7 36.7 To develop / modernise the city % 19.8 17.5 24.6 22.9 16.8 16.7 28.6 To ensure a clean environment % 12.1 10.5 15.2 10.6 13.5 10.5 17.7 To make the city clean % 11.6 10.1 14.9 14.9 8.4 9.9 15.0

Predictably, the poorest and rural were far less likely to agree with any of these reasons for evicting people when compared to the least poor and urban. Women were far less likely to accept any of the reasons listed than men, except when it comes to ensuring a clean environment

Should government provide food for the poorest children when they are at school? An overwhelming 94.4% believe they should, including high percentages amongst both the least poor and poorest respondents. When it comes to what type of food should be provided, most agreed that fortified biscuits (55%), snacks (33.9%), fruit (31.7%), rice/bread (24.6%) and milk (12.3%) would top the list.

Who should be able to use government owned resources to help them earn a living? The most common answers were poorest people (76.7%) and the landless (56.3%).

Do men and women receive equal treatment at clinics /hospitals? Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73.7%) believed they do. Where women do not receive equal access to healthcare, the major reasons advanced were that

76 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights women are perceived as weak and unable, by convention, to demand equal services (56.8%), and that there are not enough women doctors (25.8%).

Which types of employment put women most at risk and where would awareness of labour rights be most required (Table 90)? The answers provided were employment as domestic workers (40.1%) and in the garments industry (34.9%). For men, employment as transport workers and in the garment industry was the most hazardous.

4. Health The major issues related to health identified during the survey are in the following areas:  Adolescent health  Menopausal health  Safe motherhood.  Adult women’s health.  Socially excluded groups, such as sexual minorities, are not able to access services.  Lack of availability of physicians for majority of population.  Lack of availability of medicines across the country.  Weakness in management and monitoring system for healthcare.  Healthcare centres often unequipped with medicine and equipment.  No screening protocols for violence survivors, confidentiality not ensured, lack of security inhibits access to services.  Lack of appropriate government personnel at local levels, particularly women for outreach on health services  Lack of any adequate mental health facilities

The main barriers to accessing health services identified during the qualitative survey include:  Birth registration still requires the father’s name – some groups (for example, children of sex workers) are not able to register.  Transgendered persons are not able to get ID cards which clearly identify their gender – (they are currently writing hijra next to their names)  Delays – decision making, transportation to health facility, obtaining service  Lack of women’s mobility – difficulty of obtaining services –  Lack of decision making capacity for Women  Private services unregulated  Drug sales and use, as well as quality control on manufacture, highly unregulated – consumer rights very weakly protected  Delays in implementing issues – political issues also result in delay??  Corporatisation of health services – leading to lack of accountability

Of course, while health is a human rights issue, many of the problems listed and barriers to accessing health care are related to government’s commitments to providing health care that cannot be addressed through public education and awareness but need rather to be addressed through advocacy. Other issues relate to sex workers and transsexuals – while it is more than accepted that these groups are amongst the most marginalised and face particular challenges, neither group has been included in the

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NHRC’s current strategic plan but both could possibly be included in awareness and other campaigns once more generally prevalent concerns have been addressed.

5. Education The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights includes the right to free, compulsory primary education, an obligation to make secondary education accessible to all through the progressive introduction of free secondary education, and the obligation to develop equitable access to higher education. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the right to education also includes a responsibility to provide basic education for individuals who have not completed primary education, and encompasses the obligation to rule out discrimination at all levels of the educational system, to set minimum standards and to improve quality.118

Primary education in Bangladesh is free and compulsory for both boys and girls up to grade eight in terms of the National Education Policy and government provides additional incentives for children to attend school - for example, and in an effort to reduce child marriage, the government currently provides stipends for girls' school expenses if parents promise to delay their daughters' marriage until at least the age of 18.

But, according to UNICEF, around one million Bangladeshi children have never been to school largely because:  Poverty leads to high levels of drop-out and causes many parents to keep their children out of school to work for money or to perform household chores and domestic work.119  Inability to bear educational expenses (including indirect costs such as transport and uniforms).  Contrary to government policy, public schools reportedly impose fees that poor families cannot afford.120  Poor teaching quality and a high teacher-student ratio.  Children living in slums often move frequently due to evictions, civic unrest and employment instability.

Girls in particular have less access to education than boys, which prompted the CEDAW Committee in its 2011 concluding observations to express concerns about the high level of drop-outs by girls and the gender gap that remains at higher levels of the education system.121 These research findings are borne out by the responses during the household survey. When asked up

118 : UNESCO and UNICEF: A Human Rights-Based Approach to Education for All (2007): p. 7. 119 US Department of State: 2008 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh (2009). Under the law every child must attend school through grade five or the age of 10 years, but there is no effective legal mechanism to enforce this provision. 120 ibid 121 ibid

78 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights to what level a household would educate a boy child compared to a girl child, the following picture emerges:

Table 28 – To what age will you educate your children? Level of education For a girl For a boy Primary level 2.5 1.6 Up to SSC 22.4 10.4 Up to HSC 10.7 10.0 Up to University level 25.7 34.8 As desired by the child 32.7 42.8 Till marriage (not mentioned 5.1 for boys) No education needed 0.4 0.5 As desired by husband (not mentioned 0.5 for boys)

The major reason why girls drop out or are removed from school was poverty (62.7%) although some (18.1%) mentioned poor performance of the child, quite probably linked to the fact that there is not enough time for a girl to study and take care of her family and household work (indicating too that girls are given more time consuming chores and responsibilities than boys).

Poverty also predictably plays a role when poor families decide to remove boy children from school at an earlier age than their wealthier counterparts. 53.4% of families remove boy children early because of poverty with an additional 32.2% doing so to remove the child so that he can earn income and help to support the family or at least support himself.

While girls’ enrolment in school has improved and surpassed boys’ enrolment in recent years, secondary drop-out rates remain high, and only 24% of university students are women122. Some of the factors that need to be addressed to reduce the drop-out rate include harassment of girls in secondary school, undervaluation of girls by their teachers and families, and archaic gender stereotypes in textbooks123.

6. Migrant workers124 Though Bangladesh has recently signed the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990), corresponding institutional, administrative, and legal mechanisms are yet to be put in place. In addition, Bangladesh has not signed or ratified many of the major international instruments containing protection for migrant workers:  1975 International Labour Organization (ILO) Migrant Workers’ Convention

122 ibid: p. 36. 123 ibid: p. 78. 124 The term migrant workers refers to a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national (Art 2 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990)

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 UN Protocol Against Trafficking in Persons – Especially Women and Children or Trafficking Protocol  UN Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air or Migrant Smuggling Protocol

Bangladesh is a major source country for migrant workers and it is estimated that more than five million Bangladeshis are now working and living abroad.125 The migration sector is the major contributor to the country’s foreign exchange earnings, with the income in 2009 estimated at approximately US 10 billion.126

Though the sector has huge potential to grow (given the demand for migrant workers overseas), there are challenges as well. These are compounded by low skills of potential migrants, lack of capacity in both public and private sector to manage the sector, and lack of a regulatory framework and administrative and judicial measures in preventing and prosecuting the exploitation and abuse in migration processes.127

Existing institutions responsible for migrant workers (Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment, Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, and District Employment and Manpower Office) lack adequate human resources, capacity, technological, and other logistical aspects to properly manage the sector.

The labour migration (exporting) sector in Bangladesh is primarily run by the private sector with nearly 800 recruiting agencies who are mainly responsible for procuring overseas jobs and processing visas and other arrangements. However, all migrant workers are required to have prior approval of the Government before departure from the country.

The main legislation covering migrant workers is the Emigration Ordinance (1982), which is widely considered as outdated and ineffective to meet current complexities. Despite the fact that both the ordinance and the criminal law can be used to prosecute cases against recruitment agencies, there is either a lack of understanding or misunderstanding of this.

There is a clear link between human trafficking and migrant workers. Although the exact number of victims of trafficking is unknown, the US Department of State in its three consecutive Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Reports (2008- 2010) stated that most trafficked persons were lured by promises of jobs or marriage, and that ‘a significant share of Bangladesh’s trafficking victims are men recruited for work overseas with fraudulent employment offers who are subsequently exploited under conditions of forced labour or debt bondage’.128

125 International Organization for Migration: Bangladesh: Facts and Figures, (online). Available at: http://www.iom.int/cms/en/sites/iom/home/where-we-work/asia-and-the- pacific/bangladesh.html 126 The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary, Dr. Zafar Ahmed Khan reported this in a seminar in Dhaka on 11 October 2010. 127 Das, Uttam K: Streamlining the Migration Sector (2011) 128 US Department of State: Trafficking in Persons Report 2008.

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As a result, while current legislation only penalises trafficking of women and children, the growing incidence of reported trafficking of adult males in the guise of offering jobs overseas has prompted the Government to draft comprehensive legislation criminalising all forms of human trafficking.129

Migrants are extremely vulnerable although, according to those consulted during the qualitative survey, the type of violation of rights experienced by migrants depends often on whether they are male or female. The most common problems include:  Crimes against them go unpunished in the host country.  Labour issues have to be resolved through arbitration. The system is biased against them and there is no appeal process.  Social costs: when the father or mother of a child is abroad, it impacts on the development of the child – leading to dropping out of school and drug addiction (amongst other things).  Women workers are at risk of sexual violence and exploitation (including when engaged in domestic work) and at risk of trafficking and forced prostitution. Once women return to Bangladesh, they may face social stigma and disintegration of their marriages.  Corruption amongst recruiting agents and government employees.

Monitoring of recruitment agencies is also very poor, especially by the Ministry and Bangladesh embassies reportedly lack resources to address the needs of migrants.

129 The Human Trafficking Prevention and Curbing Bill, 2011, which provides the death sentence as the maximum punishment. Although approved by Cabinet on 11 July 2011, the law is yet to be endorsed by the National Parliament.

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PART 5 - CHILD RIGHTS AND CHILD LABOUR

1. Child rights Bangladesh was one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in August 1990 and is party to numerous international instruments related to child rights.130 The GoB submitted its consolidated third and fourth periodic reports to the CRC Committee in 2007.

Although the Constitution does not contain a separate ‘child rights’ clause, the rights of children are reflected and protected in other provisions. For example, the fundamental principles of State policy (Part II of the Constitution, 1972) of relevance to children are:  Article 14: Responsibility to protect all ‘workers and backwards sections of the people’ from exploitation.  Article 15: Responsibility of the state to provide the basic necessities of life, including food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care, right to reasonable rest, recreation and leisure and the right to social security, to public assistance in cases of undeserved want arising from unemployment, illness or disablement, or suffered by orphans.  Article 17: State responsibility to establish a uniform, mass-oriented and universal system of education and extending free and compulsory education to all children to such stage as may be determined by law.  Article 18: Responsibility to improve nutrition and public health. 

The Constitution (1972) also includes in Part III - Fundamental Rights:  Article 28: Non-discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.  Article 29: Equality of opportunity, affirmative action and reservations for children (as part of the ‘backward section of citizens’).  Article 34: Prohibition on forced labour.

The only national legislation specifically dealing with child rights (other than labour related legislation dealt with below) is the Children Act of 1974. However, the Act predates the CRC and its ambit is very narrow, dealing only with children in need of protection and children in conflict with the law. Of course the Penal Code and other legislation create criminal offences related to children but many of these predate the CRC and have not been brought in line with its provisions.131

130 Including the two Optional Protocols to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography (OPSC) and on the Involvement of Children in the Armed Conflict (OPAC), the SAARC Convention on Prevention and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution (2002) and the ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999). 131UNICEF, Bangladesh: Child Labour in Bangladesh (2010)

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2. Who is a child? Before considering specific human rights issues for children, it is necessary to first determine who is a child in Bangladesh – both in terms of the law and how ordinary Bangladeshis understand the concept.

Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Bangladesh in 1990 defines a child as:

Every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.132

The Constitution does not define the age of a child.133 Instead, it is defined differently in different pieces of legislation such as the Children Act 1974 and the Labour Code 2006. The age of majority is generally regarded as 18 except for certain matters, including marriage and divorce, adoption, the ‘religion or religious rites or usages of any class of citizens’ and also matters relating to guardianship of property.134

To determine what messages public awareness on child rights should contain, it is important to measure what Bangladeshis understand by the word ‘child’ in comparison to these definitions. Their responses provide some insight:

Table 29 – Age at which a boy stops being a child Age Education Economic Area Sex Religion Ethnicity level categories

Total

- galis cated al an orities am ale emale Rur Urb M F Non literate Edu Isl Religious Min Ban Adibashis Poorest poor Least At 5 17.0 18.5 14.0 14.6 19.4 19.9 11.4 15.8 22.0 15.8 31.8 19.0 11.4 yrs 6-10 50.2 52.4 45.9 54.9 45.6 53.1 45.4 50.2 50.3 50.0 52.8 50.7 44.5 yrs 11-15 23.3 20.9 28.0 23.1 23.4 20.0 29.9 23.9 20.9 24.1 13.6 22.1 31.1 yrs 16-18 8.6 7.4 11.2 6.8 10.5 5.7 12.7 9.2 6.6 9.2 1.7 7.2 11.6 yrs Above 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.6 1.0 1.3 0.6 1.0 0.3 0.9 0.0 0.9 1.3 18

132 United Nations, (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child. 133 Many Constitutions, especially more recently drafted ones, include specific child rights and invariably define what a child is – at least for the purposes of the Constitution or the relevant child rights provisions. For example:  The Zambian Constitution (Art 24) refers to the rights of ‘young person’ and defines these as anyone under 15.  The Malawi Constitution (Clause 23) defines ‘child’ for the purpose of the child rights section as anyone under 16.  The South African Constitution (Section 28 (3)) defines a child in South Africa as anyone under the age of 18. 134 Section 2, Majority Act 1875

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Table 30 – Age at which a girl stops being a child Education Economic Area Sex Religion Ethnicity level categories

Age Total

- galis cated al an orities am ale emale Rur Urb M F Non literate Edu Isl Religious Min Ban Adibashis Poorest Least poor At 5 yrs 16.2 17.5 13.6 13.7 18.7 18.1 11.2 15.4 19.5 15.3 26.6 18.6 11.4 6-10 yrs 49.8 51.9 45.4 55.9 43.6 54.0 44.8 49.5 50.8 49.1 57.3 50.0 43.2 11-15 yrs 24.3 22.2 28.5 23.1 25.4 20.5 30.3 24.8 22.4 25.1 14.3 22.9 32.0 16-18 yrs 8.9 7.6 11.4 6.6 11.1 6.1 13.0 9.4 6.8 9.5 1.4 7.5 12.3 Above 18 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.6 1.1 1.4 0.7 1.0 0.4 0.9 0.3 1.0 1.1

From the responses, it is clear that Bangladeshis do not really differentiate between boy and girl children when it comes the age at which they stop being children and the results in the two tables are very similar for boys and girls (although they do of course differ across the groups). Instead, people’s understanding of the age of majority appears to be determined to some degree by religion, economic status, education and whether they are rural or urban – with rural, non-literate, poorest, Adibashis and members of minority religions more likely to set the bar lower than others.

Of course, it may well be that people understand the term ‘child’ differently to how it is defined in the CRC and may include further categories in their own definitions – such as ‘young adult’, ‘teenager’ or ‘youth’. Respondents were intentionally not given these options though, since the question sought really to determine people’s understanding of the term ‘child’ in relation to human rights discourse and terminology, particularly in relation to child rights and child labour (where policies, such as the National Child Labour Elimination Policy, also use the word ‘child’). From the responses, it is clear that any public education and awareness on child rights will need to include some explanation of what the word ‘child’ refers to when dealing with child rights so that people understand who these rights relate to and who is protected by them. It should also be anticipated that there might be some resistance to the idea that a child is anyone below the age of 18. This is confirmed by the attitudes to child labour reflected below.

Major issues The following are commonly reported as the major issues facing children in Bangladesh (with child labour dealt with separately below): a. Underage marriage Although marriages of young children may well be ‘valid’ under the variety of personal laws of the parties, the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 criminalises the marriage of any boy aged below 21 and any girl aged below 18 and any act of solemnizing or arranging such a marriage. Despite this, underage marriage remains a widespread problem, although reliable figures for the incidence are difficult to obtain, partially because ‘marriage registrations are sporadic and birth registrations to verify a person's age are available to approximately 10% of the population’.135

135 US Department of State: 2008 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh (2009).

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While recognising the difficulty in obtaining definitive data, UNICEF research for the period 2000-2009 puts the rate of girls marrying before the age of 18 as high as 66 %, with over one third being married before the age of 15.136 UNFPA cite similar figures, reporting that statistics show that approximately half of women in Bangladesh are younger than 18 when they marry, and 58 % of girls become mothers or pregnant with their first child before the age of 20.137 This has serious implications for girl children including:  Profound psychological and emotional consequences, including loss of mobility, confinement to the home and isolation.  Adolescent health and reproductive problems, especially when the girl is very young. Teenage girls are also more at risk of infection with HIV than mature women, while girls who give birth at a young age are more likely to suffer from future health problems and to have far more children than those who marry later in life.  Infant mortality and poor child care skills that impact on children born of young girls.  Young girls who are married off are usually removed from school, which impacts on the girl for the remainder of her life.  Many girls who marry early suffer from prolonged domestic violence but feel unable to leave the marriage because of economic pressures, lack of family support and other social circumstances.138

Given the prevalence of early marriage, respondents in the household survey were asked various questions to gauge attitudes to early marriage and test whether people understand why it is a problem. In answer to the question ‘do you think it is right to marry off a girl just after her reaching puberty’, the majority believe it is not (86.5%). Women (94.2%), Adibashis (90.9%) and the educated (90.7%) were most likely to answer this way. When asked whether it is acceptable to marry off a girl under 18, an even higher percentage answered no – 93.9%. Although it is not possible to say for certain that respondents understand that such marriages are illegal, the high percentage of people who understand it is unacceptable does indicate that people understand that something makes it so.

When asked why 50% of girls marry before the age of 18, the most common answers were:  Poverty – 53.8%  Security of the girl – 33.6%  When a good groom is available – 28.7%  To prevent them running away and marrying – 20.5%  To reduce the amount of dowry – 3.6%

136 United Nations Children’s Fund: Bangladesh Statistics (2010). 137 United Nations Population Fund: Bangladesh (see http://www.unfpa- bangladesh.org/php/about_bangladesh.php) 138 UNICEF: Early Marriage’ (2001): pp. 9-12

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However, 35.7% listed lack of awareness, amongst parents, of the law and consequences of early marriage. This is not supported by the answers to the question on what the consequences of early marriage are. Here:  75% mentioned health problems, with levels of awareness of this as a health problem lowest amongst Adibashis (62.9%) and religious minorities (70.8%). However, even these figures are high and show a general awareness of the consequences for the health of underage girls.  52.5% identified that they will become mothers before they are ready (which is really about health risks as well).  32% reported because they are not physically ready. b. Violence against children Violence against children takes many forms. For example:  According to the Bangladesh Child Rights Forum, 47 children were abducted, 154 were murdered, 388 were injured in various forms of violence, 115 were raped, 15 were victims of acid attacks, and 394 others went missing during 2008.139  According to Odhikar: o During 2009, there were 454 reported incidents of rape during the year, including 211 against women and 243 against children. Of the 101 persons attacked with acid, 64 were women, 20 were men, and 17 were children. o During 2010, there were 556 reported incidents of rape against females, including 308 against female children. 140

To assess attitudes of Bangladeshis to violence against children, questions were included in the household survey on when violence against children is ‘permissible’ by focusing on attitudes to discipline for children. Again using the respondent’s definition of ‘child’, there was substantial agreement that the following forms of discipline should be used for boys and girls when they have committed a ‘minor’ fault:

Table 31 – Form of discipline acceptable for a minor fault (boys and girls) Form of discipline Girl Boy Verbal discipline 79.9 79.6 Never 15.5 15.1 Slap 11.0 13.3

When it comes to what discipline is acceptable for a major fault, the three most commonly mentioned were verbal discipline, slapping, and beating with a cane, with minor differences between what is acceptable for boys compared to girls:

139 US State Department of State: 2008 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh (2009) 140 US State Department of State: 2009 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh (2010). ‘Odhikar’ means ‘rights’ in Bangla.

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Table 32 – Form of discipline acceptable for a major fault (boys and girls) Form of discipline Girl Boy Verbal discipline 48.7 44.1 Slap 45.8 49.7 Beating with a cane 20.6 26.4

Differences are noted too across the various groups. For example:  The educated are far more likely to use ‘verbal discipline’ for boys (50.5%) and girls (54.5%) than the non-literate (40.2% for boys and 44.5% for girls)  Women are more likely to answer that a slap is acceptable for boys (52.9%) than men (46.6%).  Rural people are more likely to resort to beating with a cane for girls (22.7%) than those in urban areas (16.4%). Adibashis also answered this in far greater numbers (50.7% for boys and 43.7% for girls) than ‘Bengalis’ generally (24.3% for boys and 18.6% for girls). However, the differences are not sufficient to indicate that awareness and education campaigns would need to specifically target certain groups.

Respondents were then asked when it is acceptable for teachers to discipline children. Large numbers answered that discipline is acceptable when a boy disobeys the teacher (67% for boys and 64.7% for girls) or when they are naughty (28.7% for boys and 26.7% for girls). c. Sexual exploitation It was estimated in 2008 that as many as 10,000 children were used in brothels for commercial sexual exploitation, and procurers of minors were rarely prosecuted.141 During 2009, the ILO and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics completed a baseline survey on commercial sexual exploitation of children according to which among the 18,902 child victims of sexual exploitation, 83% were girls, 9% transgender children, and 8% boys.142

Given the sensitivities involved, specific questions on sexual exploitation were not included in the household survey, but respondents did identify the right to be free from sexual violence as one of the rights to be protected. Participants in the FGD on child rights also highlighted sexual exploitation of children as a major issue, noting too that girl children are most at risk. d. Trafficking The Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act, 1933 (as amended) creates a crime of child trafficking that carries penalties of death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of not less than 10 years but not exceeding 20 years.143 Despite this:  Official estimates from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Social Welfare and Ministry of Women’s and Children Affairs in 2007 suggested

141 US State Department of State: 2008 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh (2009) 142 US State Department of State: 2009 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh (2010) 143 The Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act, Government of Bangladesh, Section 5, 1933.

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that at least 13,220 children had been trafficked out of the country over the preceding five years.144  A 2009 Government of Bangladesh report estimates that as many as 20,000 children are exploited in the commercial sex industry, while some are trafficked internally and to India and Pakistan for sexual exploitation.145

The reasons cited for trafficking are commercial sexual exploitation, bonded labour, and forced labour. Some children are reportedly sold into bondage by their parents, while others are induced into labour or commercial sexual exploitation through fraud and physical coercion.146 This was supported by participants in the FGD on child rights, who highlighted both trafficking and sexual exploitation of children as major issues. Referring to a study by INCIDIN Bangladesh, participants in the FGD estimated that around 20,000 children are trafficked internally in Bangladesh each year.

However, based on responses during the household survey (see below), it does not appear as if many Bangladeshis see trafficking as a major rights issue for children, which would suggest awareness raising in this area will be required.147

3. What rights should be protected for children? Given the range of problems facing children, the household survey sought to identify respondents’ attitudes to child rights and their understanding of which should be protected. Respondents were asked to list the rights that boy and girl children should have, based on their own definition of a child.

Table 33 – The rights boys and girls should have Right Girl Boy Highest To education at state expense 80.1 42.8 To be brought up / cared for by both parents 49.3 47.7 To play 43.6 41.1 To receive healthcare 43.1 46.6 The right to freedom of thought and conscience 13.5 16.0 Lowest Not to be trafficked 0.6 1.2 To be protected from sexual abuse 0.8 5.5 To be protected from mental violence 3.9 5.0 Not to be separated from the parents against their will 4.6 4.5

These answers show a clear distinction between high levels of awareness of parental responsibilities for the upbringing and education of children (and the need for state assistance in this task) and very low recognition of the rights of children to be free from violence, trafficking and to protection from abuse,

144 Ask: Human Rights in Bangladesh 2007 (2008) 145 US State Department of State: 2010 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh (2011) 146 US State Department of State: 2009 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh (2010) 147 This too was reported during the FGD – that most people are not aware of or do not regard trafficking as a serious issue.

88 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights including by their families.148 There are of course many interesting differences when this data are disaggregated but there is also so much similarity that it points strongly to the need to focus on all major child rights issues in awareness campaigns.

4. Child labour a. Law and policy Although Bangladesh has yet to ratify the ILO Minimum Age Convention No 138 (1973), it is a party to the CRC. Article 32 of the CRC calls on state parties (including Bangladesh) to recognise the right of the child to be ‘protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development’.149 It further requires states to take legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to ensure the implementation of Article 32. To this end, state parties are required to provide a minimum age for admission to employment; appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of employment; and penalties and sanctions to enforce the right.

While there is no uniform minimum age for admission to work in Bangladesh, the Labour Act (2006) includes a specific chapter on child labour and prohibits employment of children under 14 years of age generally, and any hazardous forms of child labour for persons under age 18. Children of 12 and above may be engaged in “light work” that does not pose a risk to their mental and physical development and does not interfere with their education.150 The Act also protects adolescents when handling heavy machinery and prohibits their employment in deep soil or water activities. It creates penalties for child labour violations, but these are mainly nominal fines of less than 5,000 taka. The Act has also been criticised by UNICEF for not providing a strong enforcement mechanism for the child labour provisions, and because the vast majority of children (93%) work in the informal sector, making enforcement challenging.151

On the other hand, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has recently adopted a National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010, which provides a framework to eradicate all forms of child labour by 2015. Its aims include:  Withdrawing children from hazardous jobs.  Improving income-generating opportunities for parents to reduce reliance on the income children provide.  Providing incentives for working children to attend school.  Enacting laws and improving law enforcement to eliminate child labour.

Other policies too specifically target child labour:

148 Problems related to poverty and access to socio-economic rights for children were identified during the FGD on this issue. 149 United Nations (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 32. 150 Supra note 131, p. 2. 151 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics: Report on National Child Labour Survey (2003)

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 The Third National Plan of Action for Children (2005-2010) commits the Government to carry out tasks to eliminate the worst forms of child labour – with a particular focus on child domestic workers, migrants, refugees, and other vulnerable groups.  The Government’s 2009-12 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper includes a strategic goal to protect child labourers and eliminate the worst forms of child labour through raising awareness of child labour, drafting minimum wage and other protective standards, creating a child friendly code of conduct for employers, and improving educational opportunities for working children. b. Scope of the problem Bangladesh’s record of domesticating international instruments has been poor in most areas, including in complying with the CRC.152 Despite recent policies, child labour remains an area of major concern that is exacerbated by high levels of poverty which mean parents sometimes have little option but to sell their children’s labour to survive. The enormity of the problem is well documented - for example, the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour provides the following background in its 2008 Country Brief for Bangladesh:153  13.4% (4.7 million) of all children ages 5-14 work - 18.5% of boys (3.4 million) and 7.8% of girls (1.3 million).  About 7.3% (2.6 million) of children between 5-14 work and do not attend school. The percentage is nearly twice as high for boys (9.8%) than for girls (4.6%).  Children in rural areas (7.4%) are more likely to work without attending school than those in urban areas (6.8%).  Around three out of every five children between the ages of 5 and 14 are employed in the agricultural sector. 4.7% are employed in the industrial sector and the remaining 23.3 % work in services.  A high percentage of working children ages 5-14 are employed as unpaid family workers (62.4% in the case of boys and 80.7 % in the case of girls).  Working children between the ages of 5 and 14 tend to work an average of 24 hours a week with boys (25.7 hours per week) working more than girls (19.7 hours).  Among children ages 5-14, economically active children (45.6%) are less likely to attend school compared to non-working children (88.4%). In the age group 5 to 9 only 39.7 % of economically active children attend school. The percentage of children from the lowest-expenditure households that attend school without working was 72.8 as compared to 84.7 in the least poor households.

The most common form of child labour is domestic labour in other people’s homes and there are more than 421,000 children, mostly girls, working as domestic servants in private households in Bangladesh.154 The problems facing children engaged in domestic work are illustrated by a 2006 study by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, which found that attacks on children constituted more than 50% of the deaths, injuries, and sexual assaults reported among domestic workers during the year.155

152 See Annexure G. 153 Child labour Data Country Brief (2008) 154 Supra note 131. 155US State Department of State: 2009 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh (2010)

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Children are also involved in the production of salt, soap, matches, bricks, cigarettes, footwear, steel, furniture, glass, leather, poultry, ornaments, and metals, ornaments, and textiles and perform hazardous jobs including welding, carpentry, rickshaw pulling, and automobile repair.156 Children living on the streets are an obvious problem to any visitor to Bangladesh - particularly in urban areas where a government survey found children, mostly boys, engaged in various forms of work such as begging, portering, shining shoes, collecting paper, and selling flowers. Both boys and girls living on the streets are also often exploited in illicit activities such as smuggling and trading arms and drugs.157

A recent report by UNICEF identified critical issues and analysed reasons for child labour and the attitudes of Bangladeshis in this regard.158 The study was used to frame the questions used in this part of the questionnaire and the results largely confirm UNICEF’s findings. c. Awareness of the harmful effects and law and policy Child labour exposes children to a multitude of risks including injury and death, health problems, sexual exploitation and violence. Child labour is also a contributing factor to the high dropout rate in schools - about half of all child labourers do not attend school at all while only 11% of children in domestic labour attend school.159 As a result, working children become stuck in a lifetime of low-paying, low-skilled jobs, thereby perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

To assess whether Bangladeshis understand the harmful effects of child labour, the household survey specifically included questions on this issue. From the results, it is clear that levels of awareness that child labour is potentially harmful to a child appear to be very high (91.5%), with all groups agreeing fairly uniformly.

There are also fairly high levels of awareness that law and policy exist to regulate this – 41.6% are apparently aware of some law and policy, although 49.9% are not.

Table 34 – Are there any laws or policy dealing with child labour?

s poor

Answer All literate - Rural Urban Male Female Non Educated Islam Religious minorities Bangali Adibashis and others Poorest Least

N 3,632 2,444 1,188 1,815 1,817 1,163 806 2,900 732 3,346 286 1,955 447

Yes 41.6 36.8 51.4 45.8 37.4 23.0 74.2 41.6 41.5 42.9 25.9 33.2 63.5

No 8.6 8.8 8.0 7.2 10.0 9.4 5.0 9.0 6.8 8.7 7.3 9.2 5.6

156 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics: Report on National Child Labour Survey (2003) (cited in UNICEF: Child Labour, page 1). 157 US State Department of State: 2009 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh (2010) 158 Supra note 131. 159 ibid.

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Don’t know 49.9 54.4 40.6 47.1 52.7 67.7 20.8 49.4 51.6 48.4 66.8 57.6 30.9

Marked differences are noted in lack of awareness of law and policy amongst the non-literate (where 67.7% did not know of any), rural communities (54.4%), the poorest (57.6%), Adibashis (66.8%) and religious minorities (51.6%) compared to the educated (20.8%) urban areas (40.6%) Bengalis (48.4%) and Muslims (49.4%). d. Hours of work According to UNICEF, child labour is work that exceeds a minimum number of hours, depending on the age of the child and on the type of work. They provide the following guidelines for what is permissible:  Ages 5-11: Up to one hour of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week.  Ages 12-14: Up to 14 hours of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week.  Ages 15-17: Up to 43 hours of economic or domestic work per week.160

The household survey sought to consider attitudes to this issue by asking how many hours boys and girls in the age brackets 5-11 years and 12-17 years should be allowed to work in the home and in paid employment. According to the replies:

Domestic work – 5-11 age group  58.5% of respondents said boy children in this age group should not be allowed to do any domestic work compared to 57.1% for girls.  According to respondents, the average that a child in this group should be allowed to work was 1.5 hours per day for boys and 1.6 hours per day for girls.  Only small percentages were in favour of 5 and above hours per day (0.1% for boys and 0.2% for girls).

Paid work – 5-11 age group  90% of respondents said children between 5 and 11 should not be allowed to do any paid work at all.  For those who believe children of this age should be allowed to work for pay, the average number of hours of paid work would be 3.4 hours per day for boys and 3.2 hours per day for girls – much higher than they would allow for domestic work.

Domestic work – 12-17 age group  Far fewer (6.6%) respondents said children in this age group should not be allowed to do any domestic work.  The most common number of hours children in this group should work was two hours (35.4% for boys and 33% for girls) while some thought they should be allowed to work up to three hours (20.7% boys; 21.7% girls) or four hours (12.7% for boys and 13% for girls).

160 Supra note 131.

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Paid work – 12-17 age group  Most respondents agree children in this group should be allowed to do paid work, with an interesting difference between attitudes to boys and girls – only 37.7% would not allow boys in this group to engage in paid work compared to 49.5% for girls.  Most respondents would accept between 4 and 8 hours of paid work per day (42.4% for boys and 28.3% for girls).

These responses are encouraging, but given how many children of this age actually work and the high awareness that law and policy exists that prevents this, it suggests that respondents were probably answering what they thought the enumerator would want to hear. e. Hazardous work In 2009, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern that many Bangladeshi children continue to work in five of the worst forms of child labour - welding, auto workshops, road transport, battery recharging and tobacco factories.161

According to the National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010, hazardous work for children includes:  Working more than five hours a day.  Work that creates undue pressure on the physical and psychological wellbeing and development of the child.  Work without pay.  Work where the child becomes the victim of torture or exploitation or has no opportunity for leisure.

Respondents were therefore asked to list what they would consider as hazardous work for boys and girls in the age brackets 5-11 and 12-17.

For boys, the most commonly mentioned were:

Table 35 – What is hazardous work for boys? Type of work Rank Boys 5-11 Rank Boys 12-17 Carrying heavy weights 1 40.8 1 42.8 Any work is hazardous 2 34.1 6 10.3 Work in brick/ stone breaking for the construction 3 32.9 20.0 industry 4 Work in welding workshop/automobile garage 4 16.6 2 26.2 Van/rickshaw pulling 5 12.5 3 21.9 Work as bus/minibus helper 6 9.0 5 15.0 Serving at roadside tea stalls 7 5.7 11 2.8 Selling goods to vehicle passengers 8 4.9 9 4.8

Similar results were found for girls, with some differences that mirror the types of work that girls engage in more often than boys - the most commonly identified were:

161 Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2009)

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Table 36 – What is hazardous work for girls? Type of work Rank Girls 5-11 Rank Girls 12-17

Carrying heavy weights 1 44.2 1 56.2 Any work is hazardous 2 36.8 3 15.1 Work in brick/ stone breaking for the construction 19.2 3 29.2 2 industry Serving at roadside tea stalls 4 4.3 5 5.2 Selling goods to vehicle passengers 5 3.8 4 5.7 Work in welding workshop/automobile garage 6 3.7 6 4.5

There are apparent anomalies when it comes to people answering that ‘any work’ or ‘no work’ is hazardous, but otherwise these responses confirm other research. They also indicate an understanding that some work gets less hazardous as a child gets older, while some work is hazardous for any child, boy or girl, of any age.

5. Indigenous children Although not yet ratified by Bangladesh, the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989 (Convention No. 169) provides special protections for the rights of indigenous children:  Article 28 (1). Indigenous children shall, wherever practicable, be taught to read and write in their own indigenous language or in the language most commonly used by the group to which they belong.  Article 29. The imparting of general knowledge and skills that will help indigenous children to participate fully and on an equal footing in their own community, and in the national community, shall be an aim of education for such children.

The survey thus asked whether Adibashi children should be afforded special protection or rights.  70.6% of respondents answered that they did not know - with, unsurprisingly, Adibashi reporting this least often – 38.1%.  13.5% would favour the right to be educated in their own language (in line with the ILO Convention).  9.4% mentioned the right to participate in their own culture, which is a core right for all indigenous peoples.  9.7% mentioned the right to follow their own religion – again a core right.

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162 PART 6 - INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (ADIBASHIS)

1. Major problems facing Adibashis in Bangladesh According to Bangladesh's now disputed 2011 census, of the country's more than 142 million inhabitants, just 1.2% are described as indigenous.163 Most of these live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), while some live in the so-called plains areas of Bangladesh and are more integrated into communities dominated by the majority. The most populous indigenous peoples in Bangladesh are the Santal, Chakma, Marma and Mandi.

Adibashis are reportedly amongst the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh. Despite this, a large proportion of all respondents (67.2%) in the household survey – including Bengalis and Adibashis - were unable to identify any problems facing Adibashis in Bangladesh while an additional 8% believe they face no problems at all - indicating that people have little understanding of Adibashis and the issues they face, largely (it is presumed) since Adibashis are confined to specific areas of Bangladesh. This lack of understanding is reflected in, and will no doubt be exacerbated by, the Government’s recent pronouncements on the issue – in particular, recent comments by the first secretary of the Bangladesh Mission in New York to the United Nations Special Session on Indigenous Peoples164, and those by the Foreign Minister that ‘tribal people did not reside or exist in the CHT before the 16th century and were not considered "indigenous people'' in any historical reference books, memoirs or legal documents’.165 Differences in lack of awareness were predictably to be found when comparing the number of Bengalis generally (71.9%), and the poorest (69.6%) and non-literate (75.8%) when compared with Adibashis (11.5%), the least poor (58.2%) and the educated (45.4%).

Given the lack of knowledge of those that answered, the most common problems identified were:

Table 37 – Most common problems facing Adibashis Problem Total Identified by Identified by CHT % Bangalis Adibashis166 samples Discrimination within their communities 11.0 9.3 30.4 10.4 Unequal rights compared to others 7.4 5.1 33.6 37.0 Land occupations 7.1 4.0 43.7 78.5 Restrictions of free movement 5.8 5.0 15.7 15.4 Lack of equal opportunities in 6.2 5.1 18.5 11.5 employment

162 ‘Adibashis’ is an indigenous word that indigenous people in Bangladesh use to define themselves. 163 UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, published on the IRIN website, Available at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=93640. The UNHCR puts the number at around 1.5 % Available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,469f2ca62,49749d5841,0.html. 164 The Daily Star: No indigenous people in Bangladesh! (2011) 165 The Daily Star: Ethnic minority, not indigenous people’ (2011) 166 Including those in both the CHT and plains areas.

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Lack of education in mother tongue 3.6 3.2 8.0 22.4

The above table indicates not only low levels of awareness of the problems Adibashis face, but also shows quite clearly that Adibashis, and particularly those living in the CHT, regard land occupations and the lack of equal rights generally as far bigger problems than Bengalis.167

Fig. 10: Most important problems facing indigenous peoples

50 Total 45 Bangali 40 Adivasi and others 35 Rural 30 Urban

% 25

Others

No problems

Land occupations

Violence by other groups

Discrimination in the community Restrictions for free movement

No education for children in mother-tongue Do not get equal opportunities for employment Indigenous people do not get rights as others do

Torture by government forces and violence by other groups (2.3%) also scored comparatively high, given the lack of knowledge – which is reflected in the research and qualitative survey as well.

2. Equality and discrimination When asked whether Adibashis should enjoy equal rights, the majority answered ‘Yes’ (66.5%) and ‘Absolutely’ (9.7%), whereas only 5.4% believed they should not have equal rights and 18% did not know. No major differences are noted when the data are disaggregated other than the predictable differences between Adibashis and other groups.

The main reasons advanced for why Adibashis should enjoy equal rights were:

Table 38 – Why should Adibashis enjoy equal rights? Opinions Total Identified by Identified by % Bangalis Adibashis We are all human beings 60.2 60.5 57.6 We are all Bangladeshis 58.4 58.8 54.3

However, when asked whether Adibashis should be entitled to “additional rights or protections”:

167 In the mini-survey in the CHT, 53.9% of those surveyed rated this as the most serious problem facing Adibashis, compared to 31.1% of all Adibashis in the national survey.

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 68% of Bengalis believe Adibashis should not enjoy additional rights. Again, this reflects views and attitudes to Adibashis in the research, FGDs and recent government statements.  27.8% answered that they did not know. Levels of uncertainty were common amongst all groups save the Adibashis and the educated.  6.9% of all respondents felt they should with levels highest amongst Adibashis (40.6%) and religious minorities (20.4%).

The major reasons advanced for rejecting the notion that Adibashis should be afforded additional protection was that they should not be favoured over others (67.4%), showing knowledge gaps amongst people generally of the particular problems and hardships Adibashis face.

Similar answers are found when respondents were asked when it is acceptable for government and people generally to discriminate against Adibashis:  More than half of respondents (54%) answered ‘don’t know’ when asked when people can discriminate, while (54.7%) answered ‘don’t know’ when asked when it is acceptable for government to do so.  21.8% felt it acceptable for people to discriminate against Adibashis when deciding who can participate in a religious ceremony.  Religious matters also featured when considering when government may discriminate - 16.9% saying government could do so when observing religious functions and 9% saying they could do so when deciding on religious holidays.  13.3% believed discrimination by the public is never acceptable, and 18.4% said the same of discrimination by government.

When asked whether discrimination against Adibashis has increased over the previous five years:  More than half (51.7%) did not know.  4.6% of all respondents felt it has increased. Predictably, 19.9% of Adibashis answered this way compared to 3.3% of Bangalis.  10.6% believed it has stayed the same.  33% answered that discrimination has decreased. Interestingly, there was substantial agreement that it has decreased between Bengalis (33.1%) and Adibashis generally (32.9%). However, in the mini-survey in the CHT, only 9.6% answered that discrimination has decreased, indicating discrimination in the CHT is more of a problem for Adibashis living there than those living in the plains areas.

3. Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) are mainly inhabited by 11 indigenous groups each with a distinct language, culture and religion. Estimates of the indigenous population vary between 500 000168 and 730 000169, with

168 Baer, Lars-Anders: Study on the Status of Implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997 (2011) at para 1

97 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights approximately the same number of Bengali residents. For a long time, the region enjoyed political autonomy, first granted by the British colonial authorities and then by the Pakistani government. When Bangladesh became independent, CHT residents sought to maintain that status and have their distinctiveness officially acknowledged and protected. The resulting conflict between the indigenous peoples of CHT and the central government escalated into a low-level intensity guerrilla war that ended in 1997 with the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord (the “Peace Accord”). The Peace Accord notably recognises CHT as a tribal inhabited region and provides for more regional autonomy.

Despite the current government’s pledge to fully implement the Peace Accord during its mandate, it remains substantially unimplemented some 13 years after its signature.170 Newly created regional authority bodies (such as the District Councils and the Regional Council) have not been able to play their role effectively and are still waiting for all of their new powers to be formally transferred.171 Furthermore, due to disputes regarding the voters’ lists, there have been no elections for the members of District Councils that are in turn meant to elect those of the Regional Council.172

During the conflict between the government of Bangladesh and the indigenous forces, more than 400,000 Bengalis were encouraged to settle in the area on indigenous land, often through forced eviction or false claims. More recently, some land has been controversially leased for commercial plantations or privatised, all of which add to the problem.173 Indigenous people who attempt to keep using their land, or whose land is coveted for new settlements, are often charged with criminal suits.174 As a result, there are currently approximately 100,000 internally displaced people in the CHT.175 Nowadays, new settlers continue to come in the region and incidents of land grabbing to be reported176 and the figures for 2010 show an increase in these numbers.177 This creates a continuing climate of tension between the Bengali settlers and the indigenous people whose customary rights over land are not acknowledged. This would account for land occupations scoring very high as one of the major problems facing the CHT by all Adibashi respondents in the national survey (43.7%) and 78.5% of those in the mini survey in the CHT.

169 Roy, R D et al: Case study: Access to Justice for Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh (2007): p. 7. 170 Special rapporteur report, at para. 21, 45. 171 Special rapporteur report, at para. 28, 31. 172 Special rapporteur report, at para 29. The voters’ lists disputes are related to land ownership and control, the core problem in the CHT. 173 Special rapporteur report at para. 6, 7, 37; Roy, R D et al: Case study: Access to Justice for Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh (2007): pp. 10-11. 174 Roy, Devasish: Challenges for Judicial Pluralism and Customary Laws of Indigenous Peoples: The Case of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh (2004): p. 151 175 Special rapporteur report, at para. 43. 176 ASK: Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008 ‘Chapter 16 “Rights of Indigenous Peoples’, (2008); Special rapporteur report, at para. 24. 177 International Displacement Monitoring Centre: Bangladesh: Indigenous Peoples and Religious Minorities Still Affected by Displacement (2010)

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The Peace Accord provides for the creation of a Land Commission mandated to resolve these disputes, but it has remained inactive until 2009 when its current chairperson was appointed. Since then, its functioning has been hampered by legal disputes over the powers of the Commission due to inconsistencies between the Act creating the Commission and the Peace Accord, as well as conflicts between indigenous and non-indigenous members.178 According to the Special Rapporteur on the status of the implementation of the Peace Accord who visited the CHT in 2010, the delayed implementation of the Peace Accord results in widespread human rights violations, military control and violent conflicts.179 Indeed, the region has only been partially demilitarised contrary to the provisions of the Peace Accord.180 Killings and the burning down of villages and houses by the army and the Bengali settlers were still reported in recent years181, while political activists continue to be harassed through arbitrary arrests or other measures182 and a general climate of impunity reigns.183

CHT residents also suffer from poor realisation of their social, economic and cultural rights, in a far greater proportion than the rest of the country’s population. Literacy rates are alarmingly low in the CHT, with only 7.8% of the population having completed primary school, and a meagre 2.4% acquiring secondary education.184 Bangladesh’s emphasis on a single culture, language and religious orientation does not contribute to the preservation of the indigenous culture, and traditional languages are not, for the most part, taught in school.185 In the employment field, the annual average income is lower in CHT than in other districts and the poverty rate is twice the national average, with indigenous populations having a very low occupational diversity186. Finally, the region has poor infrastructure and governmental services187.

Yet despite this, when asked whether the situation generally in the CHT has improved:  Most people (65.4%) simply did not know.  24.9% believe it has improved, with Adibashis being least likely to answer this way (9.8%).  6% believe it has stayed the same.  3.7% believe it has become worse - with Adibashis generally being most likely to answer this way (21%). Interestingly, 21% of respondents in the

178 Special rapporteur report, at para. 34. 179 Special rapporteur report, at para. 3. 180 Special rapporteur report, at para. 40. 181 Amnesty International: Bangladesh. Chittagong Hill Tracts: A Call for Justice at Mahalchari” (2004); Amnesty International: Bangladesh: Human Rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (2000): pp. 13-14 182 Amnesty International: Bangladesh: Human Rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, ibid: p. 14; Ain o Salish Kendra 183 Amnesty International: Bangladesh. Chittagong Hill Tracts: A Call for Justice at Mahalchari (2004) 184 Roy, Devasish: Country Technical Notes on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues: Bangladesh (2010): p. 13; State of Justice in CHT, ibid: p. 22. 185 Roy et al: p. 11. 186 Roy, Devasish: Country Technical Notes on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues: Bangladesh (2010), supra note 183: p. 14; State of Justice in CHT: p. 22. 187 Roy et al: p. 10.

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mini-survey in the CHT answered the same way, indicating that Adibashis in all parts of Bangladesh believe equally that the situation has deteriorated over the past five years.

Reflecting problems faced by Adibashis in general and the conditions of people in the CHT in particular, the most important issues facing Adibashis in the CHT were reported during the national survey as:  Poor roads and communication – 12%  Land occupations – 6.6%  Abuse by government forces – 4.4%  Abuse by other groups – 3.6%

These answers contrast starkly with those provided by those living in the CHT, who answered as follows:  Land occupations – 85.9%  Abuse by government forces – 55.9%  Violence by other groups – 38%  No education for children in mother-tongue – 28.3%

Table 39 – Most important problems facing indigenous peoples in the CHT

Most important problems facing indigenous peoples in the CHT N % SE(p) Land occupations 460 85.9 0.016 Abuse by government forces 460 55.9 0.023 Violence by other groups 460 38.0 0.023 No education for children in mother-tongue 460 28.3 0.021

However, nearly two-thirds of respondents in the national survey were unable to answer the question, indicating low levels of knowledge generally of the particular issues involved - almost as if people are deliberately being kept in the dark (p<.000).

4. Experiences of discrimination and access to justice

This question was asked only in areas where Adibashis live. Only 4.2% of those surveyed (28 out of 659 respondents) answered that they or a member of their household or community had been discriminated against or suffered abuse. Of course, those most likely to report such abuse were the Adibashis at 9.5%. On the other hand, it is telling that 23.8% stated that neither they nor anyone they knew had been discriminated against or suffered abuse in the past five years.

The low numbers of people answering this question (and those that follow) make it impossible to draw any conclusions from their answers since they do not constitute a representative sample. Nevertheless:

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 The major forms of abuse reported were: o Discrimination in the community – 50% o Beatings – 25% o Abuse by other groups – 28.6% o Evicted from land – 14.3% o Land occupations – 10.7%  Mirroring the results from religious minorities, the most common perpetrators of such abuse were neighbours (67.9%), local influential people (28.6%) and mastans (10.7%).  60.7% of those exposed to discrimination or abuse reported the matter. The main reasons for failing to report it were to avoid future clashes (36.4%), because their opponents are powerful (27.3%) and that they did not want it known about in the community (36.4%).  The most common place such matters were reported to were to a community leader (76.5%) followed by the Chairperson or member of a Union Parishad or local MP (58.8%) and the police (47.1%). None resorted to legal challenges in court.  A Shalish or mediation was held in 76.5% of cases reported – the most common being traditional Shalish (92.3%), followed by the Thana (61.5%) and UP Shalish (15.4%).

To understand the issues related to access to justice in the CHT, one needs to understand their dual system of justice. Generally, the law applicable to land, natural resources, petty criminal matters (social crimes) and family matters fall to be resolved under the customary law of the different indigenous peoples. On the other hand, constitutional and criminal law apply everywhere in the country including the CHT.188 For certain matters regulated by customary laws, indigenous CHT residents can either go through the state courts or through the traditional justice system. If they choose the latter, they can still obtain revision or appeal before the state courts.189 Matters that must be heard by state courts include crimes against the state, murders and rapes.190

Before 2008, there were no civil or criminal courts in the CHT and the executive officers (Deputy and Divisional Commissioners) were responsible for both civil and criminal matters, either in first instance, or on appeal from traditional dispute resolutions methods.191 In theory, access to justice has been improved since the High Court directed the government in 2008 to establish three separate civil and criminal courts and Nari-o-Shishu tribunals in the hill districts. Adibashis can therefore choose between bringing a dispute regulated by customary law before the Village Karbaris/Mouza Headmen/Circle chiefs who will conduct a Shalish, or to the state courts.192

188 Roy et al, supra note 168: pp. 14-15. 189 ibid.; State of Justice in CHT: pp. 11-12. 190 State of Justice in CHT: p. 11. 191 Roy et al, supra note 168: p. 19; State of Justice in CHT: p. 31. 192 State of Justice in CHT: p. 12.

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While there have been allegations of bias on the part of the decision- makers,193 the problems that already impede access to justice in the formal system for the rest of the country are obviously also present in CHT – particularly lengthy delays and procedures (cases taking between two and 25 years to reach completion), corruption and high fees. Adibashis face additional barriers including transportation (since state courts are far from the hill villages) and court proceedings are complex and only in Bangla, whereas many indigenous people only speak or read their native language194.

Another important issue relating to access to justice is the Land Commission, which is still not functional – especially since the resolution of land disputes could play a major role in improving the general human rights situation in the CHT. In addition, a major issue impacting on access to justice is the absence of family courts in the CHT region, which is exempted under the Family Court Ordinance of 1984. This deprives both non-indigenous residents of a forum for their family disputes and limits Adibashis’ choice regarding which forum to use to resolve such disputes.

193 State of Justice in CHT: p. 39. 194 State of Justice in CHT: p. 1, 28, 33-4, 39; Roy, Challenges, supra note 173: p. 134.

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PART 7 - CLIMATE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

According to the 4th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (2007), world temperatures could rise by between 1.1 and 6.4 ºC (2.0 and 11.5 ºF) during the 21st century, while global sea levels could rise by 18 to 59 cm.195 There will be more frequent warm spells, heat waves, and heavy rainfall, an increase in droughts, tropical cyclones, and extreme high tides. Many low-lying parts will be totally submerged.196

Climate change threatens all human rights, and as the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights has pointed out, the realisation of most human rights is necessarily related to, and in some ways dependent upon one’s physical environment.197 Major threats include death and danger from droughts, floods, heat, storms, rising oceans, impact on agriculture and food production, loss of animals, disease, and destruction of water supplies.198

Bangladesh is one of the countries most at risk of problems associated with climate change. According to the Strategic Programme for Climate Resilience (SPCR) prepared for the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) in 2010:

Current global climate models predict upward trends in mean temperatures, warmer winters, precipitation during monsoon months and drier months, and frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. For a country like Bangladesh, effects of climate change could reverse any progress in tackling extreme poverty, plunging the most vulnerable in the communities – women, children and the disabled - into deeper poverty.199

The effects of climate change are already all too visible in Bangladesh. As expressed by Dr. Atiq Rahman, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies:

‘Bangladesh is already experiencing higher level of tidal inundation in the coastal districts. A 45 cm rise will not only affect the vast coastal ecosystems and hamper agriculture and food production, but may also dislocate about 35 million people from 20 coastal districts by the year 2050. Bangladesh is already an over populated country. The climate refugee will create new housing and settlement problems as well as

195 IPCC, Climate Change 2007, Fourth Assessment Report (2007) 196 ICCEB: First International Conference on Climate Change and Energy Development of Bangladesh (2011) 197 Ahmed Ziauddin (2010) 198 Supra note 195 199 Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience : Strategic Programme for Climate Resilience (2010): p. 9

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enhance competition and conflict for scarce resources including land, water, fisheries and forests’. 200

The future is just as bleak. According to one study, temperatures could increase to 2.4 degrees centigrade higher than current levels by 2100, causing both hotter summers and warmer winters. Rainfall could increase by 10% while the rise in ocean levels seawater (estimated at 88 cm above the current level by 2100) would submerge vast tracts of land rendering large parts of Bangladesh uninhabitable or infertile.201

In recognition of the potential impact, the Government of Bangladesh is at the forefront of responses to climate change and its effect on the environment. Given its vulnerability and its experience in dealing with natural disasters, Bangladesh was selected to participate in the PPCR by the PPCR Expert Group in January 2009.202 The Ministry of Environment and Forest is the focal ministry for the PPCR and focal counterparts have been designated for all relevant ministries and organisations.203

Key legislation and policy in this area includes:  Bangladesh Environmental Policy (1992)  National Forest Policy (1994)  National Environmental Management Action Plan (1995)  National Energy Policy (1996)  Fisheries Policy (1998)  The National Water Policy 1999 (which provided the first comprehensive look at short, medium and long term perspectives for managing water resources in Bangladesh) and the National Water Management Plan 2001 (which examines the implementation and investment responses to address the priorities identified in the National Water Policy).  National Health Policy (2000)  National Land Use Policy (2001)

200 Rahman, Atiq., The Daily Star: July 17 (2009) 201 Ahmed Ziauddin, (2010) 202 The Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) of the Strategic Climate Funds (SCF) established under the Multi-donor Climate Investment Fund (CIF) aims to help countries transform to a climate resilient development path, consistent with poverty reduction and sustainable development goals. The pilot focuses on the following five key sectors:  agriculture and food security  extreme climate events and climate induced disaster  water resources  and public health  migration and social protection

203 These are Ministry of Food and Disaster Management; Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Water Resources; Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives; Ministry of Social Welfare; Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Economic Relations Division and General Economic Division of the Ministry of Finance; Bangladesh Rice Research Institute; Centre for Environment and Geographic Information Services; Bangladesh Water Development Board; and the Local Government Engineering Department. (Source: ibid)

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 The Coastal Zone Policy, 2005 and Coastal Development Strategy, 2006 integrates issues on climate change adaptation and disaster risk management as does the National Agriculture Policy (1999).  National Food Policy (2006)  The Draft National Disaster Management Policy (2008) integrates and climate change adaptation in all development plans, programmes and policies.  The National Plan for Disaster Management (2008-2015) (which aims to address disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation comprehensively).  The Bangladesh Second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (2009) (which includes a supporting strategy that touches on caring for the environment and supporting climate change).

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PART 8 – CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Introduction Although 80% of respondents in the household survey believe the NHRC will be able to play its role in the current political climate in Bangladesh, interviewees and those attending focus groups expressed concern about the limited capacity of the NHRC and the need for it to work together with others and to build networks and links if it is going to meet its mandate. There was no real sense from respondents in the household survey that the GoB will attempt to interfere in the work of the NHRC, but many of those interviewed and taking part in focus groups did raise concerns in this regard. This is obviously something that the NHRC will need to plan for but it is beyond the scope of this survey and report to deal with how this should be managed at the political level. On the other hand, it should be anticipated that some resistance to public awareness and education around contentious issues, such as the rights of indigenous peoples, can be expected and the NHRC will need to resist attempts to restrict what it chooses to focus on. In addition, its limited capacity will of course mean that some issues need to be prioritised and that the NHRC might need to form partnerships or find alternative ways to address issues rather than attempting to do everything itself.

In this Chapter, we look at the various methods available to the NHRC in conducting education and awareness campaigns and other means at its disposal in addition to such campaigns (Sections 2 and 3). We then move on (in Section 4) to consider the various issues raised during the survey and the most appropriate messages and methods to address these.

2. Methods – education and awareness People are only able to claim and protect their rights when they know what human rights are, that they are (mainly) legally enforceable, and when they are aware of what institutions, including the NHRC, exist to assist them when their rights are violated or ignored. There are a multitude of methods for conducting public education, awareness and information campaigns alone or in partnership with others. a. Joint campaigns Most National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), including the NHRC, have limited human resources and other capacity to deal with their wide mandates. At the same time, NHRIs’ public education and awareness campaigns almost invariably focus on areas that civil society organisations, international NGOs, UN agencies and others have already prioritised. These organisations and agencies have laid much of the groundwork around awareness and education on human rights issues and provide excellent starting points for an NHRI, but there is also the potential of overlaps, duplication of effort and wasted resources as a result.

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Recommendations  It will be important for the NHRC to liaise with NGOs and UN agencies prior to entering into any awareness and education campaign to see what these are doing or planning, what messages and methods will be used, and whether these are in line with its own strategy.204 Where they are, the NHRC has two options: o To leave the awareness and education to others to conduct and then to focus on areas where gaps exist; or o To consider a joint campaign bringing its own resources and outreach to the table to increase the effectiveness and impact of any such campaign. b. Will targeted campaigns be required? Although differences are found when the data from the baseline survey are disaggregated, these are not profound enough in most cases to suggest that specific campaigns are required to reach specific targets and that campaigns aimed at the general population will be as effective as campaigns aimed at specific individuals. Exceptions to the rule are campaigns aimed at the rights of Adibashis that should focus primarily on the areas where Adibashis are most commonly found.

Recommendation  Except for campaigns on the rights of Adibashis specifically targeting communities where Adibashis are commonly found, public awareness and education campaigns should target the entire country. c. Human rights in formal education Responses in the household survey indicate that people across the spectrum benefitted from human rights education messages at school, which suggests that including human rights education in the formal curriculum should be prioritised. In this regard, and for primary school education in particular, UNESCO provides useful materials for early learners that NHRC might find useful to consult.205

Other campaigns could also target schools on a broad range of issues. Such campaigns could include events at schools and essay, art, debating and other competitions and workshops aimed at raising awareness of gender equality,

204 One of the methods the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) used to establish what gaps existed that were not being addressed by others was to write to all civil society organisations in the country and to ask them to send copies of all publications they had produced and to complete a questionnaire on where they were based, which communities they served, the languages publications in which these were available, and how to obtain copies. A database was then created so that gaps could be identified and duplication of effort minimised. In addition, when a request for publications was received from a member of the public that the SAHRC had not produced, members of the SAHRC could check the database and advise members of the public how to obtain materials that others had produced. 205 UNESCO: Human Rights Education (online), Available at: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/humanrights-education/

107 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights other cultural, religious, ethnic and linguistic groups, and issues of disability.206

In this regard, it should be noted that Bangladesh is a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 13 of which calls for state parties to:

Agree that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.207

Recommendations  NHRC should lobby for human rights education to be included in the formal education curriculum as a distinct subject at different levels.  Once this has been achieved, the NHRC can assist in the development of the curriculum and in learning material development, and can assist in training of educators using the training of trainers approach.  In the interim, the NHRC might consider: o A separate activity to scope all existing textbooks for discriminatory, abusive, sexist and other comments and issues o Campaigns (such as art and essay writing competitions) targeting school children as a way of raising awareness and understanding of human rights. d. Television and radio Television and radio were identified in the study as the main sources of information and knowledge on human rights. Both have the potential to reach wide target audiences and benefit from being able to convey messages to everyone, including the non-literate, poor and rural dwellers who are less likely to be reached using printed materials than richer, wealthier and better educated people in Bangladesh.

Radio and television adverts can be expensive, but there are ways of keeping these costs down and there are other ways of using the media – such as by encouraging radio and television stations to hold discussions, interviews and call-in shows using Commissioners and senior staff of the NHRC and other human rights experts identified by the NHRC. These ideas are expanded upon in Annexure I.

Recommendation  Radio and television should be prioritised, or at minimum considered, when designing education and awareness campaigns. e. Publications Publications such as booklets and pamphlets are commonly used and very effective methods for awareness and education. Their main drawbacks are

206 Tips and ideas for running competitions in schools are attached to this report as Annexure I. 207 United Nations (1966), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 13.

108 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights the cost involved and that they are only of value to literate members of society. On the other hand, they are long lasting, capable of reaching large numbers of people and provide options for education, information and awareness. The most commonly used are:  Booklets (best used for education campaigns).  Pamphlets (most appropriate for information and awareness only – both on human rights issues and for information and awareness of the roles and functions of the NHRC).  Comics – used mainly for specific age groups that read these.  Posters – mainly used for information only since text should be kept to a minimum. They can also be used effectively to raise awareness of the rights protected by the Constitution by listing the rights in Part III and by providing very simple definitions of what these rights mean.  Newspaper inserts on various human rights issues that can also be used as posters in schools.  Newsletters (including electronic newsletters), which can be used to keep people informed of the work of the NHRC.  Postcards.  Billboards (which are really just large posters and are mainly used for information and awareness rather than for education).  Stickers.  Adverts on buses and rickshaws.  Use of popular art, cinema poster style graphics and rickshaw paintings.

Ideally, publications should be translated into various languages. Tips and ideas for developing publications, and for keeping the cost of translations to a minimum, are included in Annexure I.

Recommendation  It is recommended that the NHRC consider a broad range of publications targeting specific human rights issues, and at minimum a plain language pamphlet on the role and functions of the NHRC. Ideas for what publications might work best are included in the recommendations that follow. f. Workshops, street theatre and community meetings The high levels of people reached through neighbours and public discussions indicates that some forms of community meetings, workshops, courtyard meetings, street and popular theatre, and even e-learning programmes and television programmes using Skype communications,208 should be considered. Of course, all of these methods are fairly labour intensive and only reach comparatively small numbers of people at a time, but the reach of workshops in particular can be increased by encouraging NGOs and others to use workshops developed by the NHRC and also to include awareness and information on the NHRC and its roles and functions in workshops they already run.

208 See for example the ‘Connecting Bangladesh’ programme on ATN News.

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Tips and ideas for designing and conducting workshops and dramas are included in Annexure I.

Recommendation  The NHRC should consider developing a general workshop (including a manual for trainers) on human rights and the role and functions of the commission. Ideas for other workshops that might prove useful are included in the recommendations that follow. g. Low cost and no cost methods Lessons learned from child rights organisations in Brazil and the South African Human Rights Commission show that there is potential for low and no cost activities to be run, such as encouraging those who package goods that poor people most often use, like candles and matches, to carry human rights messages on the packaging.

A variety of low cost and no cost ideas are included in Annexure I.

3. Other methods While education and awareness-raising campaigns are powerful tools in bringing about greater respect for and protection of human rights, they are not the only weapons in an NHRI’s arsenal. NHRIs occupy a unique position in any country – one that many have failed to grasp. Perhaps because members and staff often have a civil society background, there is a tendency for some Human Rights Commissions to operate in very similar ways to NGOs.209 Most NHRIs, including the Bangladesh NHRC, have various roles and broad mandates including public education and awareness, receiving and investigating complaints, monitoring government compliance with human rights norms and standards (including those in the Constitution and international and regional instruments) and advocacy and lobbying.

Although the survey team were not required to consider other methods, education and awareness are not always the most appropriate methods to use when seeking to address particular human rights violations and problems. As a result, the following should also be considered by the NHRC. a. Advocacy and lobbying Given their status, NHRIs are uniquely positioned to lobby government to adopt or amend legislation to bring it in line with human rights norms and standards, to submit reports to UN agencies and bodies, and to advocate for an end to systemic and systematic human rights abuses. Many of the issues that have been raised during the baseline survey are issues that are best

209 A recent UNDP-OHCHR publication, aimed primarily at those wishing to support NHRIs, provides valuable insight into how NHRIs can become more effective and can claim and occupy the particular space that only such institutions can occupy. The report, entitled UNDP- OHRC Tool-kit for Collaborating with National Human Rights Institutions (2010) can be downloaded from: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/NHRI/1950-UNDP-UHCHR- Toolkit-LR.pdf

110 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights dealt with via advocacy and lobbying instead of, or together with, a public education and awareness campaign.

In addition to lobbying for human rights to be included in the formal education curriculum, other areas arising from the survey where NHRC might lobby and advocate are included in the appropriate sections below. b. Training As suggested by many of those consulted as part of the qualitative survey and indicated in research, there is clearly a need for human rights training to be provided to those who, because of the nature of their functions, are traditionally seen as the most likely to violate human rights in any society in the world – the police (including RAB), military and prisons.210 But there are others too who would benefit from such training, including officials responsible for migrant workers, health service providers, teachers, and officials in all of the government departments and bodies providing socio-economic services. Of course, there is no way the NHRC could conduct all of the training that would need to be provided and it is suggested that this is not really their role. Instead, the role of the NHRC should be really to make sure that such training happens and that it is in line with the Constitution and international human rights standards. The NHRC should in particular be wary of providing training directly to the RAB given current debates and controversy in this area.

Recommendations for where lobbying for and assisting in training might be appropriate are included in the sections below. c. Investigations Predictably for a national survey and recent establishment of the NHRC, virtually none of those in the household survey have yet reported a matter to it – 99.7%. But this will change as knowledge and awareness increase. Since many human rights commissions become overwhelmed by complaints, the NHRC too will need to consider how to deal with these without being swamped.

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are generally involved in three broad types of investigations:  Individual complaints (or complaints from small, easily identifiable groups). These are usually reported to the NHRI by the individuals or groups concerned, but they may also be identified from reports of other organisations and in media reports.

210 The current (and comparatively recently revised) human rights training programme for the South African Police Service adopted a new approach to such training which might prove useful for the NHRC to consider. Previous programmes had focused on issues such as what are human rights and what they mean in practice. Although this was important in the South African perspective, since the very idea of human rights was so new, it failed to stop torture and other violations by the police. As a result, the new programme focuses less on what human rights are and mean, and more on what the consequences will be for society, the community, investment, development, and, critically, for police officers and their families if they were found guilty of the crimes linked to such violations (murder, assault, civil claims etc. – since South Africa too has no specific law outlawing torture).

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 Major Events – such as riots following elections or in response to killings by the police and others.  Systemic violations (such as discrimination against women, Adibashis and people with disabilities, and child labour).

The options available to an NHRI when dealing with human rights violations depend on the powers in its founding legislation but could include:  Referring the matter to another or better placed national or international institution, or to a relevant civil society organisation.  Mediation and negotiation.  Reporting the matter to the police for investigation and prosecution (either after the violation has been fully investigated or, where the police can be trusted to investigate properly, once it becomes clear that a crime or crimes have been committed).  Bringing a civil action (either for civil damages or to prevent the harm from continuing or arising again).  Holding an inquiry (usually following a major event or into systemic violations).  Make recommendations for addressing the issue.  Lobbying and advocating for new laws or amendments to laws.

Many systemic violations of rights can be addressed through education and awareness. Researchers, investigations staff, senior managers and Commissioners all have a role to play in this regard. It is important to keep and analyse records of complaints received, media reports and reports of other role players to spot when problems are systemic and where education and awareness might be more effective than dealing with each complaint individually. For example, if there is a steady increase in complaints around child labour, then it is an indication that the problem is systemic. While the NHRC may decide to deal with each complaint separately, it may make better sense to deal with one or two as test cases, coupled with an education and awareness campaign that talks not only about the law and harmful effects of child labour, but that also includes information on what happened in the test cases to warn employers of the consequences they too might face. The NHRC should also consider engaging or intervening in existing cases by undertaking broader investigations that courts cannot do, or to monitor the implementation of judgments.

Lastly, it was suggested by many people consulted during the survey that, in addition to collaborating with NGOs on public awareness and education campaigns, NGOs can also receive and refer complaints to the NHRC, giving it instant and great outreach in the absence of offices outside of Dhaka. This approach has been followed effectively by NHRIs in places like Malawi, but a word of caution is required: using NGOs and others to receive and refer complaints to NHRIs increases their outreach at minimal cost, but it also has the potential to put enormous strain on their capacity to deal with the increased number of complaints. And failure to adequately deal with all complaints received can lead to frustrated expectations and seriously damage the reputation of the NHRI concerned.

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4. Messages – and the methods to convey them a. Understanding of human rights and the Constitution Less than half of respondents in the household survey had heard the term ‘human rights’ while a substantial number of those who had heard the term (18.1%) were not able to describe what it means. At the same time, low levels of understanding that the Constitution and other laws include and protect human rights, indicate too that all human rights messages will need to draw attention to this. These messages can be kept very simple – for example:

Human rights are the rights we all have from the moment we are born. They protect us from abuse of power by government and make sure our most basic needs (such as food and health care) are met. Everyone in Bangladesh is entitled to these rights – regardless of whether they are men or women, their age, their religion, where they were born or how much money they have. You don’t have to do anything to earn these rights and they are protected by the Constitution – Bangladesh’s highest law.

Of course the actual message will need to be determined and agreed by the NHRC itself, but the above approach may be useful in this process.

At the same time, many of the rights issues prioritised by the NHRC relate to discrimination and violence by one or more groups against other groups. One of the ways of addressing this is to constantly remind target audiences that rights come with obligations, and that if one wants to claim the protection of one’s rights, one must be prepared to respect the rights of others.

Recommendations  Limited awareness of the term ‘human rights’ and the role of the Constitution suggests that all information, awareness and education messages (print and non-print) should contain a basic definition of what the term means, as well as that human rights are protected by the Constitution (and, when dealing with specific issues, by other laws covering that issue as well).  All human rights messages should include that human rights come with obligations to respect the law and the rights of others, and that they apply equally to everyone  Education and awareness of institutions that exist to deal with rights violations (such as the NHRC), needs to be provided. This could easily be included in booklets and pamphlets produced on the role of the NHRC by including a list of other institutions, what their mandates are and how to contact them. b. Equality and freedom from unfair discrimination The comparatively low ranking of the right to equality by respondents can be correlated with the apparent highly formalistic understanding of equality reflected in answers to various parts of the survey, which indicates a need for awareness-raising to focus on substantive equality, non-discrimination and

113 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights positive discrimination/ affirmative action (referred to as ‘special measures’ in the Constitution).

Many of the responses related to discrimination against women were similar to those received to questions on violence against women (VAW). As a result, it is recommended that awareness and education on the right to equality should be included in and be part of campaigns on VAW and discrimination. More detailed recommendations for these are set out below.

When it comes to other forms of discrimination, this is mainly seen as something that people do to each other in the home and community rather than something practised by government, which indicates messages on the right to equality should be aimed at prevention of discrimination in the home and community rather than reporting government abuses. That does not mean that discriminatory laws and practices don’t exist, but such laws and practices are best addressed through research, lobbying and advocacy (as recommended below).

Reflecting the work done by NGOs and others, people already have a very good understanding that unfair discrimination is wrong. This is especially true in the areas of gender discrimination and discrimination against people with disabilities, but less so when it comes to religious minorities and markedly less so when it comes to Adibashis. This indicates:

Recommendations  There is probably a need for a general anti-discrimination campaign that focuses on the consequences of unfair discrimination rather than merely that it is wrong. This should focus on the consequences for the victim of discrimination as well as the consequences for the perpetrators, the families of victims and perpetrators, the community, and the country as a whole.  One of the best ways of addressing discrimination is to target children and young people to try to prevent discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes taking hold. In addition to including anti-discrimination messages in any human rights curriculum developed for schools, the NHRC could consider running cultural events in schools and communities as well as essay, art or other competitions for school children on anti-discrimination themes.  Given that most problems faced by religious minorities are reported at the community level, awareness campaigns in this area should focus on social inclusion rather than protecting one’s rights against the state and its mechanisms. Such programmes could be aimed at schools and young people generally, aimed at educating them on and building tolerance towards each other’s religions, ceremonies and beliefs; and at Bangladeshis generally on the importance of respecting other people’s beliefs and value systems. As previously mentioned, such campaigns should also include a focus on rights and responsibilities so that people realise that if they want to claim rights for themselves, they need to respect the rights of others in their homes and communities.  Given the attitudes towards Dalits in Hindu society, education and awareness aimed at redressing discrimination against religious minorities

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generally should include messages that both raise awareness of their rights amongst the majority of the population, and that raise awareness amongst religious minorities that if they want their rights to be respected, they have an obligation to respect the rights of others – including Dalits.  There is a need for more targeted campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the rights of religious minorities and Adibashis coupled with awareness that this is unfair and with messages about consequences for victims, perpetrators, families, communities and the country.  With regard to people with disabilities, public awareness campaigns should focus on social inclusion and decreasing levels of discrimination in the community and less on protecting one’s rights against the state and its mechanisms. Although legally entrenched barriers remain and affirmative action is still required, these are issues better dealt with through advocacy and lobbying than through awareness and education.  When it comes to the issues facing women with disabilities (WWD), many of these could be addressed by including them in other, general public awareness or education campaigns aimed at child and/or women’s rights. For example, a campaign on early marriage could include a specific focus or message on the risks facing girl children with disabilities, while a campaign on violence against women could include a message aimed at women/girls with disabilities as survivors of domestic violence. Other issues – such as access to health care, would be better dealt with through advocacy and lobbying campaigns, including those focused on the rights of people with disabilities generally.  The NHRC should consider a programme to scope existing laws and policies to identify which of these lead to discrimination against women, religious minorities, people with disabilities and indigenous peoples – and then lobby for changes to such laws and policies and for affirmative action legislation and policy for women and girls, religious minorities, people with disabilities and indigenous peoples.  The NHRC could lobby for greater compliance with UN principles and guidelines on minorities’ in particular recommendations of the concerned UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Rights, with a particular focus on Dalits and the recommendations of the CEDAW Committee. c. Violence against women It is clear that most people understand that violence against women in all its forms (including issues like dowry and early marriage) is wrong. As a result, campaigns need to focus on the consequences for victims, perpetrators, families, communities and the country. These can be reinforced by including a focus on the Constitution and other laws (especially since knowledge of the law is comparatively low in most cases, while knowledge of the Constitution is very low) so that (a) perpetrators know it is not only wrong, but that it is also illegal, that victims have enforceable rights and that there may well be legal consequences flowing from their actions, and (b) that victims are empowered through knowledge and understanding that their rights are protected, legally enforceable, and what to do when these are violated.

Recommendations

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 Given that most respondents already know that violence against women in any form is unacceptable, education and awareness measures need to focus on the legal and criminal consequences of such violence and should target both perpetrators (to dissuade them) and victims (to empower them to report). It should also focus on the consequences for families, communities, and the country as a whole. This would require at least some information, in very plain language, of the laws that exist and the penalties and protections they create.  Messages aimed at reducing levels of sexual violence, acid attacks, harassment and use of dowry can be included in more general campaigns on women’s rights and VAW that, once again, should focus on the consequences for women and perpetrators, families of perpetrators, and on the community and country as a whole.  Campaigns on VAW should include a focus on reducing the levels of stigmatisation survivors of such violence experience as a way of encouraging women to report such crimes. Campaigns on domestic violence in particular, should include information on where women who have been abused can report this and access services as a way of empowering women to claim and enforce their rights.  The NHRC could lobby o For changes to the law relating to rape in marriage and for increased training on victim empowerment and victims’ rights to be provided to police, prosecutors and courts. Any such training programmes should be vetted and approved by the NHRC, and staff should attend randomly selected training sessions to audit that the correct messages are being conveyed. o To commit funds for the rehabilitation of acid survivors, to include quotas for government jobs for acid survivors, and for disability allowances from the social welfare department to be paid to such survivors.  The perceptions that a woman or girl who has been raped needs to be married off to the perpetrator to avoid stigmatisation or because she can no longer expect to find a husband needs to be specifically addressed.  A campaign aimed at school- and college-goers (as part of or in addition to human rights education as part of the formal curriculum) on sexual harassment and its consequences for girls and women might also be considered.  The perception held by 60% of respondents that violence against women has decreased despite the fact that research shows no such decline needs to be addressed. The NHRC could both lobby for accurate statistics to be kept by government in this regard and should also include statistics based on other research that show the levels of incidence of violence and how underreported such violence is in the country.  As a way of highlighting VAW and raising the profile of the Commission, the NHRC should take the lead in Bangladesh awareness raising activities and events around the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.211

211 The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's

116 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights d. Violence by state mechanisms Although there needs to be a concerted advocacy and lobbying campaign in this area, there is also need to focus on increasing understanding of when the police and RAB can and cannot use lethal force. This can be partly addressed in a more general campaign on the rights of people suspected of committing a crime, the rights of those arrested and detained, and the right to a fair trial.

With regard to extrajudicial killings and excessive use of force, the NHRC has already begun playing a role in the matter and has been at the forefront of calls for a RAB officer to be held accountable in the ‘Limon’ case, which has shown how effective a media strategy can be in both highlighting issues facing the country and simultaneously raising the public profile of the Commission.212 Such work can be furthered by public awareness and education on the rights of detained and arrested people and the right to a fair trial and to seek redress through the courts when these rights are violated.

Ordinarily, campaigns aimed at reducing levels of violence by state mechanisms should focus on the consequences for perpetrators and their families. However, given the almost absolute impunity enjoyed by members of the police and the RAB, such messages will not work until the issue of impunity is addressed. Although some success might be achieved through training of police and the RAB, there are clearly high levels of acceptance of torture, or at least resignation to the fact that it can be expected. It would therefore be appropriate to provide education on this right, including the definition of torture in the CAT and available remedies under the law, for both law enforcement agencies and the general public.

Recommendations  Campaigns to address violence by state mechanisms should start with lobbying for changes to the law to remove the impunity police officers and members of the RAB currently enjoy. A test case, where the NHRC puts

Global Leadership in 1991. (It runs from 25 November) and 10 December (International Human Rights Day) each year. 212 According to a report on the Daily Star wesbite dated 7 April 2011: ‘RAB shot Limon in the left leg at his village Chhaturia in Rajapur of Jhalakathi in the afternoon of March 23 when he was taking his cows to the field. Limon bled for three hours on the bank of river Sandhya before the RAB members realised that the boy immediately needed medical attention. The law enforcers then took him to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital in Barisal, which took another five hours on the way. Doctors on March 25 referred Limon to National Institute of Traumatology, Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation (Nitor) hospital in the capital being sure that the injury was life threatening and irreversible. Limon's left leg was amputated from the thigh on March 27 as his leg tissues were totally damaged due to excessive bleeding. After the tragic story of Limon was published in a Bangla daily on Wednesday, Prof Mizanur Rahman, chairman of National Human Rights Commission, visited Limon and his relatives at Nitor. He said the commission would ask the home ministry to from a body to probe the incident. He also said the commission would investigate the incident itself along with other human rights organisations. “We want to know who gave the authority to RAB to shoot a man even if he is a criminal,” said Prof Mizanur Rahman.’ Available at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=180810. Limon was freed on bail by the High Court on 6 May 2011 after a bail petition was filed on his behalf by ASK. Available at: ‘Limon finally gets bail’ - http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news- details.php?nid=184458

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pressure on government to authorise a prosecution under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code should also be considered.  The NHRC should lobby ministers, bureaucrats and heads of police, prisons and the RAB to include training as a separate topic or (better still) to mainstream human rights into all the training materials and programmes used in that institution. Once such a commitment is received, the NHRC could consider training trainers within these institutions and monitoring / auditing training programmes to ensure that the training is being provided, that the correct messages are imparted, and that messages are not diluted by the trainers.  With regard to extrajudicial killings, the NHRC has already begun playing a role in the matter and has been at the forefront of calls for a RAB officer to be held accountable in the ‘Limon’ case. Such work can be furthered by public awareness and education on the rights of detained and arrested people and the right to a fair trial and to seek redress through the courts when these rights are violated.  With regard to the torture, the NHRC should lobby for clear legislation outlawing torture and providing compensation to victims in compliance with CAT.  Education on the right to be free from torture is suggested for both law enforcement agencies and the general public. Such education and awareness messages could be specifically targeted at the right to be free from torture and a clear definition of what the term means, or they could be combined with more general campaigns on access to justice, the rights of arrested and detained people, and the right to a fair trial.213  The NHRC should lobby for the ratification of the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and the Optional Protocol to CAT that provides for the establishment of a system of regular visits by independent international and national bodies to places of detention. e. Access to justice People are far more likely to use the informal justice system than the formal justice system, mainly because of the reduced costs involved and closer proximity of Shalish and other mechanisms, even though they are fairly critical of their functioning. This suggests that role players in the informal system (and the formal system for that matter) would benefit from education on human rights, women’s rights and the rights of other vulnerable groups.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to justice in both of the systems is the level of corruption reported (perhaps more so in the formal than informal system), lack of accountability and bias. Although the NHRC will not focus on anti- corruption under its current strategic plan, corruption in the formal justice system is widely reported as a major issue impacting on the ability of the poor,

213 However, a word of caution is required based on lessons learned from the South African Human Rights Commission, which chose prisoner’s rights as one of the first areas on which to focus after its establishment. Given that crime and violence were rapidly escalating in the country, focusing on the rights of ‘criminals’ rather than on the victims of crime so early in the Commission’s existence was met with criticism by the media and the public and damaged public perception of the South African Commission for some time.

118 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights women, Adibashis and other vulnerable groups to access justice in the formal system.

Recommendations  Role players in both the formal and informal systems would benefit from education on human rights generally and women’s rights in particular. Although the NHRC will clearly not be able to provide all of the training required, consideration could be given to: o Partnering with or assisting NGOs providing such training in the informal sector. o Vetting existing training programmes for members of the formal system to ensure human rights are included and accurately reflected.  While the NHRC does not currently include anti-corruption in its strategic plan, education and awareness campaigns on the rights of detained, arrested and accused people can contribute to reducing corruption and empowering people to claim and protect their rights in this regard. Consideration could also be given to: o Ensuring that all training programmes in both the formal and informal systems include anti-corruption measures and a focus on accountability and bias. o The approach by the Nepal NHRC to address corruption in the civil justice system: With the consent of the Judiciary, the Nepal NHRC has painted the amounts to be paid for all court related services (issuing and serving summons etc.) on the walls of Courts so that everyone knows exactly how much they are legally required to pay.  Some human rights organisations are already conducting training on human rights, women’s rights and non-discrimination. It might prove useful for the NHRC to consider partnering with these. f. Socio-economic rights Socio-economic rights are clearly important to Bangladeshis given the levels of poverty in the country. The issue is clouded somewhat though by the fact that these are included in Part II of the Constitution as fundamental principles of state policy rather than enforceable rights. However, as dealt with in the body of this report, the Supreme Court has observed that article 8(2) of the Constitution provisions are compulsory and binding that non-justiciability does not mean that the State can continue to ignore the fundamental principles of state policy indefinitely.

Recommendations  The NHRC should lobby for greater compliance with the fundamental principles of state policy in Part II of the Constitution and should raise awareness of what people are entitled to expect from the state with regard to their socio-economic rights in Part II of the Constitution and in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.  Although it is government’s responsibility to raise awareness of the services it provides, the NHRC could consider a booklet that first discusses what socio-economic rights are and how these are protected in

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Bangladesh, and that then sets out all services offered by government, summarises them, and provides information on how to access them.  Given the recognition by Government of the need to provide critical services to vulnerable groups, the NHRC should also consider other options for improving access to socio-economic rights such as monitoring government’s compliance with such rights (referring to the relevant Fundamental Principles of State Policy in Part II of the Constitution); the ICESCR and other relevant international instruments; research into how many people have access to these services, the barriers they currently face and the gaps that exist in services provided; and then lobbying and advocacy for greater measures and efforts on the part of government to provide services equitably (regardless of political affiliation, sex, gender, disability, or any other ground other than the need of the applicant) and to allow greater participation in the decision-making processes.  The survey confirms families are more likely to invest time and money into a boy child’s education than for a girl child. This indicates that public awareness on equality, the rights of the child and the need to invest in the education of girls could have some impact. Such messages could be reinforced by including similar messages in campaigns on child rights and child labour (see below).  There is clearly a role for the NHRC in raising awareness of the rights of migrant workers, the role and responsibilities of recruiting agents, and what to do when these violate the rights of workers. However, it appears that the major problem in this regard is the lack of controls and attention to the problem by the authorities, which tends to suggest that advocacy and perhaps test cases will be required as well. On the other hand, the majority of human rights violations per se take place outside of Bangladesh where there is little that the NHRC can do to address the complaints. Nonetheless, the following options are suggested: o Lobbying for revision of the laws and systems to protect migrant workers from abuse by recruitment agents while at the same time ensuring that those who want to work abroad are able to do so to reduce the incidence of trafficking. o Lobbying for a regional forum for national human rights commissions, particularly targeting those countries to which migrant workers regularly travel. o Forming links with NHRCs in other countries to encourage them to deal with complaints by migrant workers in their countries and to raise awareness of the rights of workers and of the right to complain to the NHRC in destination countries. o Lobbying for Bangladesh Missions in destination countries to play a greater role in job certification and protection of the rights of the migrant workers. o Working together with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment to ensure appropriate training on migrant/human rights issues for staff of Bangladesh Missions.

120 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights g. Child rights and child labour Any campaigns on child rights will need to include an explanation of who is a child and where this definition comes from. And there is clearly a need for greater protection of children and for laws relating to their protection to be brought in line with the protections in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Constitution.

The responses to questions on child labour paint a fairly tragic picture since, despite high levels of understanding that children ought not to be engaged in work that detracts from their education and that impacts on their development, and that some forms of work can be particularly dangerous for children, poverty forces people to allow children to work in all forms of labour knowing the risks to the child involved. Nonetheless, given the scope of the problem and the enormous consequences for children, child labour is clearly an area where a concerted public education and awareness campaign is required.

Recommendations  The NHRC should urgently lobby for changes to the Children Act (currently under review) and other legislation to bring these in line with the CRC.  Any campaigns on child rights and child labour must include an explanation on who is a ‘child’. In the absence of a constitutional definition, it is suggested that the definition in the CRC is used, with an explanation of where it comes from.  There is clearly a need for continued education and awareness on the law prohibiting early marriage and the consequences of early marriage for girls. Poverty will continue to drive underage marriage and cannot be addressed through awareness raising, but given the knowledge that it is unacceptable and the understanding of the consequences, there is fertile ground for awareness raising emphasising health and other risks, advocating for an end to the practise, and simply asserting the legal prohibition on both early marriage and the consequences for those who arrange such marriages.  Answers to the types of discipline that are acceptable suggest that awareness of the rights of children to be free from all forms of violence, including domestic violence and violence in schools, could be strengthened with a public awareness campaign on child rights generally.  Awareness on sexual exploitation and trafficking of children is required. This could be included in general campaigns, but the low levels of understanding of these as issues facing children suggests that a specific campaign on sexual violence including trafficking of women, children and men should also be considered.  Although it can and should be mentioned in any other child rights campaigns, child labour is also one of the areas where a specifically targeted campaign would appear appropriate. Such a campaign should be targeted at the general public, but the messages in these should specifically target employers, children and parents and should focus on the consequences for the child and for those employing them when law and policy in this regard is ignored.

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 Given the role already being played by UNICEF in child labour and trafficking, the NHRC should consider how best to jointly campaign with UNICEF in this regard. h. Adibashis It is clear that any public awareness around Adibashis and indigenous peoples’ rights will need to include a focus on simply raising awareness of who Adibashis are and what problems they face. A substantial level of resistance from within sections of the government and probably amongst ‘settler’ communities would need to be anticipated and planned for as well.

On the other hand, the problems reported for Adibashis are very similar to those for religious minorities generally – noting of course that Adibashis too follow minority religions.

Recommendations  The NHRC should advocate for greater acceptance of the status of Adibashis as indigenous peoples covered by the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989, and for ratification of the Convention.  A general campaign on the rights of Adibashis is indicated (given the general lack of awareness across all groups). Given that government is currently resistant to recognising Adibashis as indigenous peoples, a campaign for the rights of Adibashis to at least follow their religions and cultures could be subtly woven into a campaign for greater respect within the community for the rights of religious minorities.  Awareness raising campaigns should also raise awareness of the advantages of diversity for a country and of the importance of recognising the unique cultures and customs of all people in the country. Such campaigns may find particular purchase amongst school children and could form the basis of art and essay competitions in schools.  The NHRC should advocate for greater compliance with the CHT Accord, immediate activation of the Land Commission  Although the report does not consider the rights of refugees in general and the particular issues and problems facing the Rohingya in particular, campaigns on diversity and indigenous peoples should include similar messages on the Rohingya and seek to raise awareness of the cultures and customs and the particular problems they face. i. Climate change As noted in the body of the report, Bangladeshis are victims of climate change rather than major causes of the phenomenon. But while government is clearly aware of the issues and is taking commendable steps to address the impact through numerous laws and policies, there are still roles for the NHRC in this regard.

Recommendations  NHRC efforts should focus on:

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o Ensuring the GoB continues to plan for any impact climate change will have on the lives of all those living in Bangladesh, especially more marginalised or vulnerable communities. o Articulating and monitoring the human rights implications of climate change (given that it impacts on rights in areas such as food, health, shelter and livelihoods).  It has also been suggested that the NHRC should engage in international inter-governmental negotiations about human rights of people who are vulnerable to disaster and climate change etc.  The NHRC could also monitor coordination and initiatives at district level – for example, by monitoring the usage of Climate Fund disbursements to avoid any risk of embezzlement.

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Annex A – Terms of Reference

Baseline Survey on the Human Rights Situation and Public Awareness on the NHRC in Bangladesh

Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission Capacity Development Project

Background Bangladesh is a developing nation and a fledgling democracy. Steady economic growth since the early 1990s has resulted in rapid gains in Human Development. Bangladesh is currently on track to meet a number of the Millennium Development Goals. Despite impressive achievements in a variety of fields, Bangladesh suffers from weak governance, poverty and limited government capacity to deliver basic services. For example, access to justice, respect for the rule of law and knowledge of human rights are generally acknowledged as inadequate. In order to meet the 2006- 2010 UNDAF outcome of progressively fulfilling the human rights of women, children and the vulnerable, the Government of Bangladesh continues to require considerable support to strengthen the foundations of democratic governance.

On 1 December 2008, establishment of Bangladesh’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was completed with the appointment of three Commissioners. In accordance with its official mandate, the NHRC will serve as the major national human rights watchdog, monitoring implementation of state obligations to respect protection and fulfilment of rights of every single member of society, addressing specific human rights complaints through investigation, mediation and conciliation, and where necessary, through constitutional litigation, and more broadly through raising public awareness. It is expected to play a strong role in ensuring consistency of laws and policies with international standards.

The project document for the “Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission Capacity Development Project” was signed in May 2010 for a period of 5 years. The Project’s objective is to improve the promotion and protection of human rights of all, particularly for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, such as women, disabled, ethnic minorities and children through institutional capacity development of the National Human Rights Commission. It aims at building the capacity of the NHRC to function as an effective and credible institution that can fulfil its legislative mandate and an institution which itself determines its targeted human rights priorities in the short, medium and long term. The project has four outcome areas: 1. institutional development, 2. human rights monitoring and investigation 3. human rights awareness 4. human rights research reporting and policy development.

Description of Assignment

The objective of Outcome 3 of the Project Document/AWP 2011, is to build the capacity of the NHRC to undertake human rights education and training and awareness raising in Bangladesh. In order to provide a baseline of public awareness and perception, the project document makes provision for a detailed baseline study to determine public attitudes and awareness of human rights as well as the Commission’s existence and role. Apart from providing baseline information for measuring the effectiveness of education and awareness raising campaigns under

124 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights the project, the baseline data will also support the NHRC to implement its strategic plan. The NHRC can also use it for planning and prioritization of its activities over the next 5 years.

For this purpose, the Project would like to commission a baseline survey assessing the current human rights situation and public awareness of the NHRC in Bangladesh. The analysis of the human rights situation in the Bangladesh will adopt a rights- based approach to gender equality.

The main objective of the baseline survey serve as a bench mark to measure project progress in relation to the overall objectives and outputs of the Project as well as to provide the basis for the implementation of the five year strategic plan by informing strategic planning processes and decisions and prioritization of activities in the four outcome areas of the project. The baseline survey findings and recommendations are expected to influence the strategic planning and prioritization of activities at the initial stage of the Project including the design of the NHRC complaints mechanism and the monitoring of human rights violations by the NHRC, the types of awareness raising activities that need to be conducted by the NHRC, and the priorities of the NHRC for advocacy for policy and law reform. The base-line survey will be followed by an end-term evaluation survey to measure project progress and to adjust, where necessary, strategic direction and ensure better targeting of activities.

Specific objectives of the base-line survey are:

(i) To gain an understanding of the current human rights situation in Bangladesh in particular awareness on human rights, experiences of human rights violations, needs for redress (ii) To assess the strengths and weaknesses of the legal and policy framework for the protection of human rights in Bangladesh (iii) To serve as a basis to measure public awareness on the NHRC and its mandate (iv) To identify and define how the potential stakeholders will support the NHRC to improve the Human Rights situation in Bangladesh through giving special emphasis on the selected priority thematic areas. For the realization of this objective, the consultants will have an in-depth interaction with the specialized groups/stakeholders as mentioned in the Draft Strategic Plan of NHRC and identified during the consultative workshops. (v) To serve as a bench-mark to assess the impacts of the project at a later stage

Apart from analyzing the present human rights situation in Bangladesh on the basis of Bangladesh’s international human rights obligations and the existing national legal and policy framework to ensure implementation of these obligations, the base-line survey would assess public awareness of human rights, experiences of human rights violations, awareness on the existence of the NHRC, and use of other mechanisms and needs to seek redress for human rights violations.

Geographical Coverage

Overall targeted geographical area for the NHRC Project is the whole of Bangladesh in order to improve the human rights situation of citizens. The baseline-survey is intended to cover both urban and rural areas and should notably target poorer

125 │ P a g e National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights districts in Bangladesh. A total sample size of 3000 would be appropriate for a quantitative survey covering all seven divisions and approximately 80 FGDs and KIIs

Target Respondents

Following a Human-Rights Based Approach (HRBA), the base-line survey would in the determination of the survey sample and collection of data focus on the poor and disadvantaged who as the most vulnerable groups of society in Bangladesh are most likely to be subjected to human rights and gender violations and to face most difficulties in obtaining redress. The baseline survey should however give a comprehensive understanding of the human rights situation in Bangladesh and therefore analyze the main social classes of the society and provide disaggregated data per sex, age group. In addition, current service providers who provide redress for human rights violations such as Courts, Police, Lawyers, and local NGOs would also be targeted by the survey to assess their awareness of the NHRC and their role in assisting the Commission to implement its mandate.

Scope of Work

The firm or firms in the case of joint bids will undertake all activities related to survey design, data collection tools development, survey implementation, data analysis & report generation and findings dissemination. The detailed scope of work includes but is not limited to the following:

1. Survey Design

1.1 The team of international and national experts will review key NHRC Project documents and will develop a thorough understanding of the overall objectives, outputs and activities of Project.

1.2 Participate in the planning meeting at the beginning of the survey design with the relevant NHRC, UNDP and the NHRC Project team. It is expected that key team members of the survey team will participate in the planning meeting.

1.3 The firm will submit a detailed work plan with timeframes and responsibility matrix for this assignment to the NHRC Project.

1.4 Development and refinement of a detailed survey methodology (quantitative and qualitative) for approval by the NHRC Project. This will include preparation of all documents required to organize, conduct and ensure quality of the survey including, but not limited to: sampling frame, determination of sample size, identify target audience of the baseline, selection of respondents, data collection techniques, supervisor and interviewer manual and guidelines, data quality checking procedure, data entry, data analysis plan and report format.

2. Development of Data Collection Tools

2.1 The consulting firm will develop data collection tools, ensure its relevance and value to project outcomes, and share with the NHRC Project.

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2.2 The firm will arrange field testing of the tools involving the interviewers and supervisors/quality controllers in non-sample areas.

2.3 The firm will print the required number of questionnaire sets as per determined sample size.

3. Implementation of Survey

3.1 Recruiting of staff: Recruiting of sufficient numbers of qualified and experienced interviewers and supervisors/quality controllers (minimum graduate with sufficient experience in data collection) who may be subject to assessment by NHRC staff.

3.2 Staff training: This includes development of training materials and manuals for all persons involved in field work. The firm will organize a training program (preferably residential) for the enumerators and supervisors that include both in house orientation and repeated practice sessions through role-plays followed by field practice in areas outside selected sample areas. Training session may be attended by the NHRC Project as observers.

3.3 Review meeting: The Consulting Firm and the NHRC Project team will review work progress on a periodic basis where representatives of the NHRC and UNDP may participate. It is expected that key team members of the survey team will participate in the review meeting.

3.4 Field data collection: The consulting firm will collect data from the project sites as per sampling list and sample size using the finalized tool and guidelines.

3.5 Progress report: The consulting firm shall prepare progress reports on a fort- nightly basis and shall send it to the NHRC Project within 3 days of the following week.

3.6 Quality control: Quality of collected data and information is crucial. In view of this, UNDP and the NHRC attach much importance to the quality control mechanism to ensure that the highest standard is maintained at every stage of the survey both from methodological and written communications perspective.

3.7 Representatives from the NHRC, the NHRC Project and the UNDP will have the liberty to check, monitor the field survey and make recommendations/suggestions at any stage of the survey. The firm needs to be ready to address those recommendations/suggestions as far as it is practicable.

4. Team Composition

The Team Leader for this assignment will be an international expert. The team leader should have experience in leading baseline surveys and report preparation as well as substantive knowledge and experience in human rights research and be recognized as an expert in international best practice of monitoring and evaluation of programmes to improve the promotion and protection of human rights. The team leader will ensure his/her physical presence with the local team when ever needed and will seek inputs regularly with the focal point of the local firm for all important

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matters related to the survey throughout the period of its implementation as a continuous oversee mechanism.

The key survey team is expected to consist of experts in the area of human rights, which will enable the team to have a good local understanding, together with at least one specialist who is recognized as an international expert with thorough knowledge and experience in conducting baseline surveys that include methodology design, data analysis, report writing. Working experience in the relevant field in the South Asia region would be an added advantage for the international expert.

The team size will need to be adequate to the task with an appropriate mix of gender. All the proposed members of the team must have a demonstrated experience, and be recognized as M&E experienced professionals who will be able to contribute to the baseline survey.

The composition and number of team members has not been defined at this time, leaving it open for bidders to define this. At the time of review, this will be an assessment area for the NHRC Project and will contribute in its determination of the winning bid.

Minimum qualification and experience required for the team members

 Advanced degree in law, public affairs, international development or other relevant field preferably with a specialization in human rights: work experience in lieu of an advanced degree will also be considered;  Experience in conducting studies in human rights related issues, preferably in relation to NHRIs;  At least ten years experience in a relevant technical role  Ability to present information in a clear, concise and comprehensive manner  Experience working for or with international organizations in the area of human rights

5. Data Analysis and Report Preparation

5.1 Data management: The consulting firm will complete data entry at their venue with necessary processing and cleaning, using an appropriate data processing Programme. It is expected that the firm will use an appropriate data quality assurance mechanism in data management to ensure an error free data set for analysis.

5.2 Data analysis: The data analysis will follow current international best practices of appropriate statistical analysis. The analysis will include, but will not be limited to, the following:

(i) Descriptive statistics including: distributions, averages, weights and variance as relevant for each variable. (ii) Presentation of data in both tabular and graphic form. (iii) Analysis by different geographic locations including the whole sample; socioeconomic status of respondents’; sex, age, education, occupation and ethnicity segmentation.

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(iv) The analysis should address human rights violation per sector and specific women issues. (v) The firm will develop a draft tabulation plan and will share it with the NHRC team. After necessary discussion and receiving concurrence from NHRC, the firm will complete the data analysis to fit into the tabulation plan with interpretations. 5.3 Preliminary Findings: The firm will release preliminary findings for discussion with the NHRC Project in late June 2011.

5.4 Draft Report: The firm will prepare a draft report and will share with UNDP, the NHRC and the NHRC Project team. They will incorporate the feedback provided by the stakeholders. After review by all concerned, the firm will prepare a final draft and will submit to the NHRC Project.

5.5 Final Report: The firm will submit the final report to the NHRC Project team with incorporation of all comments and feedback received from the internal sharing session or any other form.

6. Findings Dissemination

6.1 Internal Sharing: The firm will make at least one internal presentation (to be organized by the NHRC Project) on the findings of the survey for internal review and feedback in which representatives from the NHRC and UNDP will participate.

6.2 Wider dissemination: The firm will disseminate the findings of the survey through a wider dissemination session (to be organized by the NHRC project) where representatives from different stakeholder groups including development partners, government, civil society, NGO, media etc. will be invited.

H. Deliverables

1. Detailed action plan over the whole implementation period to be agreed to by the BNHRC-CDP, within three days of signing the contract.

2. Detailed Survey methodology for the baseline survey to be shared and agreed by BNHRC-CDP within two weeks of signing of the contract. Revised methodology will ensure that at least 3000 households will be covered through quantitative survey and approximately 50 FGDs and 30 KIIs will be conducted covering proper geographic and target group representation. The revised methodology is expected to provide clarification on how Gender Dimensions will be addressed throughout the survey which could be indicating male/female representation among respondents, addressing Gender Based Violence and Gender Based Discrimination issues in the questionnaire, analyzing policy gaps, etc.

3. Survey Questionnaires, FGD check list, KII interview questionnaire including other documents related to survey management will be shared and feedback from NHRC project and Commission (if any) will be incorporated before proceeding for data collection.

4. An outline/content for the Baseline Survey Report including tentative list of annexure have to be shared and agreed by end of first week of May 2011.

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5. Draft baseline report (10 hard and soft copies) will be submitted for feedback by mid July 2011.

6. Prepare presentation notes and power point presentation and present findings in an internal findings sharing session.

7. Final report will be provided in 10 hard and 10 soft copies on DVD media by the end of July 2011. The narrative analysis part of the report is not expected to be less than 40 pages and it will incorporate all feedback.

8. Prepare presentation notes and power point presentation for media and wider audience for findings dissemination session after finalization of report.

9. Soft copies of survey questionnaires, data files, syntax files, output files (FGD Checklist, FGD notes, KII questionnaire, KII notes) and final report to NHRC- CDP-10 copies in DVD media. Data file must be of an internationally recognized format for use by future survey teams.

[List deliverables] [indicate delivery dates] Survey design and data collection 30 April 2011 instruments Data collection 15 June 2011 Draft Report 10 July 2011 Final Report 30 July 2011

I. Timeframe

This contract is for a period of four (4) months including the final report submission.

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Annex B – Questionnaire (English)

Version: 13.3

CONFIDENTIAL To be used only for research purpose

Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission Capacity Development Project

Baseline Survey on the Human Rights Situation and Public Awareness on the NHRC

Study Sponsored by

UNDP, Bangladesh

Household Questionnaire

Study Conducted by

Data Management Aid (DMA)

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A. Identification

Area ID Name Code A01. Division A02. District A03. Upazila/Thana A04. Union/Ward A05. Village/Mohalla A06. Type of Area (Rural/Urban) A07. Household Number A08. Date A09. Interviewer A10. Checked by

INFORMED CONSENT

Assalamu-alaikum/Adab My name is ……………………………………………………………………………………. We have come here to know and collect information about the extent to which people are aware and know about human rights and the National Human Rights Commission. This survey is a part of research being done for the National Human Rights Commission and is funded by the United Nations Development Programme in Bangladesh. This survey is conducted by a consulting firm named Data Management Aid.

We shall ask you some questions about your ideas on human rights and your attitudes towards it. Your name, your answers, opinions and information provided by you will be kept strictly confidential and will be used for research purposes only. Your name will not be cited anywhere.

Your participation in this survey is fully optional. You can decide whether or not to answer any question. Still we hope you will participate in this survey, because your comments are very important for this survey.

You can now ask me any question regarding this survey.

May I now start asking my questions?

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Name of the respondent ______Line number ___

B. General Information

B01 Household members’ information: Household size

B02 B03 B04 B05 B06 B07 B08 B09 Sl. Household members Sex Age Relation- Marital Educational Main Disability No. M=1 (completed ship with Status qualification Occupation (1=Yes, years) (List all members who F=2 HH head (Use (Use (Use codes 2=No) usually take food from (Use Codes at Codes at at box –D) the same pot. Start with codes at box –B) box –C) the household head) box –A) 01 1 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Codes: Box-A Codes: Box-B Codes: Box-C Codes: Box-D 1. Household head 1. Unmarried Mention class passed 1. House wife 2. Husband 2. Married 2. Service 3. Wife 3. Widow/ 00. Illiterate 3. Big/medium Business (Capital Tk. 4. Son widower 71. Can sign only 500,000 and above) 5. Daughter 4. Separated 72. Minor child (aged 4. Small business (Capital less than Tk. 6. Mother 5. Divorced <6 years) 500,000) 7. Father 73. Religious 5. Day labor 8. Brother education 6. Rickshaw/Van driver 9. Sister 7. Agriculture (Own/share cropper) 10. Mother-in-law 8. Handicrafts, Carpenter, Mason and 11. Father-in law other self employed work 12. Son-in-law 9. Professional ( Doctor, engineer, 13. Daughter-in-law advocate) 14. Grand son 10. Student 15. Grand daughter 11. Unemployed 16. Other relatives 12. Retired / Minor child 17. Other non-relatives 13. Old (Age >60 years) 14. Disabled 15. Others (specify)

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B10 Religion of the household 1 Islam 2 Hindu 3 Christian 4 Buddhist 5 Others (specify)

B11 Ethnic identity of the household 1 Bangali 2 Adivasi (specify) 3 Others (specify)

B12 Average monthly household Income (in Tk.)

B13 Ownership status of house 1 Owned 2 Rented 3 Sheltered

B14 Physical description of main living house: A. Wall

(observation by interviewer) B. Floor

C. Roof

1. Bricks/Concrete 2. Tin/tiles 3. Thresh/straw 4. Bamboo 5. Soil 6. Leaf 7. Polythene 8. Wood 9. Others (specify)

B15 List of assets owned by the household 1= Yes, 2= No A Electricity in the house B Almirah/wardrobe C Table/ Chair/bench D Radio E Television F Cycle/ Rickshaw/van G Motorcycle H Automobiles (car/truck/bus/ CNG/scooter etc.) I Agricultural equipments (power tiller, power thresher, fishing boat etc.) J Livestock (cattle/horses etc) K Mobile phone L Land phone M Computer/laptop N Air conditioner O Refrigerator P Sewing machine

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Interview Respondent According to Kish Grid

In order to give everybody a fair chance of being selected for the interview can you please give me the family status and the ages of all the adult male or female HH members in this household aged between 18 and 60 years. Please list members from youngest to oldest.

Last digit on household number Name of members Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2. 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1

3. 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2

4. 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

5. 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4

Select respondent as instructed below: 1. List all adults aged between 18 and 60 years from the youngest to the oldest. Do not include those who are visiting. 2. Take the last figure of the questionnaire number and find the same number in the top line of the Kish Grid above. 3. Look along the row of the last person in the list. Where this meets the column of the last digit of the questionnaire number is the number of the person on the list to be interviewed. 4. Refer back to the list of family members and ask to speak to the person whose number is the same as the one you have taken out of the Kish Grid. 5. If the person is not at home, you must arrange to call a second time and third time to interview that individual. 6. If the person is also not available (after third visit), go to the next household (next door).

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Name of the respondent ______Line number ____

C. Human rights – understanding of basic concepts

C01 What are the major problems facing Bangladesh at the moment? 1= Yes, 2= No A Price hike of essentials B Electricity/gas/water problem C Non-availability of agricultural inputs D Traffic jam E Law and order situation F Extra judicial killing G Harassment by law enforcing agencies H Harassment by opponent political parties I Absence of opposition in the parliament J Lack of income and employment opportunities K Lack of health care facilities L Fall of share market M Population N Education O Drugs P Adulterated food Q Political instability R Hartal (general strike) S Price inflation T Corruption U Unemployment V Communications and roads problem W Increasing rates of houses and transportation X Not getting justice Y Others (specify) Z Don’t know  1 C03

C02 Please rank the 3 most important of those A. Most important you listed B. 2nd most important

C. 3rd most important

C03 Have you heard the term ‘human rights’ before? 2 C08 1 Yes 2 No 

C04 If yes, what does it mean? 1= Yes, 2= No A The rights that we all have B Rights that cannot be taken away from us C Protects our basic liberty and freedoms D Basic rights E Rights that we have from birth F Rights that protect our basic needs G Rights to vote in the election freely H Rights to live without any restriction I Rights to express opinions freely J Rights to do anything what I want to do K Personal freedom L Freedom of movement M Right to get education N Others (specify) O Don’t know

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C05 Where did you find out about human rights 1= Yes, 2= No A On the radio B At school C At a community meeting D On the internet E At the mosque/ church/temple F In the newspapers G On television H From a friend I At a political meeting J Through NGOs K Local government representatives L NHRC M At tea stall N From government office O Neighbours P Public Q Books R Others (specify) S Can't remember

C06 What do you have to do to earn your human rights? 1= Yes, 2= No A Nothing – I have them from birth B Be rich C Be educated D Have a good relationship with police E Good relationship with administration F Have high status G Being a politician H Be aware I Be respectful of the law J Be in contact with NGOs K People to be made aware L Not to tolerate any illegal activity M Others (specify) N Don’t know

C07 How are human rights in Bangladesh protected? 1= Yes, 2= No A In the Constitution B In the law C By social norms and values D In international law E In religious texts F By police G By administration H By judiciary I By workers of HR J Through media K HR not protected L Others (specify) M Don’t know

C08 Have you heard the word constitution? 2 C10 1 Yes 2 No 

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C09 What is the Constitution? 1= Yes, 2= No A Highest law B Basic law C Supreme law D A law E Fundamental law F Fundamental principles G The law that regulates how the state is established and governed H Parliamentary Laws I People’s deeds J Laws for ruling the country K Principles governing institutions L Wishful laws M Others (specify) N Don’t know

C10 According to you what are the basic rights that a citizen should have? 1= Yes, 2= No A Right to life B Equal treatment / equality C Women’s rights D Freedom of expression opinion E Personal Freedom (to do anything what I want to do) F Rights to have shelter G Rights to have food H Right to clothing I Right to education J Right to health K Rights to buy and /or sell goods/services L Right to protect myself and my property M Others (specify) N Don’t know  1 C12

C11 Please rank the 3 most important of those A. The most important right you listed B. 2nd most important right

C. 3rd most important right

C12 As national laws protect your right to life, what duties or obligations do you have as a person from this country that are linked to this? 1= Yes, 2= No A Not to kill others B Protect other people C Be aware of specific rights D Tell young people about these rights E Cooperate with law enforcement agencies to arrest suspected killers F Protest extrajudicial killing G Protest injustice H Abide by laws I Educate the children J Rectify Govt.’s errors and omissions K Make yourself and make others aware L Nothing to be done (if anything is done, you might face being blamed for it yourself) M Others (specify) N Don’t know

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C13 If people have the right to protection of the law, what duties or obligations do they have that are linked to this? 1= Yes, 2= No A Respect the rule of law B Be aware of the law C Not break the law D Protest when someone breaks the law E Protest the government’s breaching of any law F Cooperate with law enforcement agencies G Cooperate with the government H Others (specify) I Don’t know

C14 What should you do if human rights are violated by the government? 1= Yes, 2= No A Protest the violation B Report the violation to a lawyer C Report it to the police D Assist in any investigation E Try to influence public opinion to ensure participation in protests F Hold a hunger strike G Arrange press conference H Not to vote for and elect those concerned I Keep silent J Demand that the government should step down K Take shelter of laws L Inform NHRC M Nothing N Others (specify) O Don’t know

D. Theme – Gender Based Discrimination

D01 What are the most important problems facing women in your community? 1= Yes, 2= No A Women are considered to be subordinate B Women are subjected to harassment C Physical violence D Sexual abuse/violence E Violence by mastans F Lack of clothing G Lack of medicare H Lack of shelter I Harassment by police J Lack of pure drinking water K Lack of security L Lack of access to education M Difficulties in casting votes freely N Violence by husbands O Violence by family members P Lack of rights in the home Q Not sending girl children to school R Lack of economic independence S Lack of choice regarding when to marry T Lack of rights in marriage as a wife U No access to employment V Problems of dowry W Poverty X Mobility restrictions Y Difficulty getting a job/work Z Lack of equal wages AA Lack of inheritance rights AB Lack of control over own body and lack of decisions over childbearing

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AC Violence following a shalish AD Lack of choice regarding who to marry AE Trafficking of women AF Harassment or disturbance by mobile phone AG Other (specify) AH Don’t know  1 D03

D02 Please rank the 3 most important of those A. The most important problem you listed above B. 2nd most important problem

C. 3rd most important problem

D03 Do you think that men and women should have equal rights in Bangladesh? 5/6 D05 1 Definitely not 2 No 3 Yes 4 Absolutely yes 5 Don’t know  6 Not sure 

D04 Why did you answer that way? 1= Yes, 2= No D03=3 or 4 D03=1 or 2 A Men and women are equal in some respects A Men are superior to women in all respects, so there is no question of equality between them B Men and women are almost equal B There is a great difference between man and woman C Men and women are completely equal in C Women are mother by nature; they should be today’s world confined to household work D Country will develop D Religious texts given superiority to men E So that men cannot oppress women E As men are earning and maintaining families so they are superior F Women are ahead in education F Religious laws have bars G Women are also intelligent G In some aspects, women cannot move alone H They are also human beings H The ‘purdah’ system (modesty) will be destroyed I Others (specify) I Others (specify) J Don’t know J Don’t know

D05 When is it acceptable for your community to treat women differently to men? 1= Yes, 2= No A During religious ceremonies B In the home C At work D In public spaces E In terms of the clothes they wear F In deciding where they can and cannot go G When giving work to anyone H When they are pregnant I When they are unmarried J When they are divorced or widowed K When they walk alone on the streets L When receiving services M In all cases N Never O Others (specify) P Don’t know

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D06 When is it acceptable for the government to treat women differently to men? 1= Yes, 2= No A When employing people B When delivering services C At work / when doing business D When passing laws E During the stage of education F During travel G During pregnancy H In all cases I Never J Others (specify) K Don’t know

D07 Would you say that discrimination against women over the past 5 or 6 years has generally increased, same or reduced? 1 Increased 2 Stayed the same 3 Reduced 4 Don’t know

D08 WOMEN: Have you or a female member of your household faced any discrimination or abuse in the past 2/3/4 year?  E01 MEN: Has a female member of your household been discriminated against or faced any abuse in the past year? 1 Yes 2 No  3 Don’t know  4 Will not answer to this question 

D09 If yes, tell us what form the discrimination took? 1= Yes, 2= No A Verbal assault (sexual harassment, stalking etc.)/ heard abusive words while on the road B Physical assault C Sexual harassment D Sexual assault E Kidnapping F Forced marriage G Restricted from going to school/ work/ mobility H Restricted or blocked from participation in community or social events I Faced false allegations J Faced unlawful punishment K Not getting jobs L Did not get a due share in property M Could not study N Was not allowed to work O Was denied justice P Others (specify) Q Will not comment

D10 If yes, by whom did s/he face discrimination or abuse? 1= Yes, 2= No A Mastans/lumpens B Local influential persons C Law enforcing agencies D Government officials E Neighbours F Household members G Religious leaders H Political workers/leaders I Others (specify)

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D11 Did you report such an incident to anyone? 1 D13 1 Yes  2 No

D12 If you did not report it, why not? 1= Yes, 2= No A No faith in the justice process B No money for legal action C Pressure from perpetrators D Pressure from community leaders E Pressure from political leaders F Thana did not accept the case G Could not pay bribes to the Police H Could not pay bribes needed for Court I To maintain family honour J Will not comment K Others (specify)

If D11=2 skip to E01 D13 If reported, who did you report it to? 1= Yes, 2= No A Community leaders/ elders B NGO C Chairman of Union Parishad/ member of UP/ Local MP D Religious leader E Police F RAB G Army H Lawyer I Karbari (head of a para (area) in the CHT) J Headman (head of a mouza in the CHT areas) K Circle Chief (head of a circle in the CHT) L Border Guard of Bangladesh M Others (specify)

D14 Was any salish/mediation held about this? 2 E01 1 Yes 2 No 

D15 What type of shalish/mediation took place? 1= Yes, 2= No A Shalish B NGO shalish C Union Parishad shalish D NHRC E Village court F Thana G Court H Will not comment

D16 If D15= A, B, C or D Why did you not report it to the shalish/ community leader / elder / parent etc? 1= Yes, 2= No A Don’t trust them B Have gone to them in the past and they refused to help me C They wanted money from me that I didn’t have D They treated me unfairly in the past E They failed to help me in the past and blamed me instead F They took the other person’s side against me in the past G They are corrupt H They discriminate against women I Others (specify) J Will not comment

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D17 If D15= E, F or G if not reported to formal system, why did you not report it to them? 1= Yes, 2= No A Too expensive B It is a purely family matter C No lawyer in my community D Don’t trust lawyers E Have had a bad experience with lawyers in the past F My/ the victim’s husband wouldn’t let me G My/ the victim’s father wouldn’t let me H My / the victim’s family wouldn’t let me I Victim didn’t want it to be known about in the community J The community prevented me/ the victim K Lengthy process of getting justice L Pressure from the political leaders M Community leaders did not support it N Police didn’t accept the case O Police demanded extra money P Others (specify)

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Ask the following questions for each of the dispute resolution forums (D15) to which the household reported the incident

Question 1st Report 2nd Report 3rd Report 4th Report 5th Report 6th Report Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ D18 Why did you report it to this particular justice forum? A For immediate action B For fair trial C Had no resources for the cost of court proceedings D To get relief from harassment by neighbours E Others (specify) D19 How satisfied were you with the services you received? 1. Not satisfied 2. More or less satisfied 3. Satisfied 4. The matter has not been disposed of yet 5. Will not comment D20 If your answer is 1 or 2, why did you answer that way? A They refused to help me B They wanted money from me that I didn’t have C They treated me unfairly D They were unable to help me E They took the other person’s side against me / they blamed me F They are corrupt G They stopped helping me when I couldn’t pay them H Others (specify) D21 If any similar discrimination or abuse happens to you again, would you use the same option? 1. Yes 2. No 3. Not sure

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E. Sub-theme – Religious minorities

E01 What are the problems facing religious minorities (Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and other religious groups) in Bangladesh? 1= Yes, 2= No A Discrimination in the community B Discrimination by government C Abused by law enforcing agencies D Violence/abuse by other religious groups E Not allowed access on to own land F Occupation of their land by others G Sexual harassment H Sexual violence I Discrimination by others of the same religious community or caste J People related to the administration create problems K Politically victimized L Become victims of post-election violence M In respect of getting employment N Discrimination at work O In case of promotion P Create obstacle in practicing religious events Q No problems faced  1 E03 R Others (specify) S Don’t know  1 E03

E02 Please rank the 3 most important of those A. The most important problem you listed B. 2nd most important problem

C. 3rd most important problem

E03 Do you think that all religious groups should have equal rights in Bangladesh? 5/6 E05 1 Definitely not 2 No 3 Yes 4 Absolutely yes 5 Don’t know  6 Not sure 

E04 Why do you think this? 1= Yes, 2= No E03=3 or 4 E03=1 or 2 A All religious groups should be treated the A Muslims are superior same B All are human beings B Bangladesh is a Muslim state C All are creations of Allah C Islam is the state religion D All are citizens of the same country D Hindus are superior to others E Independent country E Christians are better than other people F Others (specify) F Buddhists are superior to others G Don’t know G Everyone’s own religion is the most important to them H Others (specify) I Don’t know

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E05 When is it acceptable for people to discriminate or make a difference based on religion? 1= Yes, 2= No A When it comes to family matters B When deciding who to employ C When deciding who can attend a religious ceremony D When deciding who to invite to a wedding E When deciding who to vote for F When deciding who to eat with G When deciding who to marry H When deciding who to allow your children to marry I Never J Others (specify) K Don’t know

E06 When is it acceptable for the government to discriminate or make a distinction based on religion? 1= Yes, 2= No A When employing people B When providing services C When deciding who is entitled to religious holidays D On religious occasions/events E Never F Others (specify) G Don’t know

E07 Would you say that discrimination against religious minorities has generally increased, remained the same or reduced over the past five years? 1 Increased 2 Stayed the same 3 Reduced 4 Don’t know

E08 If the respondent is from a religious minority group: Have you or a member of your household been 2/3/4 discriminated against or treated differently on the ground of your religious beliefs in the past year?  E22 If the respondent is a Muslim: Do you know a member of a religious minority who has been discriminated or treated differently on groups of religion in your area in the past year? 1 Yes 2 No  3 Don’t know  4 Will not answer 

E09 If yes, tell us what form did the discrimination take? 1= Yes, 2= No A Evicted from house B Evicted from land C Evicted from village/mahalla D Mobility was restricted E Could not perform religious acts F House was burnt down G Physically assaulted H Women household members were harassed I Threatened to kill J Blocked in filing cases K Blocked from taking legal action L Others (specify) M Will not answer/no comment

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E10 If yes, who was responsible for the discrimination or abuse?1= Yes, 2= No A Mastans/lumpens B Local influential people C Law enforcing agencies D Government officials E Neighbours F Family members G Religious leaders H Political workers/leaders I Others (specify)

E11 Did you report such an incident to anyone? 1 E13 1 Yes  2 No

E12 If you did not report it, why not? 1= Yes, 2= No A We did not want to disclose it for social B To protect the victim C Opponent are powerful D No faith in justice E No money for legal action F Pressure from perpetrators G Pressure from community leaders H Pressure from political leaders I Thana did not accept the case J To avoid future clashes K To maintain social harmony L Did not have money to pay bribes to thana to lodge a complaint M Did not have money to pay bribes to file a case in court N Others (specify) O Know that noboddy will help

If E11=2 skip to E22 E13 If reported, who did you report it to? 1= Yes, 2= No A Community leader/ elders B NGO C Chairman of Union Parishad/ member of UP/ Local MP D Religious leader E Police F RAB G Army H Lawyer I Karbari (head of a para (area) in the CHT) J Headman (head of a mouza in the CHT areas) K Circle Chief (head of a circle in the CHT) L Border Guard of Bangladesh M Others (specify)

E14 Was any shalish/mediation held about this? 2 E22 1 Yes 2 No 

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E15 What type of shalish/mediation took place? 1= Yes, 2= No A Shalish B NGO shalish C Union Parishad shalish D NHRC E Village Court F Thana G Court H Will not comment

E16 If E15= A, B, C or D Why did you not report it to the village court/ shalish/ community leader / elder / parent etc? 1= Yes, 2= No A I don’t trust them B Have used them in the past and they refused to help me C They wanted money from me that I didn’t have D They treated me unfairly in the past E They were unable to help me in the past /they blamed me F They took the other person’s side against me in the past G They are corrupt H They discriminate I Others (specify) J Will not comment

E17 If E15= E, F or G if you did not go to the formal system, why did you not do so? 1= Yes, 2= No A Too expensive B It is a purely family matter C No lawyers in my area D Don’t trust lawyers E Have had a bad experience with lawyers in the past F My/ the victim’s husband wouldn’t let me G My/ the victim’s father wouldn’t let me H My/ the victim’s family wouldn’t let me I The victim did not want it to be known in the community J The community blocked the victim K Lengthy process of trial L Pressure from the political leaders M Community leaders did not support it N Police didn’t registered the case O Police demanded extra money that I couldn’t give P Others (specify)

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Ask the following questions for each of the dispute resolution forums (E15) to which the household reported the incident

Question 1st Report 2nd Report 3rd Report 4th Report 5th Report 6th Report Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ E18 Why did you report it to them? A For immediate action B Fair justice C No resources for the cost of going to court D To get relief from harassment by the neighbours E Others (specify) E19 How satisfied were you with the services you received? 1. Not satisfied 2. Partially satisfied 3. Satisfied 4. The matter isn't finalised yet 5. Will not comment E20 If your answer is 1 or 2, why did you answer that way? A They refused to help me B They wanted money from me that I didn’t have C They treated me unfairly D They were unable to help me E They took the other person’s side against me / they blamed me F They were corrupt G They stopped helping me when I couldn’t pay them H Others (specify) E21 If any similar discrimination or abuse happened to you again, would you go the same place to make a complaint? 1. Yes 2. No 3. Not sure

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E22 Have you heard about Dalits/Harijans? 1 E24 1 Yes  2 No

E23 If E22=2, Dalits are generally engaged in professions such as sweepers, cobblers, dome, etc., have you 2 heard about them? F01 1 Yes 2 No 

E24 Why do Dalits have lower status in society? 1= Yes, 2= No A Hindus are divided by caste B The creator created them in this way C They were born to perform these occupations / jobs D They are less educated E Society discriminates against them F It is part of Hindu society G Others (specify) H Don’t know

E25 Would you say that discrimination against Dalits over the past 5 years has generally increased, remained the same or reduced? 1 Increased 2 Stayed the same 3 Reduced 4 Don’t know

F. Sub-theme – People with disabilities

F01 What are the problems facing people with disabilities in Bangladesh? 1= Yes, 2= No A Discrimination in the community B Discrimination by the government C Limited opportunities to access services D Poverty E Discrimination in the family F Lack of employment opportunities G Lack of health services H Deprived of basic rights I Others (specify) J Don’t know  1 F03

F02 Please rank the 3 most important of those A. The most important problem you listed above B. 2nd most important problem

C. 3rd most important problem

F03 Do you think that people with disabilities should have equal rights in Bangladesh? 5/6 F05 1 Definitely not 2 No 3 Yes 4 Absolutely yes 5 Don’t know  6 Not sure 

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F04 Why did you answer that way? 1= Yes, 2= No F03=3 or 4 F03=1 or 2 A They are also human beings A They have no contribution to the national economy B They are not responsible for their own B They are a burden for the state challenges C They are equal in the eyes of the law C They can't participate in social activities D Because it is a pious thing to do D They are dependent on others E They are also able E They are a burden on the family F The country can also develop with their F They are not such valuable people contribution G Others (specify) G Others (specify) H Don’t know H Don’t know

F05 Would you say that discrimination against people with disabilities has generally increased, remained the same or reduced over the past 5 or 6 years? 1 Increased 2 Stayed the same 3 Reduced 4 Don’t know

G. Sub-theme – Indigenous peoples

G01 In General: What are the most important problems facing indigenous peoples in Bangladesh? 1= Yes, 2= No A Discrimination in the community B Torture by government forces C Violence by other groups D Land occupations E Lack of representation in government activities F No education for children in mother-tongue G No rights over forest produce H Indigenous people do not get rights as others do I Do not get equal opportunities for employment J Forced conversions K Restrictions for free movement L No problems  1 G03 M Others (specify) N Don’t know  1 G03

G02 Please rank the 3 most important A. The most most important problem problems of those you listed above B. 2nd most important problem

C. 3rd most important problem

G03 Do you think that indigenous peoples (generally) in Bangladesh should enjoy all of the rights that others 5/6 enjoy? G05 1 Definitely not 2 No 3 Yes 4 Absolutely yes 5 Don’t know  6 Not sure 

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G04 Why did you answer that way? 1= Yes, 2= No G03=3 or 4 G03=1 or 2 A We are all Bangladeshis A They are inferior to Muslims B We are all human beings B Their social arrangements/ behaviour are not respectable C We are all equal under law/according to the C Others (specify) law D They should have equal rights D Don’t know E There will be no mutual conflict F They are more hard-working G Others (specify) H Don’t know

G05 Do you think that indigenous peoples (generally) in Bangladesh should have additional rights to those 3 enjoyed by other Bangladeshis? G07 1 Yes 2 No 3 Don’t know 

G06 Why did you answer that way? 1= Yes, 2= No G05=1 G05=2 A They need special protection A They should not be treated the same as everyone B It is necessary to ensure their culture is B They should not be favoured over others protected C They should have control over the land on C They should not have the same status as us which their lives and livelihood depend D Their rights over forest produce should be D Others (specify) ensured E Because they have been discriminated E Don’t know against in the past F Others (specify) G Don’t know

G07 When is it acceptable for people to discriminate against indigenous peoples (generally)? 1= Yes, 2= No A When it comes to purely family matters B When deciding who to appoint in any job C When deciding who can participate in a religious ceremony D When deciding who to invite to a wedding E When deciding who to vote for F When deciding who to eat with G When deciding who to marry H When deciding who to allow your children to marry I Never J Others (specify) K Don’t know

G08 When is it acceptable for the government to discriminate against indigenous peoples (generally)? 1= Yes, 2= No A When employing people in any job B When providing services C When deciding on religious holidays D When allotting land E Never F When observing religious functions G Others (specify) H Don’t know

G09 Would you say that discrimination against indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities has generally increased, stayed the same or reduced over the past five to six years? 1 Increased 2 Stayed the same 3 Reduced

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4 Don’t know

G10 What are the most important problems facing indigenous peoples in the CHT? 1= Yes, 2= No A Discrimination in the community B Torture by government forces C Torture by other groups D Land occupations E Military camps/bases F Lack of representation in employment G No education for children in mother-tongue H Forced conversions I Attacks by dacoits/ lack of security J Poor road communications K Land Commission dysfunctional L No problems M Others (specify) N Don’t know

G11 Please rank the 3 most important of those A. The most most important problem you listed above B. 2nd most important problem

C. 3rd most important problem

G12 Do you think that the situation in the CHT has generally the situation has improved, stayed the same or deteriorated? 1 Improved 2 Stayed the same 3 Deteriorated 4 Don’t know

G13 Do you know about the CHT Peace Accord of 1997? 1 Yes 2 No

G14 to G27 Ask G14 through G27 to only the repondents living in the indigenous areas

G14 Indigenous peoples: If the respondent is an indigenous person: Have you or a member of your household 2/3 been discriminated against in your area in the past year? H01

Non-indigenous: Do you know an indigenous person who has been discriminated against in your area in the past year? 1 Yes 2 No  3 Don’t know 

G15 If yes, tell us what form the discrimination took? 1= Yes, 2= No A Discrimination in the community B Torture by government forces C Torture by other groups D Land occupations E Establishment of military camps/bases F Lack of employment opportunities G No education for children in mother-tongue H Evicted from land I Killed J Beaten K Sexually harassed L Houses burnt down M Others (specify) N Don’t know

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G16 If yes, who was responsible for the discrimination or abuse? 1= Yes, 2= No A Mastans B Local influential persons C Law enforcing agencies D Government officials E Neighbours F Household members G Religious leaders H Political workers/leaders I Others (specify)

G17 Did you report such an incident to anyone? 1 G19 1 Yes  2 No

G18 if you did not report it, why not? 1= Yes, 2= No A We did not want it to be known by the community B To protect the victim C Opponents are powerful D No faith in justice E No money for legal action F Pressure from perpetrators G Pressure from community leaders H Pressure from political leaders I Thana did not accept the case J To avoid future clashes/ to maintain social harmony K The household could not afford to pay any bribes to lodge a case with the Police L The household could not afford to pay any bribes to file a case in Court M Others (specify)

If G17=2 skip to H01 G19 If reported, who did you report it to? 1= Yes, 2= No A Community leaders/ elders B NGO C Chairman of Union Parishad/ member of UP/ Local MP D Religious leader E Police F RAB G Army H Lawyer I Karbari (head of a para (area) in the CHT) J Headman (head of a mouza in the CHT areas) K Circle Chief (head of a circle in the CHT) L Border Guard of Bangladesh M Others (specify)

G20 Was any salish/mediation held about this? 2 H01 1 Yes 2 No 

G21 What type of shalish/mediation took place? 1= Yes, 2= No A Shalish B NGO shalish C Union Parishad shalish D NHRC E Village Court F Thana G Court H Will not comment 154 │ P a g e

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G22 If G21= A, B, C or D Why did you not report it to the village court/ shalish/ community leader / elder / parent etc? 1= Yes, 2= No A I don’t trust them B Have used them in the past and they refused to help me C They wanted money from me that I didn’t have D They treated me unfairly in the past E They were unable to help me in the past /they blamed me F They took the other person’s side against me in the past G They are corrupt H They discriminate against women I Others (specify) J Will not comment

G23 If G21= E, F or G if not reported to formal system, why did you not report it to them? 1= Yes, 2= No A Too expensive B It is a purely family matter C No lawyers in my area D Don’t trust lawyers E Have had a bad experience with lawyers in the past F My/ the victim’s husband wouldn’t let me G My/ the victim’s father wouldn’t let me H My/the victim’s family wouldn’t let me I The victim did not want the community to know about this J Community blocked the victim K Lengthy process of justice L Pressure from the political leaders M Community leaders did not support it N Police didn’t register the case O Police demanded extra money that I couldn’t give P Others (specify)

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Ask the following questions for each of the dispute resolution forums (G21) to which the household reported the incident

Question 1st Report 2nd Report 3rd Report 4th Report 5th Report 6th Report Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ G24 Why did you report it to them? A For immediate action B Fair justice C No resources for the cost of going to court D To get relief from the harassment of the neighbours E Others (specify) G25 How satisfied were you with the services you received? 1. Not satisfied 2. Partially satisfied 3. Satisfied 4. The matter isn't finalised yet 5. Will not comment G26 If your answer is 1 or 2, why did you answer that way? A They refused to help me B They wanted money from me that I didn’t have C They treated me unfairly D They were unable to help me E They took the other person’s side against me / they blamed me F They are corrupt G They stopped helping me when I couldn’t pay them H Others (specify) G27 If any similar discrimination /abuse occurred again, would you go to the same place to make a complaint? 1. Yes 2. No 3. Not sure

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H. Theme – Gender-based violence

H01 What are the most common forms of violence against women in Bangladesh? 1= Yes, 2= No A Trafficking in women B Sexual harassment (including eve teasing) C Acid attacks D Sexual abuse E Beatings by husband / family members F Victim of fatwa G Polygamous marriages H Physical abuse I Violation related to dowry demands J Mental violence or cruelty K Economic violence L Others (specify) M Don’t know

H02 What type of violence against women from outside of the family is most common in your area? 1= Yes, 2= No A Harassment of girls (including eve-teasing) B Kidnapping/abduction C Acid throwing D Violence by mastans E Death threats by miscreants F Sexual harassment G Sexual abuse H Harrasment through cell phone I No violence J Others (specify) K Don’t know

H03 Are there any reasons when it may be acceptable for a husband to use violence against his wife? 1= Yes, 2= No A If she has a relationship with another man B If she does not show respect C If she does not clean the house D If she does not look after the children E If she behaves wantonly F If she does not listen to anyone G It is never acceptable to beat her H For any fault I If disobedient to the husband J Others (specify) K Don’t know

H04 Do you think it is ever acceptable for a family member to use violence against an adult female family member? 1= Yes, 2= No A If she dishonours the family B If she is disobedient C If she has pre-marital relationship with any person D If she differs with parents regarding choices about marriage E If she is involved in any illicit sexual relationship F I do not think that it is ever acceptable G Others (specify) H Don’t know

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H05 When is acceptable for any member of a community to use violence against a female member of the community. 1= Yes, 2= No A When they damage family’s image B Disobedient C Pre-marital relationship with any other person D Differing with parents in making decision over marriage E Adultery F If she behaves wantonly G Never H Others (specify) I Don’t know

H06 In your opinion has violence against women generally increased, remained the same or reduced over the 4 past 5 or 6 years ? H08 1 Increased 2 Stayed the same 3 Reduced 4 Don’t know 

H07 Why do you think so? 1= Yes, 2= No If H06=1 or 2 If H06=3 A Poverty A Women have equal rights B From seeing programmes on television B Women have become more educated and showing violence against women aware C Unemployment of young men has led to their C Women have been empowered resentment of women D Girls moving freely (or wantonly) D Due to activities of GOs and NGOs E Lack of women’s education/awareness E As laws have been framed against violence against women F Dowry demands are on the increase F Due to media G Increase in women’s freedoms G Women are economically empowered H Men are more prone to commit such violence H Others (specify) I Property disputes I Don’t know J Political parties give shelter to mastans K Religious fundamentalism on the rise L From seeing popular cinema M Others (specify) N Don’t know

H08 Do any laws or government policies protect women from violence? 1= Yes, 2= No A Constitution B Criminal laws C Domestic violence (Prevention and Protection) Act D Suppression of violence against Women and Children Act E Others (specify) F Don’t know

H09 What can a woman do who has been the victim of violence? 1= Yes, 2= No A Immediately tell her parents B Remain silent C Lodge a case with the police D Seek justice from the traditional justice system (shalish) E Take help from concern NGOs F Take help from HR organizations G Approach the Women Affairs’ Directorate H Others (specify) I Will not answer J Don’t know

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H10 What can a family member do when a female family member is a victim of violence? 1= Yes, 2= No A Immediately lodge a case with the local police station B Remain silent C Seek justice from the traditional justice system (shalish) D Seek help from concerned NGOs E Discuss the matter and settle it within the family F Go to the Women’s Directorate G Others (specify) H Will not answer I Don’t know

H11 What steps should be taken if an unmarried woman or girl is subjected to rape? 1= Yes, 2= No A Her marriage should be arranged with that man B Compensation should be obtained from that man C Seek justice through Shalish D File case with police E The honour of the woman is destroyed , nothing can be done F Send her to another place G She could be given shelter in the house and later married off H Seek help from NGO I Should give the death sentence J Not to publicize information about the raped girl/woman K Others (specify) L Don’t know

H12 Please mention the most important of those you listed above

H13 What should be done in the case of rape of married women? 1= Yes, 2= No A The husband should divorce the wife B Not to publicize information about the raped girl/woman C Receive compensation from the rapist D Punishment should be given through a Shalish E File case with the police F The woman’s honour has been destroyed, there is nothing can be done G Send her away to another place H The husband should accept her I Seek help from NGO J Should give the death sentence K Others (specify) L Don’t know

H14 Even though dowry is illegal, it is still widely practiced in Bangladesh. Why do you think this is so? 1= Yes, 2= No A As it is a widespread practice, no one thinks of it as illegal B It is treated as a means of ensuring daughters’ safety C Law is not enforced properly D Community awareness need to be increased E For the happiness of the girl F If it is not given, it will not be possible to hold the marriage G To ensure marriage to a suitable man and a good family H Pressure from the husband’s family I Low literacy rates J Others (specify) K Don’t know

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H15 How does the payment of dowry affect people’s rights? 1= Yes, 2= No A It directly affecting poor families B It violates women’s rights C It increases crimes in society D People in the community look at them as having a lower status E It makes people think of the boy and the girl as market commodities F It does not affect anyone or lower their status G Others (specify) H Don’t know

For married women: H16 Do you think it is ever acceptable for your husband to control or discipline you? 1= Yes, 2= No A When I misbehave B When I do not finish household chores C When I don’t look after my children properly D When I haven't finished the cooking by the time he gets home E When I leave the house without his permission F When I don’t observe purdah properly G When I talk to other men beyond the family H Dis-regard father/mother in law I When I affect the honour/respect of the family J When I don’t take care of children or sick family members K For getting involved in illegal sexual relations L If dues are not received from my father’s house M If disobedient to husband N For any default O I do not consider it right P Others (specify) Q Don’t know

For unmarried women: H17 When do you think it is acceptable for a husband to control/ punish his wife? 1= Yes, 2= No A When the wife misbehaves B When she does not finish household chores C When she doesn’t look after the children properly D When she doesn’t finish the cooking by the time the husband gets home E When she leaves the house without his permission F When she does not observe purdah properly G When she does not believe her husband about money H When she talks to other men I When she dis-regards the father/mother in law J If she affects the dignity/respect of the family K If she does not take care of children and sick family members L Others (specify) M Don’t know

For both men and women: H18 When do you think it is acceptable for a mother-in-law to control or discipline her daughter in law? 1= Yes, 2= No A If she is disobedient B If she does not maintain the family’s traditions C If she does not take care of relatives as her mother in law wishes D If she goes out without permission of mother-in-law E If she pays less attention to household work F Never G Others (specify) H Don’t know

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H19 If the respondent is a woman: Have you been the victim of any form of domestic violence in your family in 2/3 the past year? I01

Men: For a man: Has a female member of your household been the victim of any form of domestic violence in your family in the past year? 1 Yes 2 No  3 Cannot say 

H20 If yes, who was responsible for the discrimination or abuse? 1= Yes, 2= No A Husband B Brother-in-law C Brother D Mother-in-law E Sister-in-law F Others (specify)

H21 What form did the violence take? 1= Yes, 2= No A Physical abuse B Mental abuse C Sexual abuse D Economic abuse E Others (specify)

H22 Did you report such an incident to anyone? 1 H24 1 Yes  2 No

H23 If you did not report it, why not? 1= Yes, 2= No A We did not want it to be known in the community B To protect the victim C Opponents are powerful D No faith in justice E No money for legal action F Pressure from perpetrators G Pressure from community leaders H Pressure from political leaders I Thana did not accept the case J To avoid future clashes K To maintain social harmony L Did not have the money to pay bribes to Police for lodging a case M Did not have the money to pay bribes to the Court for filing a case N Others (specify)

If H22=2 skip to I01 H24 If reported, who did you report it to? 1= Yes, 2= No A Community leaders/ elders B NGO C Chairman of Union Parishad/ member of UP/ Local MP D Religious leader E Police F RAB G Army H Lawyer I Karbari (head of a para (area) in the CHT) J Headman (head of a mouza in the CHT areas) K Circle Chief (head of a circle in the CHT) L Border Guard of Bangladesh M Others (specify)

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H25 Was any salish/mediation held about this? 2 I01 1 Yes 2 No 

H26 What type of shalish/mediation took place? 1= Yes, 2= No A Shalish B NGO shalish C Union Parishad shalish D NHRC E Village Court F Thana G Court H Will not comment

H27 If H26= A, B, C or D Why did you not report it to the village court/ shalish/ community leader / elder / parent etc? 1= Yes, 2= No A I don’t trust them B Have used them in the past and they refused to help me C They wanted money from me that I didn’t have D They treated me unfairly in the past E They were unable to help me in the past /they blamed me F They took the other person’s side against me in the past G They are corrupt H They discriminate against women I Others (specify) J Will not comment

H28 If H26= E, F or G if not reported to formal system, Why did you not report it to them? 1= Yes, 2= No A Too expensive B It is a family matter C No lawyers in my community D Don’t trust lawyers E Have had a bad experience with lawyers in the past F My / the victim’s husband wouldn’t let me G My / the victim’s father wouldn’t let me H My/ the victim’s family wouldn’t let me I The victim did not want it to be known about in the community J Community blocked the victim K Lengthy process of trial L Pressure from the political leaders M Community leaders did not support it N Police didn’t registered the case O Police demanded extra money that I can’t give P Others (specify)

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Ask the following questions for each of the dispute resolution forums (H26) to which the household reported the incident

Question 1st Report 2nd Report 3rd Report 4th Report 5th Report 6th Report Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ Code_____ H29 Why did you report it to this particular justice forum? A For immediate action B For fair justice C No resources for the cost of going to court D To seek relief from the harassment of the neighbours E Others (specify) H30 How satisfied were you with the service you received? 1. Not satisfied 2. Partially satisfied 3. Satisfied 4. The matter hasn’t been resolved yet 5. Will not comment H31 If your answer is 1 or 2, why did you answer that way? A They refused to help me B They wanted money from me that I didn’t have C They treated me unfairly D They were unable to help me E They took the other person’s side against me / they blamed me F They were corrupt G They stopped helping me when I couldn’t pay them H Others (specify) H32 If any similar discrimination or abuse happened again, would you go the same place to make a complaint? 1. Yes 2. No 3. Not sure

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I. Theme – Violence by state mechanisms

I01 When is it acceptable for Police to use lethal force? 1= Yes, 2= No A To stop someone escaping B When it is the only way to stop someone committing a crime C When a person is attacking someone D When it would be too difficult to confine the suspect E When it is clear the person has committed a very serious crime F When the person is a member of a criminal gang G When the person has a previous criminal record H In self defence I To defend a member of the public J To stop them stealing/robbing K To break up or suppress a demonstration L Never M Others (specify) N Don’t know

I02 When is it acceptable for RAB to use lethal force? 1= Yes, 2= No A To stop someone escaping B When it is the only way to stop someone committing a crime C When a person is attacking someone D When it would be too difficult to confine the suspect E When it is clear the person has committed a very serious crime F When the person is a member of a criminal gang G When the person has a previous criminal record H In self defence I To defend a member of the public J To stop them stealing/robbing K To break up or suppress a demonstration L Never M Others (specify) N Don’t know

I03 What type of behaviour by the police would you regard as torture? 1= Yes, 2= No A Electric shocks B Forced standing C Sleep deprivation D Threatening to lock up the arrested person/detainee’s spouse or family E Threatening to beat up the arrested person/detainee’s spouse or family F Suffocation G Keeping someone under water H Beating I Beating soles of the feet J Harassment K Rough behaviour L Beating with weapons (guns) M If demand bribe N Take statement forcefully O Detains/arrest witout warrant P Detains more than 24 hours Q Others (specify) R Don’t know

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I04 When do you think is it acceptable for the police to use torture? 1= Yes, 2= No A When it is the only way to solve a case B When it is urgent that information be obtained – such as when the person in detention has planted a bomb that will go off soon C Whenever a person is arrested D When the person is a suspected terrorist E For any crimes F To get accurate information G Never H Others (specify) I Don’t know

I05 Do you think that extrajudicial killings by law enforcement agencies has generally increased, remained the same or reduced over the past 5 or 6 years? 1 Increased 2 Stayed the same 3 Reduced 4 Don’t know

I06 Do you think that the incidence of torture by the law enforcing agencies has generally increased, remained the same or reduced over the past 5 or 6 years? 1 Increased 2 Stayed the same 3 Reduced 4 Don’t know

I07 Should even serious criminals have the right to a fair trial? 3 J01 1 Yes 2 No 3 Dont Know 

I08 Why do you think so? 1= Yes, 2= No I13=1 I13=2 A They are entitled to a fair trial A Notorius criminal are too powerful to be prosecuted B The law should apply equally to all accused B They are patronised by powerful politicians C They have a right to life C No one testifies against them D It is a violation of human rights D They don’t deserve to live E Fair Trial is a universal right E They are too dangerous to arrest F Others (specify) F Others (specify) G Don’t know G Don’t know

J. Theme – Socio economic rights

J01 What services government should provide you as free? 1= Yes, 2= No A Health care B Education C Shelter D Job opportunities E Food F Clothing G Road communications H Security I Others (specify) J Don’t know

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J02 I shall now mention about some services and benefits provided by the government. I shall then ask you to give your opinions on whether those services and benefits are considered as the responsibilities of the government or these are a mere favour by the government? 1= Responsibility 2= Favour 3= Don’t know A Providing health care B Providing free education C Providing shelter for the poor D Providing food assistance for the poor E Providing job/work opportunities for the poor F Providing assistance for people with disabilities G Providing assistance for widows H Providing old age allowances I Providing electrification for rural areas J Providing road communications for rural areas

J03 When is it acceptable for government to evict people from unauthorised urban slums? 1= Yes, 2= No A To develop the city B To modernise the city C To reduce crime D To make the city clean E To ensure a clean environment F Others (specify) G Don’t know

J04 Should the government provide food for poor children when they are at school? 2/3 J06 1 Yes 2 No  3 Don’t know 

J05 If yes, what type of food? 1= Yes, 2= No A Snacks B Fortified biscuits C Rice/bread D Milk (liquid/powder) E Fruits F Khichuri G Noodles H As the government wishes I Others (specify)

J06 Who should be able to use government owned resources, such as land, forests and water bodies, to help them earn a living? 1= Yes, 2= No A Landless B Farmers who usually cultivate crops C Ruling party people D Farmers cooperative society E Any interested person F Those who are in possession G Poor people H Fishermen I Others (specify) J Don’t know

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J07 Do men and women receive equal treatment at the clinic / hospital? 1/3 J09 1 Yes  2 No 3 Don’t know 

J08 If no, why not? 1= Yes, 2= No A Women are weak and cannot protest B Doctors are not gender sensitive C Officials are not gender sensitive D Not enough women doctors E Others (specify) F Don’t know

J09 Up to what level of education will you educate your daughter? 1 Primary level 2 Up to SSC 3 Up to HSC 4 Up to University level 5 As desired by my daughter 6 Till marriage 7 No education needed 8 As desired by husband

J10 Up to what level of education will you educate a son? 1 Primary level 2 Up to SSC 3 Up to HSC 4 Up to University level 5 As desired by my Son 6 No education needed

J11 Do you have any girl children of school going age who have dropped out of school? 2 J13 1 Yes 2 No 

J12 If yes, why? 1= Yes, 2= No A Poor performance B Cannot study because of taking care of family/household work C Girls do not need to study so much D Schools/educational institutions are very far from the residence E Because of harassment/stalking on the roads F Because of poverty G Because a marriage has been arranged H Due to getting married I Others (specify)

J13 Do you have any boy children in your household of school going age who have dropped out of school? 1 Yes 2 No

J14 If yes, why? 1= Yes, 2= No A Poor performance B Not interested to continue his studies C Engaged in family’s work D Sent him for income earning activities E For poverty F Education is not that important to us G Others (specify)

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J15 In which types of employment are women workers most at risk? 1= Yes, 2= No A Garment industry workers B Domestic workers C Women working in rice mills D Sex workers E Migrant workers F Women of any type of employment are at risk G No women at work are at risk H Others (specify) I Don’t know

J16 In which types of employment are men workers most at risk? 1= Yes, 2= No A Garment industry workers B Domestic workers C Sex workers D Migrant workers E Construction workers F Transport workers G Men of any type of employment are at risk H No men at work are at risk I Others (specify) J Don’t know

K. Theme - Child rights and child labour

K01 When does a boy stop being a child? 1 At the of 5 years 2 Between 6- 10 years 3 Between 11- 15 years 4 Between 16- 18 years 5 Above 18 years

K02 When does a girl stop being a child? 1 At the of 5 years 2 Between 6- 10 years 3 Between 11- 15 years 4 Between 16- 18 years 5 Above 18 years 6 At the age of first menstruation

K03 What rights do you think boy children (according to your definition of a child) should have? 1= Yes, 2= No

A The right to freedom of thought and conscience B Not to be separated from the parents against their will, unless the separation is in the best interests of the child C Not to be trafficked D To be brought up / cared for by both parents E To be protected from physical violence F To be protected from mental violence G To be protected from abuse H To be protected from sexual abuse I To education at state expense J To receive healthcare K To play L To be treated in a way that takes their special needs into account when they break the law M Others (specify) N Don’t know

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K04 What rights do you think girl children (according to your definition of a child) should have? 1= Yes, 2= No

A The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion B Not to be separated from the parents against their will, unless the separation is in the best interests of the child C Not to be trafficked D To be brought up / cared for by both parents E To be protected from physical violence F To be protected from mental violence G To be protected from abuse H To be protected from sexual abuse I To education at state expense J To receive healthcare K To play L Not to be forced into marriage M Others (specify) N Don’t know

K05 What types of discipline do you think are acceptable for boy and girl children? 1= Yes, 2= No Minor fault Major fault Types of discipline Boy Girl Boy Girl A Verbal discipline B Slap C Punch D Kick E With a cane F Locking them up G Stop proving food H Never I Others (specify) J Don’t know

K06 When can a boy and girl child (according to your definition) be beaten by a parent / member of the household or a school teacher? 1= Yes, 2= No Parents or other Teachers Reason family members Boy Girl Boy Girl A When they disobey them B When they are naughty C When they refuse to behave properly D When they don’t do their homework E If they sleep in class F For eating in class G Never H Others (specify) I Don’t know

K07 In your opinion is child labour potentially harmful to a child? 1 Yes 2 No 3 Don’t know

K08 Are there any laws or government policies that deal with child labour? 1 Yes 2 No 3 Don’t know

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K09 How many hours of work should a boy/girl child is allowed to perform per day? 5-11 years old 12-17 years old Type of work Boy Girl Boy Girl A Work in the home (including farming, fishing, household chores etc) B Paid work 25= None, 26= Don’t know

K10 What do you think are hazardous forms of employment for boy and girl children? 1= Yes, 2= No 5-11 years old 12-17 years old Hazardous work Boy Girl Boy Girl A Work in brick/ stone breaking for the construction industry B Serving at roadside tea stalls C Selling goods to vehicle passengers D Work in welding workshop/automobile garage E Work as bus/minibus helper F Carrying heavy wieights G Van/rickshaw pulling H Any work is hazardous I No work is hazardous J Others (specify) K Don’t know

K11 Do you think it is right to marry off a girl just after her reaching puberty? 1 Yes 2 No 3 Don’t know

K12 Do you think it is alright to marry off a girl under the age of 18? 1 Yes 2 No 3 Don’t know

K13 According to research, more than 50% of girls in Bangladesh marry before reaching the age of 18. Why do you think this is so? 1= Yes, 2= No A Security of the girl B This is our norm C Our religion allows it D Our culture allows it E To reduce the amount of dowry F Men prefer young girls G Lack of awareness of the parents H Costs for education increase I They run away and marry J Early marriage if a good groom is available K Due to want/poverty L If there are many children M Others (specify) N Don’t know

K14 What negative consequences does early marriage have for the girls and women in Bangladesh? 1= Yes, 2= No A They will be less educated B They will have health problems C They become mothers befor e they are ready D They do not have economic independence E They have less fear of abuse by husbands F They are not mentally ready G They are not physically ready H No negative consequences I Others (specify) J Don’t know

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K15 What special protections / rights should indigenous children and children of ethnic and religious minorities have? 1= Yes, 2= No A The right to enjoy their own culture B The right to follow their own religion C The right to use their own language D The right to education in own language E Others (specify) F Don’t know

L. Theme –Access to justice for the poor

L01 What has been the quality of service provided by the police for the poor over the past 5 or 6 years? 1/4/5 L03 1 Improved  2 Stayed the same 3 Got worse 4 Don’t know  5 Haven't heard of this institution / body 

L02 If you answered that it has stayed same or got worse (L01=2, 3), why did you answer this way? 1= Yes, 2= No A Corrupt B Politicised C Badly trained D Not accountable to the people E Not skilled enough F Immune from prosecution G They get away with whatever they want to do H Not sensitive to human rights I Not sensitive to gender values J Badly paid K Lack of human resources L Lack of transports M Others (specify) N Don’t know

L03 What has been the quality of service provided by the Subordinate Courts for the poor over the past 5 or 6 1/4/5 years? L05 1 Improved  2 Stayed the same 3 Got worse 4 Don’t know  5 Haven't heard of this institution / body 

L04 If you answered that it has stayed same or got worse (L03=2, 3), why did you answer this way? 1= Yes, 2= No A Corrupt B Politicised C Badly trained D Not accountable to the people E Not skilled enough F Immune from prosecution G Get away with whatever they want to do H Not sensitive to human rights I Not sensitive to gender values J Badly paid K Others (specify) L Don’t know

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L05 What has been the quality of service provided by the High Courts for the poor over the past 5 or 6 years? 1/4/5 L07 1 Improved  2 Stayed the same 3 Got worse 4 Don’t know  5 Haven't heard of this institution / body 

L06 If you answered that it has stayed same or got worse (L05=2, 3), why did you answer this way? 1= Yes, 2= No A Because they are overburdened B Because their independence has reduced C Because the number of judges has reduced D Because the quality of judges has reduced E More politicisation F Others (specify) G Don’t know

L07 What has been the quality of service provided by the Traditional Shalish for the poor over the past 5 or 6 1/4/5 years? L09 1 Improved  2 Stayed the same 3 Got worse 4 Don’t know  5 Haven't heard of this institution / body 

L08 If you answered that it has stayed same or got worse (L07=2, 3), why did you answer this way? 1= Yes, 2= No A Corrupt B Politicised C Badly trained D Not accountable to the people E Not skilled enough F Not sensitive to human rights G Not sensitive to gender values H Arrogant / bad behaviour I Others (specify) J Don’t know

L09 What has been the quality of service provided by the NGO led Shalish for the poor over the past 5 or 6 4/5 years? L11 1 Improved  2 Stayed the same 3 Got worse 4 Don’t know  5 Haven't heard of this institution / body 

L10 If you answered that it has stayed same or got worse (L09=2, 3), why did you answer this way? 1= Yes, 2= No A Corrupt B Politicised C Badly trained D Not accountable to the people E Not skilled enough F Not sensitive to human rights G Not sensitive to gender values H Arrogant/bad behaviour I Badly paid J Others (specify) K Don’t know

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L11 What has been the quality of service provided by the Arbitration Council for the poor over the past 5 or 6 1/4/5 years? L13 1 Improved  2 Stayed the same 3 Got worse 4 Don’t know  5 Haven't heard of this institution / body 

L12 If you answered that it has stayed same or got worse (L11=2, 3), why did you answer this way? 1= Yes, 2= No A Corrupt B Politicised C Badly trained D Not accountable to the people E Not skilled enough F Not sensitive to human rights G Not sensitive to gender values H Arrogant/bad behaviour I Badly paid J Others (specify) K Don’t know

L13 What has been the quality of service provided by the Government Legal Aid Scheme for the poor over 1/4/5 the past 5 or 6 years? L15 1 Improved  2 Stayed the same 3 Got worse 4 Don’t know  5 Haven't heard of this institution / body 

L14 If you answered that it has stayed same or got worse (L13=2, 3), why did you answer this way? 1= Yes, 2= No A Corrupt B Politicised C Badly trained D Not accountable to the people E Not skilled enough F Not sensitive to human rights G Not sensitive to gender values H Arrogant/bad behaviour I Badly paid J Others (specify) K Don’t know

L15 What has been the quality of service provided by Legal Aid NGOs for the poor over the past 5 or 6 1/4/5 years? L17 1 Improved  2 Stayed the same 3 Got worse 4 Don’t know  5 Haven't heard of these institutions / bodies 

L16 If you answered that it has stayed same or got worse(L15=2, 3), why did you answer this way? 1= Yes, 2= No A Corrupt B Politicised C Badly trained D Not accountable to the people E Not skilled enough F Not sensitive to human rights G Not sensitive to gender values H Arrogant/bad behaviour I Badly paid J Others (specify)

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L17 What are the barriers that people generally face in terms of access to justice before the courts? 1= Yes, 2= No A Too expensive B Too formalistic C Too complicated D Need lawyers E Too far away F Corruption G Intimidating H Harassment by lawyers I Others (specify) J Don’t know

L18 What are the barriers that people generally face in terms of access to justice in the informal system? 1= Yes, 2= No A Social/political bias B Gender bias C Political influence D Poorly trained/ lack of knowledge E Corruption F Elite bias G Do not face any barriers H Others (specify) I Don’t know

L19 Are there other groups who generally face barriers in accessing justice in the informal system? 1= Yes, 2= No A Women B Children C Indigenous peoples D Religious minorities E People with disabilities F Poor people G Others (specify) H Don’t know

L20 Are there other groups who generally generally face in terms of access to justice in the formal system? 1= Yes, 2= No A Women B Children C Indigenous peoples D Religious minorities E People with disabilities F Poor people G Others (specify) H Don’t know

M. NHRC

M01 Have you heard of the NHRC? 2 M07 1 Yes 2 No 

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M02 If yes, where and how did you find out about it? 1= Yes, 2= No A From the radio B At school C At a community meeting / workshop D From the internet E At the mosque/ church/temple F From the newspapers G From television H From a friend I At a political meeting J Through NGOs K From local government representatives L From the NHRC M From [discussion at] a tea shop N Others (specify) O I can't remember P Don’t know

M03 Where are its offices? 1 At Dhaka 2 Other areas (write name of place) 3 Don’t know

M04 Have you ever reported a violation of human rights to them? 2 M07 1 Yes 2 No 

M05 If yes, for what purpose? 1= Yes, 2= No A To report that someone was missing/ disappeared B To report an arbitrary arrest C To report an extra judicial killings D To report on torture by law enforcement agency E Others (specify)

M06 If yes, how would you describe your level of satisfaction? 1 Very satisfied 2 Satisfied 3 Not very satisfied 4 Very unsatisfied 5 Matter not yet finalised 6 Not sure 7 No services received

M07 BNHRC has the following mandates:  To advise the govt to formulate and help implement national laws in the light of international law  To raise awareness of the people regarding human rights issues with a view to improving the human rights situation of the country  To provide training to law enforcing agencies to develop their capacity  To deal with those complaints which may be resolved through mediation  To investigate cases of violations of human rights  To inspect important institutions like prison and hospitals and recommend to the government to improve their quality of services

Interviewer to read out brief explanation of mandate of the NHRC and then ask: Do you think the NHRC will be able to perform this mandate in the current reality in Bangladesh? 1 Yes 2 No 3 In some cases 4 Don’t know

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M08 If no, why do you think so?

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Annex C – Quantitative Survey Methodology and Sample

1. Target population The quantitative survey was conducted at household level with any adult member aged between 18 and 60 years. A modified Kish method214 was applied to select the respondent and the gender ratio of respondents was controlled by selecting male-female respondents alternatively.

2. Survey areas The targeted geographical area for the NHRC was the whole of Bangladesh. The baseline survey was intended to cover both urban and rural areas, including indigenous peoples in Bangladesh.

The sampling design for the national survey represented the national population as a whole. However, considering the geographic distribution of indigenous peoples, who mostly live in certain pockets of the country, there was a risk of exclusion errors. Therefore, to address this, care was taken in both the samples to ensure that all groups were represented proportionately to ensure the validity of the estimates.

3. Sampling method The determination of the sample size is a function of various factors, including the level of aggregation for reporting the survey result, the level of precision required, logistical feasibility, and time.

Public awareness indicators were measured by means of a public opinion survey. The sample was therefore designed to provide reliable estimates and also to measure the significance of the difference between baseline and project end level of the parameters. In order to know how many sample elements needed to be contacted to measure the baseline situation of the current human rights in Bangladesh (in particular awareness on human rights), the following standard formula was used

2 2Z  PQ n   .(D)(A) e 2

Where Zα = Level of confidence limit=1.96 for a 95% confidence level P= Level of the indicator = 0.5 Q=0.5 D= Design effect =1.4 A=Adjustment for non-response=1.1 e=margin of error=precision level

For this baseline survey, multistage sampling was used instead of simple random sampling. Generally the design effect (D) was between 1.2 and 3.

214Kish, L. (1949) "A Procedure for Objective Respondent Selection within the Household", Journal of the American Statistical Association, 44, 380–387 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2280236 (accessed on 16 October, 2011)

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Considering the cost and the ToR guides to keep the sample around 3000, we took a lower value of D as 1.4.

For adjustment of non-responses 10 per cent more units were covered.

The sample size for the national sample was therefore: n=3,360 for Z =1.96 for a 95% confidence level P=Q=0.5 D=1.4 A=1.1 e=0.03 =3,400 for convenience of allocation

Sample size for ethnic community in CHT was

n=296 for Z =1.96 for a 95% confidence level P=Q=0.5 D=1.4 A=1.1 e=0.10 =320 for convenience of allocation

A margin of error was taken of 0.10 for indigenous peoples, considering the fact that the domain population is small; and the population is homogenous.

The same sample size will be used in subsequent surveys including the project end survey.

To ensure representation of poorer target districts, the sub-districts were arranged in order of incidence of poverty, and then systematic designs were used to select sub-districts.

National Sample:

National Sample size was 3400.

Rural and Urban Distribution proportional to rural-urban distribution of the population:  Rural Sample size (70% of the national sample) = 2380  Urban Sample size (30% of the national sample) = 1020

Number of Villages / Mahallas:

The sample size for each village/mahalla was 18 households, that is:  Number of villages in the rural areas was = 133  Number of Mahallas for the urban areas= 57

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Allocation to Division:

The samples were allocated to divisions in proportion to the respective population size.

Rural samples (2380) were allocated to divisions in proportion to the rural population while urban samples (1020) were in proportion to the urban population. Selection of villages/mohallas within divisions was done using systematic random sampling.

Indigenous Peoples Samples:

The study team proposed two domains: a) IPs in the hill tract areas. b) IPs in plain areas.

The total sample size =320 households.

The samples were distributed to three CHT districts in proportion to district population.

Total sample

Divisions Total # of Total # of # of rural sample sample villages215 urban villages per (mohollas) mohollas as per village as per PPS (moholla) PPS National sample 3400 18 190 133 57 Adibashis in CHT 320 16 20 20 Total 3720 210

Selection of villages within a selected upazila

The number of required villages (m) was selected among all the villages in the upazila following systematic sampling technique

Selection of mohallas within a selected upazila

The number of required mahallas (n) were selected among all the mahallas in the upazila following simple random sampling technique.

Selection of Households within the selected village/mohalla

In a selected village (moholla), an equal number of households within the target populations were selected for interviews. Systematic random sampling

215 The number of villages (mohollas) per divisions will depends of the distribution of voters in the urban and rural areas of that specific districts will depends on the distribution of voters.

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4. Questionnaire The questionnaire developed for the household survey was reviewed by the NHRC and UNDP and pre-tested twice.216 The first pre-testing was conducted in households at the community level in different parts of the country from 2 to 6 June 2011, using actual household interviews. During the pre-test, data were collected from urban and rural areas, covering major religious households (Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists) and including Adibashis of plain and CHT areas. After the first pre-test, feedback was reviewed and necessary revisions in the questionnaire were made. It was also reviewed with enumerators as part of their survey training and necessary adjustments to the questionnaire were made during the training sessions. The second pre- testing took place during training.

5. Training and Data Collection A total of 120 enumerators (including 15 from CHT areas) and supervisors attended the residential training at BARD, Comilla from 15 to 21 June 2011. There was one day field practice on 17 June 2011 by which second pre- testing of the questionnaire was done. Thereafter, the questionnaire was finalised by the core team. DMA finally recruited 94 persons and divided them into 13 teams. For CHT areas, 2 teams were deployed with only CHT inhabitants to collect data in CHT areas.

Data collection was done through face-to-face interviews. Respondent’s consent was obtained before the interview. The enumerators conducted the interviews and recorded data taking care to probe responses carefully to maximise reliability. To organise the fieldwork effectively and efficiently, supervisors were guided during the training on how to assign work to the enumerators and how to keep track of their work. Every evening, supervisors and enumerators edited and crosschecked all completed questionnaires of that day, reviewed the performances of the survey, resolved any problems, and ensured that no pending work was left on data editing and checking for the day. Thereafter, the team planned for the next day.

Data collection was divided into two phases. During the first phase, all teams were deployed to collect data in 6 upazilas for 3 days (22-25 June 2011). DMA senior staff visited all teams to monitor any problems and check consistency with the data collection. All teams then returned to BARD to review the three days of data collection. Thorough discussions on the data collection process, any problems or weaknesses were discussed and further guidelines were given to all the teams. All teams then moved to their respective data collection zones and conducted rest of the household interviews (the second phase).

216 The final version of the questionnaire, in English, is attached as Annexure B.

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During the data collection period, core team members and senior officials of DMA made frequent field visits to check the quality of data collection. UNDP officials also visited the data collection areas to check quality.

Data collection was completed on 17 July 2011.

6. Data Processing Data collection and data entry were carried out simultaneously. A customized data entry package was developed with all possible in-built conditional, logical and range checking procedures to detect any mistakes by the entry operators during data entry. Double entry procedures were followed.

During data entry, a tabulation plan to produce tables was prepared and necessary programs developed (using the statistical software package SPSS) by the Programmer under the guidance of the team leader.

7. Economic Classification of Households Economic classification of the households was done on the basis of available socio-economic indicators of the questionnaire. For this purpose, dependency ratio, per persons per day’s income, and ownership and quality of the house were considered. Each of these three indicators was distributed in three equal percentiles. In the case of the dependency ratio 1st percentile was assigned score 3, 2nd percentile was assigned score 2 and 3rd percentile (high dependency ratio) was assigned score 1. Per person per day income and house ownership & quality score were assigned the opposite way ie1st 2nd and 3rd percentiles were assigned score 3,2 and 1 respectively. All of those three indicator scores are then added resulting in a total score as low (poorest) as 3 and as highest (least poor) 9. Based on these scores, the classifications of household (least poor, middle-class and poorest) were determined. The consistency of the economic classification was crosschecked with the ownership of assets.

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Annex D - Focus Group Discussions

Sl No Date Issue/ Location

1 24th May 2011 Access to Justice (BLAST, Dhaka) 2 Disability Rights (Bandhu Social Welfare 2nd June 2011 Society, Dhaka) 3 8th June 2011 Children's Rights (BLAST, Dhaka) 4 8th June 2011 Labour Rights (BLAST, Dhaka) 5 9th June 2011 Human Trafficking (BLAST, Dhaka) 6 9th June 2011 Migrant Workers’ Rights (BLAST, Dhaka) 7 15th June 2011 Socio-economic rights (BLAST, Dhaka) 8 15th June 2011 Dalit Rights (BLAST, Dhaka) 9 16th June 2011 Gender Based Violence (BLAST, Dhaka) 10 Violation by State Mechanisms (BLAST, 16th June 2011 Dhaka) 11 20th June 2011 Acid Survivors (ASF, Dhaka) 12 21st June 2011 Domestic Violence Survivors (BLAST, Dhaka) 13 Adivasi Rights in Plains and CHT (BLAST, 21st June 2011 Dhaka) 14 25th June 2011 Health: Rights and Services (BLAST, Dhaka) 15 Education: Rights and Services (BLAST, 25th June 2011 Dhaka ) 16 28th June 2011 Child Labour (BLAST Dhaka) 17 5th July 2011 Climate Change (BLAST, Dhaka) 18 2nd July 2011 Safety Nets (BRAC Development Institute) 19 Religious Minorities (South Asia Institute of 9th July 2011 Advanced Legal Studies, Dhaka) 20 Linguistic Minorities / Urdu speakers 26th July 2011 (AYUGUSC, Geneva Camp, Dhaka) 21 11th August 2011 Access to Justice in the CHT (Rangamati) 22 27th August 2011 Adivasi Rights in the CHT (Rangamati) 23 18th Sept 2011 Domestic Workers (Nagorik Uddyog, Dhaka) 24 18th Sept 2011 Child Workers (Ain o Salish Kendra, Dhaka)

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Annex E – Key informant interviews

Sl No Name Position Organization 1 Mr Nur Khan Liton Director Ain-O-Shalish Kendra (HR CSO) 2 Advocate Adilur Rahman Khan Executive Director Odhikar (HR CSO) 3 Advocate Habibun Nessa Executive Director Naripokkho (HR CSO) 4 Advocate Sultana Kamal Executive Director Ain-O-Shalish Kendra (HR CSO) 5 Requested Anonymity Senior Police Official Dhaka Metropolitan Police 6 Requested Anonymity Senior Magistrate Dhaka 7 Requested Anonymity Senior Magistrate Narayanganj 8 Advocate Fazlul Haque Secretary Madaripur Legal Aid Association (HR CSO) 9 Mr Zakir Hossain CEO Nagorik Uddyog (HR CSO) 10 Ms Rasheda Chowdhury Executive Director CAMPE (Education CSO) 11 Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon Prof. Muzaffar Ahmed President (Environmental CSO) 12 Vice-Chancellor, BRAC Prof. Ainun Nishat University Senior Advisor, IUCN, Bangladesh 13 Professor/General Department of History, University of Dhaka/ Prof. Mesbah Kamal Secretary Adivasi Adhikar Forum 14 Syed Aminul Islam Director National Legal Aid Services Organisation 15 SUPRO (Shushashoner Jonno Ms Uma Chowdhury Director Pracharavijan) 16 Raja Devasish Roy Barrister/Chakma Chief 17 South Asia Institute for Advanced Legal Dr Uttam Kumar Das Deputy Director Studies 18 Gautam Dewan President CHT Citizens Committee 19 Head Impact Assessment and Reefat bin Sattar Shared Learning Action Aid 20 Head Right to Just Asgar Ali Sabri and Democratic Governance Action Aid 21 Supreme Court of Requested anonymity Bangladesh Dhaka 22 Mother of rape Requested anonymity complainant Dhaka 23 Mother and father of victim of domestic Requested anonymity violence Dhaka

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Annex F – Bibliography

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Amnesty International (2010) Chittagong Hill Tracts: A Call for Justice at Mahalchari, [Online], Available: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA13/003/2004/en/4136499d-d5fa- 11dd-bb24-1fb85fe8fa05/asa130032004en.html [1 Mar 2010].

Amnesty International (2011) Indigenous Land Dispute Turns Deadly in Bangladesh, [Online], Available: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA13/003/2011/en/0e39431c-934e- 4fb8-8c23-efa1e42a3cf5/asa130032011en.html

Asian Human Rights Commission (2008) The State of Human Rights in Bangladesh - 2008. [Online], Available: http://material.ahrchk.net/hrreport/2008/AHRC- SPR-008-2008-Bangladesh_AHRR2008.pdf

Asian Development Bank and International Organization for Migration (2009) Review of the SAARC Convention and the Current Status of Implementation in Bangladesh. [Online], Available: http://www.iom.org.bd/publications/Review%20of%20the%20SAARC%20Tr afficking%20Convention%20Bangladesh.pdf Asian Development Bank (2010) Country Gender Assessment Bangladesh. Mandaluyong City, [Online], Available: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Country-Gender-Assessments/cga- women-bangladesh.pdf Baer, Lars-Anders (2011) Study on the Status of Implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997. Rep. no. E/C.19/2011/6. United Nations Economic and Social Council, (2011), [Online], Available:http://www.chtcommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/CHT- Accord-Study-Final.pdf

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Planning Division (2003) Report on National Child Labour Survey. Dhaka, Bangladesh.. Bangladesh Child Labour Data Country Brief. International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2005), [Online], Available: http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/download.do?type=document&id=779

Bangladesh Child Labour Data Country Brief. International Labour Organisation, 2008.

‘Bangladesh: At the Mercy of Climate Change’, The Independent [London] (19 Feb. 2007).

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Brandt, Michele, and Jeffrey A. Kaplan (1996) ‘The Tension Between Women’s Rights and Religious Rights: Reservations to CEDAW, Bangladesh and Tunisia’, Journal of Law and Religion vol.12.1, pp. 105-42. Print.

Connecting Bangladesh. ATN Bangla Television, Dhaka. [Live broadcast]

Das, Uttam K. (2011) ‘Streamlining the Migration Sector’, The Daily Star 15 Sept. 2011. Erikson, N. J., Q. K. Ahmad, and A. R. Chowdhury ( ) Socio-Economic Implications of Climate Change for Bangladesh, Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad, [Online], Available: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/igci/downloads/BriefingDoc4.pdf Gazi, Rukhsana., Chowdhury, Ziaul H., S. M N. Alam., Chowdhury, Elma., Faiz, Ahmed., and Begum, Suraiya (2001) Trafficking of Women and Children in Bangladesh: An Overview, ICDDR,B, [Online], Available: http://www.usaid.gov/bd/files/trafficking_overview.pdf

Hossain, Sara. and Hossain, Hameeda. (ed.) (2006) Human Rights in Bangladesh 2006, Ain O Salish Kendra. [Online], Available: http://www.askbd.org/web/?page_id=507 Hossain, Sara. and Siddiqi, Dina. (ed.) (2008) Human Rights in Bangladesh 2007, Ain O Salish Kendra, [Online], Available: http://www.askbd.org/web/wpcontent/uploads/2008/11/ASK_Human%20Righ ts%20Report_07.pdf Hossain, Sara. (ed.) (2008) Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ain O Salish Kendra. [Online], Available: http://www.askbd.org/web/wpcontent/uploads/2008/11/ASK_Human%20Rights%20Report_07.pdf

Hossein, Sara., Malik, Shahdeen ., Moran, Greg., and Stapleton, Adam (2007) Joint Assessment of Prospects for Harmonisation within the Justice Sector in Bangladesh (Draft). Human Rights Watch (2006) Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Torture and Extrajudicial Killings by Bangladesh's Elite Security Force, [Online], Available: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/12/13/judge-jury-and- executioner-0 Human Rights Watch (2008) World Report 2008: Events of 2007. New York: Human Rights Watch, Print. Human Rights Watch (2009) World Report 2009: Events of 2008. New York: Human Rights Watch, Print. Human Rights Watch (2010) World Report 2010: Events of 2009. New York: Human Rights Watch, Print. Human Rights Watch (2011) World Report 2011: Events of 2010. New York: Human Rights Watch, Print.

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Human Rights Watch (2011) Bangladesh: Government Should Support Anti-Torture Bill, [Online], Available: http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/03/29/bangladesh- government-should-support-anti-torture-bill [29 Mar 2011].

Human Rights Watch (2011) Bangladesh: Protect Women Against ‘Fatwa’ Violence,[Online], Available: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/07/06/bangladesh-protect-women-against- fatwa-violence [6 Jul 2011].

Human Rights Watch (2011) “Crossfire:” Continued Human Rights Abuses by Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion, [Online], Available: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2011/05/10/crossfire-0 [10 May 2011].

ICCEB (2011) First International Conference on Climate Change and Energy Development of Bangladesh, , [Online], Available: http://www.icceb.info/2011/home/default.html

Iqbal, Jamil. (2009) The Untouchables of Bangladesh, International Humanist and Ethical Union, [Online], Available: http://www.iheu.org/untouchables- bangladesh

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (2009) Bangladesh: Indigenous People and Religious Minorities Still Affected by Displacement, [Online], Available: http://www.internaldisplacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/5E9 692B6E4E0A918C12575F5004F95C3/$file/Bangladesh_Overview_Jul09.pdf

International Center on Child Labor and Education and Global March Against Child Labour (2006) Review of Child Labour, Education, and Poverty Agenda: Bangladesh Country Report, [Online], Available: http://www.iccle.org/images/bangladesh-report.pdf

International Labour Organisation (2006) Baseline Survey on Child Domestic Labour in Bangladesh, International Labour Organisation (ILO).

‘Job Quota for Dalits, Harijans Mulled’, The Daily Star [Bangladesh] (25 June 2011), [Online], Available: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news- details.php?nid=191391

Kamal, Sultana. (ed.) (2010) Human Rights in Bangladesh 2009. Ain O Salish Kendra, [Online], Available: http://www.askbd.org/web/wpcontent/uploads/2008/11/ASK_Human%20Rights%20Report_07.pdf Mondal, Abdul Hye. (2010) Monitoring and Assessing Progress on Decent Work in Bangladesh: National Background Study. Dhaka: ILO. Odhikar (2010) Human Rights Report 2009: Odhikar Report on Bangladesh, [Online], Available: http://www.odhikar.org/documents/2009/English_report/HRR_2009.pdf

Odhikar (2011) Human Rights Report 2010: Odhikar Report on Bangladesh,

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[Online], Available: http://www.odhikar.org/documents/2010/English_Reports/Annual_Human_Ri ghts_Report_2010_Odhikar.pdf

Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (2010) Bangladesh: Strategic Program for Climate Resilience, [Online], Available: http://www.climateinvestmentfunds.org/cif/sites/climateinvestmentfunds.org/f iles/PPCR%205%20SPCR%20Bangladesh%20nov2010.pdf [29 Sept 2010].

Planning Commission, Government of Bangladesh (2009) The Millennium Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress Report 2009.

Qumrunnessa, Nazly.(2011) United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms. Ain o Salish Kendra, Dhaka. Roy, Devasish (2004), ‘Challenges for Juridical Pluralism and Customary Laws of Indigenous Peoples: The Case of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh’, Arizona Journal of International & Comparative Law 21.1 (2004).

Roy, Devasish., Hossain, Sara., and Guhathakurta, Meghna. (2007), Access to Justice for Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh, United Nations Development Programme, [Online], Available: http://regionalcentrebangkok.undp.or.th/practices/governance/a2j/docs/CaseSt udy-02-Bangladesh.pdf

Roy, Devasish (2010), Country Technical Notes on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues: Bangladesh. IFAD, Mar. 2010. [Online], Available: http://www.ifad.org/english/indigenous/pub/documents/tnotes/bangladesh.pdf

The World Factbook (2011) Central Intelligence Agency, [Online], Available: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ci.html

UN General Assembly (1966), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993, p. 3, [Online], Available: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b36c0.html United Nations Children's Fund and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2007) A Human Rights-Based Approach to Education for All, [Online], Available: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001548/154861e.pdf United Nations, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1155, p. 331, [Online], Available: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b3a10.html UN General Assembly (1979), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, A/RES/34/180, [Online], Available: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3b00f2244.html UN General Assembly (1989), Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations, 20 Nov 1989, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, p. 3, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b38f0.html

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United Nations Children’s Fund (2001): Early Marriage, [Online], Available : http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf .

United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (2009), Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 44 of the Convention: Convention on the Rights of the Child: concluding observation: Bangladesh, [Online], Available: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a8e977d0.html

United Nations Children’s Fund, Institute of Public Health and Nutrition and Government of Bangladesh (2009), Bangladesh Household Food Security and Nutrition Assessment: Report 2009, [Online], Available:http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/45A7AA9D78 935463C125774B00452438-Full_Report.pdf

United Nations Children’s Fund (2010), Bangladesh Statistics, [Online], Available: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/bangladesh_bangladesh_statistics.html

United Nations Development Project (2010) Country Profile of Human Development Indicators. [Online], Available: http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/BGD.html

United Nations Development Project (2010), The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development, [Online], Available: http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2010/

United States. Department of State. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2008), Human Rights Report: Bangladesh. Department of State, [Online], Available: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/sca/119132.htm.

United States. Department of State. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. (2009), Human Rights Report: Bangladesh. Department of State, [Online], Available: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/sca/136085.htm [11 Mar 2010].

United States. Department of Labor. Bureau of International Labor Affairs (2009), Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Department of Labor, [Online], Available: http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/pdf/2009OCFTreport.pdf [15 Dec. 2010].

United States. Department of State. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. (2010), Human Rights Report: Bangladesh. Department of State, [Online], Available: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/sca/154478.htm [8 Apr 2011].

United States. Department of State. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. (2010), Report on International Religious Freedom. Department of State, [Online], Available: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148789.htm.

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Annex G – Selected literature review

1. General Sources

Human Rights in Bangladesh

“2010 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh.” U.S. Department of State: Diplomacy in Action. Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State, April 2011. Web. Accessed on June 20, 2010. . The annual U.S. Department of State report provides a more extensive overview of human rights issues in Bangladesh, and includes updates on specific cases of human rights abuses. The report is divided into seven sections, namely: respect for the integrity of the person; respect for civil liberties; respect for political rights; official corruption and government transparency; governmental attitude regarding international and nongovernmental investigation of alleged violation of human rights; discrimination, societal abuses and trafficking in persons; and worker rights.

Hossain, Sara. Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 2009. Web. .

This report includes sections on most major human rights themes in Bangladesh. While not the most recent ASK report, its English content is much more extensive than the 2009 report.

Kamal, Sultana. Human Rights in Bangladesh 2009: A Summary Report. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 2010. Web. . This 40-page report discusses a dozen human rights issues in Bangladesh, including extra-judicial killings, freedom of expression, freedom of association, workers’ rights, women’s rights, and multiple instances of violence in political and civil spheres.

“The State of Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008.” International Human Rights Day 2008 - Asian Human Rights Commission. Asian Human Rights Commission, 2008. Web. .

This 35-page report focuses mainly on government action, criticizing the legislative, executive and judicial branches for alleged human rights abuses. Police action is discussed in detail in sections on torture and extra-judicial killings, among others. Multiple examples of human rights abuses are provided throughout the report, and the authors conclude with a list of recommendations aimed at both governmental and non-governmental actors. The National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh is also explicitly discussed.

“World Report 2011: Bangladesh.” Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, 2010. Web. . The report’s 5-page section on Bangladesh summarizes the major on-going human rights issues, including violence by state forces, and discrimination and harassment against various groups.

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National Human Rights Institutions

International Council on Human Rights. “Assessing the Effectiveness of National Human Rights Institutions.” Office of the United National High Commissioner on Human Rights. International Council on Human Rights and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2005. Web. < www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/NHRIen.pdf>.

This report, published by the OHCHR, presents the findings of a study on national human rights institutions. The authors discuss factors that are relevant to measuring the effectiveness on these institutions, and provide benchmarks and indicators for assessing effectiveness. The report also lists characteristics that are essential to well-functioning human rights institutions.

2. Sources by Specific Issue

Access to Justice

“Alternative Dispute Resolution: Community-Based Mediation as an Auxiliary to Formal Justice in Bangladesh: The Madaripur Model of Mediation (MMM).” Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST). Penal Reform International, 2003. Web. .

This 2003 report provides an overview of alternative dispute resolution in Bangladesh, particularly the Madaripur model of mediation. It discusses the relationship between ADR and the formal justice system, and the advantages of resolving a dispute through ADR.

Golub, Stephen. “Non-State Justice Systems in Bangladesh and the Philippines.” Governance and Social Development Resource Centre. United Kingdom Department for International Development, January 2003. Web. .

This 2003 paper summarizes the positive and negative aspects of traditional, government-sponsored and NGO-organized Shalishes in Bangladesh.

Hasle, Lena. “Too Poor for Rights? Access to Justice for Poor Women in Bangladesh.” The Bangladesh Development Studies 29.3&4 (Sept-Dec 2003). Web. .

This article’s starting point is the scope of the concept of access to justice, and the denial of justice resulting from poverty and gender inequality. The author then explains the role of a particular NGO, Nagorik Uddyog (NU), and its work among a group of rural people. This case study exemplifies the perception of justice among rural people, in light of their societal norms and traditions, and the success of NU’s unique approach to providing informal justice through Shalish.

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Md. Alim, Abdul, “Shalish and the Role of BRAC’s Federation: Improving the Poor’s Access to Justice.” BRAC Research. Published: December 2004. Web. Accessed: 11 July, 2011. < http://www.bracresearch.org/publications/thesis_alim_bhai_full.pdf>.

This thesis outlines the existing framework within informal institutions of justice (especially Shalish), highlights its strengths and weaknesses, and describes the situation for the poor within that informal system. The paper also explores the paradigm relationship between parties involved in legal disputes, and concludes with an evaluation of the successes and failures of NGO interventions, such as BRAC’s, along with recommendations.

Access to Justice in the Chittagong Hill Tracts

"Bangladesh: Chittagong Hill Tracts: A Call for Justice ." Amnesty International. Amnesty International, 1 March 2004. Web. .

This 3-page report uses a 2003 incident in Mahalchari to highlight the general climate of impunity for criminals, including government forces, in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Kundu Kumar Debasish et al. "State of Justice in Chittagong Hill Tracts: Exploring the Formal and Informal Justice Institutions of Indigenous Communities." BRAC Research and Evaluation Division. BRAC, Jan 2009. Web. .

This report explores Indigenous peoples’ access to formal and informal justice in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. It discusses some of the challenges faced in accessing judicial remedies, and tracks other types of data, such as socio- economic factors and types of disputes, against the use of the formal and informal systems.

Roy, Raja Devasish, Sara Hossain, and Dr. Meghna Guhathakurta. "Access to Justice for Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh." UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre. UNDP, 2007. Web. .

This 38-page report discusses the contextual and institutional framework in which barriers to access to justice arise for Adivasis.

“Report on Functioning of District Courts and Access to Justice in The Chittagong Hill Tracts.” Dhaka: Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (Blast), October 2010. Print.

This 42-page report aims to document and assess the implementation of the High Court’s 2008 decision ordering the establishment of District and Sessions Courts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The report assesses the impact of the functioning courts in CHT, and identifies key concerns relating to access to justice. Recommendations are also issued for the government and civil society.

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Child Labour

“Child Labour in Bangladesh.” UNICEF Bangladesh. UNICEF, June 2010. Web. .

This document provides a general overview and statistics on the issue of child labour in Bangladesh. Figures include the number of working children aged 5 to 17, the number of child labourers, and the number of children engaged in hazardous labour. There is also background information on the social norms perpetuating the problem, the legislation that is meant to deal with it, and what UNICEF is doing to help.

Haider, Mostafa. “Recognizing Complexity, Embracing Diversity: Working Children in Bangladesh.” South Asia Research 28.1 (February 2008): 49-72. Scholars Portal. Web. .

This article discusses the dialogue surrounding child labour in Bangladesh. It examines the international and domestic laws on the issue and their level of implementation. The author discusses the causes of child labour in Bangladesh and links the problem (or solutions) to compulsory education. The author argues that children should be given some form of agency in the struggle to realize their rights, as NGO dialogue often ignores the cultural and socio-economic context in which the issue of child labour arises.

“Review of Child Labour, Education and Poverty Agenda: Bangladesh Country Report 2006.” International Centre on Child Labour and Education. International Centre on Child Labour and Education, 2006. Web. .

This 36-page report discusses the social causes of child labour, the legal framework addressing the issue, and the links between education and child labour.

Children’s Rights

Banks, Cyndi. “The discourse of Children’s Rights in Bangladesh: International Norms and Local Definitions.” International Journal of Children’s Rights 15.3-4 (2007): 391-414.

This article provides both data and analysis on such issues as juvenile crime and corporal punishment. It places the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Bangladesh’s particular cultural context and highlights the tension between the international and local children’s rights discourse.

Khan, Borhan Uddin and Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman. “Protection of Children in Conflict with the Law in Bangladesh.” Dhaka: Save the Children UK, 2008. Print.

This 125-page report covers the international and domestic legal framework surrounding children in conflict with the law, discusses the role of NGOs, and highlights challenges in the juvenile justice system in Bangladesh. It concludes with a chapter on recommendations.

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Shabnam, Shohana. “Rights of Children.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 223-228. Web. .

This chapter provides an overview of the situation of children in Bangladesh, highlighting issues such as violence, trafficking, labour, and conflicts with the law. The author also discusses the government and NGO response to these problems.

“Situation Assessment and Analysis of Children and Women in Bangladesh.” UNICEF Bangladesh. UNICEF, September 2009. Web. .

This 180-page report analyzes the situation of women and children in Bangladesh within the framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The report’s major themes include the right to education, to health, to protection and to nutrition and water.

Climate Change and Environment

Banks, Nicola et al. “Neglecting the Urban Poor in Bangladesh: research, policy and action in the context of climate change.” Brooks World Poverty Institute, March 2011. Web. Accessed: 12 July 2011. .

This Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI) Working Paper criticizes governmental, non-governmental bias towards rural poverty and discusses the inevitability of huge poor communities in urban areas of Bangladesh. This is stressed upon due to the fact that climate change is curtailing food production in rural areas and outlines possible future courses of action as well as what has been done so far. The authors make repeated calls for more attention to urban poverty in research, policy and action.

“Climate Refugees in Bangladesh – Answering the Basics: The Where, How, Who and How Many.” Displacement Solutions. May 2010. Web. Accessed: 10 July 2011. < http://displacementsolutions.org/?p=547>.

This article answers some basic questions regarding the status of climate refugees in Bangladesh.

Nasreen, Mahbuba et al. “The Interrelationship between Poverty, Environment and Sustainable Development in Bangladesh: An Overview.” Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology 3.2 (July 2006): 59-79. Web. < http://goodgovernancebd.org/link/Good%20governance%20studies/Articles%20from %20Internet/Democracy1/BD%20E-Journal.pdf#page=59>.

This study discusses the relationship between poverty and the environment, enabling the extraction of key human rights issues related to these two topics.

Walsham, Matthew. “Assessing the Evidence: Environment, Climate Change and Migration in Bangladesh.” International Organisation for Migration: The Migration Agency. International Organisation for Migration, 2010. Web. .

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This 89-page report provides an overview of key issues in environment- related migration., The author presents some of the possible effects of climate change, including sudden on-set problems (floods, cyclones) and longer term effects (rising water levels). The author discusses the socio-economic context in which these natural disasters will take effect, and discusses potential policy options for decision-makers to better protect those affected by environmental disasters.

Dalit Rights

Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement Work Statement April 2008 – June 2011. Dhaka: Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement, 2011. Print.

In this report, BDERM discusses the situation of Dalits in Bangladesh as well as its recent initiatives and successes.

Citizens’ Initiatives on CEDAW-Bangladesh (CIC-BD). “Combined Sixth and Seventh Alternative Report to the UN CEDAW Committee.” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. OHCHR, July 2010. Web. .

Pages 23 and 58-60 of this report include reference to Dalit women and the triple that they face based on caste, gender and socio-economic status. These pages essentially provide a laundry list of the issues faced by Dalit women, and also highlight Bangladesh’s international and constitutional obligations towards Dalit women and girls.

“Dalits of Bangladesh: Destined to a Life of Humiliation.” International Dalit Solidarity Network. IDSN, Second Edition, June 2008. Web. .

This document presents the major challenges faced by Hindu and Muslim Dalits in Bangladesh, including consistent violations of their socio-economic rights. Discrimination in the political sphere, in education and in employment are highlighted as some of the most significant issues for Dalits. In addition, the document discusses the double discrimination faced by Hindu Dalits, as a religious minority, and women Dalits, on the basis of gender. The report also touches on Dalits’ inability to improve their social or economic status.

International Dalit and Excluded Rights Network, Nadorik Uddyog and International Dalit Solidarity Network. “The Human Rights Situation of Dalits in Bangladesh: their socio-economic problems, legal and constitutional protections, and the issues of discrimination on the basis of caste and lower status.” International Dalit Solidarity Network: Working Together Against Discrimination Based on Work and Descent. IDSN, February 2009. Web. < http://idsn.org/fileadmin/user_folder/pdf/Old_files/un/pdf/UPR_Bangladesh.pdf>.

This report, a 2009 Universal Periodic Review submission, makes numerous recommendations to the Government of Bangladesh to combat discrimination against Dalits. It highlights many of the challenges faced by Dalits, including access to education and work, access to housing and access to justice.

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Discrimination Against Minorities

“Bangladesh.” International Religious Freedom Report 2010. U.S. Department of State, 2010. Web. .

The U.S. Department of State’s annual report on religious freedom provides an overview of the status of religious minorities in Bangladesh. Demographic statistics are provided, and the legal framework in which religious freedom is enjoyed is briefly explained. Challenges for religious minorities, including discrimination, are discussed at length.

“Bangladesh: Country Report for Use in Refugee Claims Based on Persecution Relating to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.” University of Toronto Faculty of Law: International Human Rights Programme. International Human Rights Programme, University of Toronto, March 2011. Web. < http://www.utorontoihrp.com/index.php/resources/working-group-reports/cat_view/10- working-group-reports/16-sogi-resources>.

This 2011 report aims to assist lawyers with refugee claims based on persecution related to sexual orientation or gender identity. The report presents information based on governmental NGO and scholarly reports, discussing violence against sexual minorities, cases of harassment, as well as social stigma and discrimination. This report is also a good starting point to access more sources on LGBT rights in Bangladesh.

Bondyopadhyay, Aditya and Shale Ahmed. Same-Sex Love in a Difficult Climate: A Study into the Life of Sexual Minority (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Persons in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Bandhu Social Welfare Society, 2010. Print.

This report gives an overview of the situation of hijras, kothis, gay and bisexual men and lesbian women in Bangladesh, based on interviews and survey questions administered to these communities. The results highlight numerous human rights issues related to sexual and gender identity, including harassment by police, violence, freedom of choice, and obstacles to access to education.

Jalais, Annu. “Rights of Linguistic Minorities.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 197-199. Web. .

This chapter discusses the situation of Urdu-speaking Muslims in Bangladesh. The author outlines how, after decades or marginalization, the courts recognized the group’s rights to citizenship and voting. Public perceptions of the Urdu-speaking community are also discussed.

Mohaiemen, Naeem. “Rights of Religious Minorities.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 173-178. Web. .

This chapter discusses issues such as violence and harassment of religious minorities; the historical abuse of the Vested Property Act to deprive religious minorities of their land, and the government’s attempts to reform the law; the continuing oppression of the Ahmadiya community; and religious minorities’ underrepresentation in political and public life.

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Paulsen, Eric. “The Citizenship Status of the Urdu-speakers/Biharis in Bangladesh.” Refugee Survey Quarterly 25.3 (January 2006): 54-69. Scholars Portal. Web. .

This paper offers an extensive review of case law relevant to Bihari and Urdu- speaking persons’ status. The author discusses the history and current situation of Biharis, complete with an overview of discriminatory practices in government and the private sector. The author discusses the uncertainties that persist in everyday life as to Biharis’ citizenship, despite clear judicial precedent establishing their status as citizens of Bangladesh. He concludes by restating that the government has an obligation to ensure that Biharis are not subjected to discrimination based on false perceptions of their citizenship status.

Siddiqui, Dina. “Rights of Sexual Minorities.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 241-244. Web. .

This chapter highlights the challenges faced by sexual minorities in Bangladesh, including violence against Hirjas, as well as the general lack of legal protections for such groups. The author refers to the general invisibility of sexual minorities, and recommends that further research be done on their situation.

Sontosh, Tripura. “Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 183-190. Web. .

This chapter discusses the situation of Adivasis in both the plaints and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, focusing on civil rights, land rights and socio-economic rights.

Discrimination Against Women

Citizens’ Initiative on CEDAW-Bangladesh. “Combined Sixth and Seventh Alternative Report to the UN CEDAW Committee”. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Citizens’ Initiatives on CEDAW-Bangladesh, July 2010. Web. .

This report, submitted by a coalition of reputable NGOs, highlights the progress made on women’s rights since 2004 through legal, judicial and policy initiatives. It then discusses the challenges and concerns relating to women’s current situation in Bangladesh, and examined Bangladesh’s compliance with CEDAW provision by provision.

"Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women." OHCHR Report on Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. OHCHR, 04 Feb 2011. Web. .

The report of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women commends Bangladesh’s efforts to improve the situation of women, but mainly highlights the areas in which the government has not

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acted. It offers recommendations to improve the situation of women in domestic, political and public life.

Kapsos, Steven. “The Gender Wage Gap in Bangladesh.” International Labour Organisation. International Labour Organisation, May 2008. Web. .

This 29-page report discusses wage differentials between men and women in Bangladesh. After adjusting for factors such as industry and education level, the authors are able to estimate what percentage of the wage gap is due to gender discrimination.

Panna, Shah Afroditi and Faustina Pereira. “Rights of Women.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 163-168. Web. .

This chapter discusses some of the major challenges faced by women in 2008, including discrimination in the public and political spheres. The author also discusses the developments in 2008 on the issues of violence against women, and freedom of choice in marriage.

Labour Rights

Faruk, Shah Alam. “Rights of Workers.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 203-209. Web. .

This chapter summarizes the developments and events of 2008 in the area of labour rights. The issues discussed include government restrictions on trade union activities, safety and security at work, instances of violence and harassment in the workplace, rights of assembly and significant High Court judgments relating to workers’ rights.

Hasan, J. “Labour Rights in the Readymade Garments Industry in Bangladesh.” Odhikar. Published: 2008. Web. Accessed 10 July 2011. < http://www.odhikar.org/index.html>.

This report looks at the current status of labour rights in the RMG sector in addition to the compliance with labour laws. It investigates the reasons behind repeated unrest among workers in the RMG sector.

Kabeer, Naila and Mahmud, Simeen. “Rags, Riches and Women Workers: Export- oriented Garment Manufacturing in Bangladesh”. 29 July 2004. Web. Accessed 9 July 2011. < http://www.wiego.org/publications/wiego_members.php>.

This article provides insight into the operation of the RMG sector and examines how women workers’ rights are being affected as a result of the semi-formal or informal nature of their employment, the recruitment processes, and more.

Migrant Workers

“2011 Trafficking in Persons Report – Bangladesh.” UNHCR – RefWorld. United States Department of State, June 2011. Web. .

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This report provides an overview of the migration process for Bangladeshis and links migration to the risk of human trafficking. The report also summarizes Bangladesh’s response to the issue of trafficking of migrant workers through prevention, the protection of victims and the prosecution of offenders. The report also issues recommendations aimed at the Government.

Ahmed, Hana Shams. “Rights of Migrant Workers.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 215-218. Web. .

This chapter examines the conditions of migrant workers, mainly in the Middle East. Major human rights challenges relating to migration include déportations, a lack of safe working conditions, and an ability to seek redress for labour rights violations. The author also discusses the inadequacy of the government’s response to migration issues.

“Bangladesh.” International Organisation for Migration. IOM-OIM, May 2011. Web. .

The International Organisation for Migration’s page on Bangladesh provides a demographic overview of migration from and inside Bangladesh, and discusses the IOM’s areas of focus.

Refugee and Migratory Movement Research Unit. “Recruitment and Placement of Bangladeshi Migrant Workers: An Evaluation of the Process.” International Organisation for Migration. International Organisation for Migration (ION), Regional Office for South Asia, 2002. Web. .

This report presents the process involved for Bangladeshis who hope to migrate to another country for work. Some of the topics addressed are the common sources of information for potential migrant workers, the actors involved in the migration process, the inadequacy of some of the services provided, the level of regulation of pre-departure activities, and recommendations to improve the recruitment and training processes.

Prisoners’ Rights

Das, John Asit. “Rights of Prisoners.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 247-250. Web. .

This chapter highlights the main issues in prisons in Bangladesh, particularly in relation to the living conditions of prisoners. It discusses overcrowding and the absence of health facilities in most jails, both of which can be seen to contribute to the high number of deaths that occur in prisons each year. The author also discusses cases of prisoners remaining in jail long after their sentence was completed, of women and children being placed in jails, and of irregularities in prison security.

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Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Haque, Mozammel. “Rights of Persons with Disabilities.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 235-237. Web. .

This chapter outlines the major challenges faced by persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, including limited political participation, access to education and employment, mobility challenges and access to justice in cases of violence against women. The relevant legal framework on the rights of persons with disabilities is also briefly discussed.

Jamil, Arif and Masum, Md. Shamsuddin. “Towards a Legal Regime for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Bangladesh.” The Dhaka University Studies, Part F 19.2 (December 2008):119-144. Print.

This paper outlines the international and domestic legal frameworks surrounding disability rights in Bangladesh, and presents the disability rights movement in Bangladesh. The author discusses the rights to education and employment, access to disability-friendly public transport, and issues recommendations for policy-makers.

“State of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Bangladesh 2009.” National Forum of Organisations Working with the Disabled. Disability Rights Watch Group Bangladesh, 2009. Web. < http://nfowd.com/Publications.html>.

This 51-page report provides data on the state of disability rights in different spheres in Bangladesh, including education, health and employment, among many others. It also lists the important governmental and non-governmental players in disability rights and explains their basis roles in advancing disability rights in Bangladesh.

Timm, R.W. Disability and Human Rights in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Action on Disability and Development, 2008. Print.

This 111-page report discusses the UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities, as well as domestic laws on disability rights. It reviews the situation of PWDs in Bangladesh, with chapters discussing education, social security, sexual violence against women with disabilities, and political participation. The authors also recommend numerous reforms to disability laws and policies.

Situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts

“Bangladesh: Indigenous people and religious minorities still affected by displacement.” Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Norwegian Refugee Council, July 2009. Web. .

This 2009 report discusses the causes of internal displacement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, including forced evictions and discriminatory governmental policies. It presents the current security situation in CHT, and

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highlights the impact of displacement on the realization of social, economic and cultural rights.

Sontosh, Tripura. “Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 183-190. Web. .

This chapter discusses the situation of Adivasis in both the plaints and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, focusing on civil rights, land rights and socio-economic rights.

“Study on the status of implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997.” International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. United Nations Economic and Social Council, February 2011. Web. .

This report by the Special Rapporteur on the status of implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997 to the UN Economic and Social Council presents the historical background of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord, discusses the international framework governing its implementation and the status of its implementation, and issues recommendations for the Government of Bangladesh, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and other stakeholders.

Social and Economic Rights

Balakrishnan, Radhika et al. “ Maximum Available Resources and Human Rights.” Centre for Women’s Global Leadership. Centre for Women’s Global Leadership – Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, June 2011. Web. < http://cwgl.rutgers.edu/globalcenter/publications/marreport.pdf>.

This analytical report provides an in-depth discussion on the meaning of the phrase “to the maximum of its available resources”, which is the commitment made by signatories to the ICESCR in pursuing the realization of ESC rights. The CRC and CRPD also use this language. This discussion could, of course, have broad policy implications for states working to implement the conventions.

“Bangladesh.” Centre for Social and Economic Rights: Social Justice Through Human Rights. Centre for Social and Economic Rights, 2009. Web. < http://www.cesr.org/section.php?id=63>.

This factsheet presents data on the accessibility of food, education, housing and health services for children in Bangladesh, highlighting gains and losses in different areas. The factsheet compares the situation of boys and girls throughout and highlights gender inequalities in certain areas.

Farseen, Hasana. “Nutritional Situation and Related Factors in MNCH Project Area at Baseline.” BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED). Research and Evaluation Division (RED), BRAC, December 2006. Web. < http://www.bracresearch.org/reports.php?scat=27>.

BRAC conducted a baseline study for one of its initiatives on the nutritional situation of Bangladeshi families. The report offers statistics on malnutrition, under nutrition, and infant and child mortality. It also explains causes of

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malnutrition and inequities in food distribution with households, and highlights a general absence of knowledge have about nutrition.

“Health for the Rural Masses: Insights from Chakaria.” ICDDR,B: Knowledge for Global Lifesaving Solutions. ICDDR,B, February 2009. Web. < http://centre.icddrb.org/pub/publication.jsp?classificationID=47&pubID=10421>.

ICDDR,B conducted a study in Chakaria to identify challenges in Bangladesh’s rural health systems. The study highlights the shortage of trained healthcare workers in rural areas, the reasons behind the popularity of the informal healthcare system, and the risks associated with reliance on untrained physicians.

“Health Needs and Health-Seeking Behaviours of Street Dwellers in Dhaka City.” ICDDR,B: Knowledge for Global Lifesaving Solutions. ICDDR,B, June 2008. Web. < http://centre.icddrb.org/pub/publication.jsp?classificationID=47&pubID=9581>.

ICDDR,B conducted a study among street dwellers in Dhaka City to evaluate the accessibility of health services to such a vulnerable population. The study showed that although a majority of street dwellers were sick or injured at the time of the study, very few sought medical attention. The report outlines the most common health problems for street dwellers and suggests that as a group, they may be most marginalised from the healthcare system. The authors also point out that few NGOs or government initiatives target street dwellers.

Hossain, Hameeda. “Right to Shelter.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 133-137. Web. .

This chapter provides an overview of judicial developments and right to shelter violations in 2008. Violations included forcible evictions of slum dwellers, the demolition of illegally acquired slums, and inadequate (or non- existent) resettlement schemes. The NGO response to these violations is also discussed.

Hossain, Millat. “Right to Health.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 143-146. Web. .

This chapter discusses the government’s role and failings in upholding the right to health in Bangladesh in 2008. The author criticizes the government’s inadequate budget allocation for health care, one of the major consequences of which is the absence of proper infrastructure. Other challenges that are highlighted include the corruption of the health care system, the impunity of negligent practitioners, and public health concerns such as the quality of milk and medicine.

Hossain, Millat. “Right to Education.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 151-155. Web. .

This chapter focuses mainly on the quality of education in Bangladesh, from the primary to university levels. The challenges that are discussed include inaccurate information in textbooks; untimely dissemination of textbooks; poor

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quality of teaching; corruption in universities; a lack of regulation of private universities; freedom of expression violations; and sexual harassment on university campuses. Many of these are the consequences of inadequate funding and bias in policy-making.

Kabir, Khushi and Rezanur Rahman. “Right to Food.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 117-125. Web. .

This chapter discusses the right to food, including such aspects as food security and sovereignty. The authors summarize the state’s legal obligations towards its citizens, and highlight relevant violations of the right to food in 2008.

Osmani, S.R. “Realising the Right to Development in Bangladesh: Progress and Challenges.” The Bangladesh Development Studies XXXIII.1&2 (March-June 2010): pp.25-90. Web. .

This paper evaluates Bangladesh’s progress on three specific development- related rights: the rights to food, education and health. The report highlights both the gains in these areas as well as the government’s failures.

Rahman, Redwanur. “Human Rights, Health and the State in Bangladesh.” Biomed Central. BMC International Health and Human Rights, April 2006. Web. < http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/6/4>.

This paper presents the Government of Bangladesh’s obligations under domestic and international law to respect, protect and fulfil the right to health. The author highlights numerous causes for the health care system’s failure to provide adequate services to citizens, including a lack of political will and corruption.

Social Safety Nets

Miyan, M Alimullah. “Retirement and Pension System in Bangladesh.” Proceedings of International Society for Labour and Social Security Law, 8th Asian Regional Congress. Taipei: November 2005. Print.

This 24-page paper discusses the framework for pensions in Bangladesh in 2005.The major findings include the fact that public servants are almost the only recipients of pensions in Bangladesh. It addresses the financial gap that most elderly persons face due to a lack of social support, as well as the need for new policies to deal with Bangladesh’s aging population.

Morshed, KAM. “Social Safety Net Programmes in Bangladesh”. UNDP Bangladesh. UNDP: February 2009. Web. http://www.undp.org.bd/library/reports/2009-02- 09%20SSNPs%20in%20Bangladesh%20Upload.pdf.

This 2009 report provides recent information on the government’s existing social security programmes in areas such as food, education and employment. The report discusses the popularity of conditional cash transfer programmes and identifies key issues in the implementation of those and other programmes. The role of NGOs such as microfinance institutions in providing security to the poor is also briefly discussed.

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“Social Safety Nets in Bangladesh: An Assessment.” The World Bank. The World Bank Group, September 2005. Web. .

This 66-page paper assesses the effectiveness of social safety programmes in Bangladesh. It identifies the risks of particular groups and the social programmes aimed at them. The paper concludes by identifying key challenges to better implementation of social programmes and suggesting policy options for the government.

Violence Against Women

“Bangladesh: Protect Women Against ‘Fatwa’ Violence.” Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, July 2011. Web. < http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/07/06/bangladesh-protect-women-against-fatwa- violence>.

This July 2011 press release, issued jointly by Human Rights Watch and Bangladesh human rights organisations Blast, ASK, MP, BRAC-HRLS, and Nijera Kori, calls on the government to take action to end Fatwa-related violence. It discusses recent incidents of Fatwa-related violence in Bangladesh, some leading to death and suicide, as well as recent legal developments on the issue.

Bart Johnston, Heidi and Ruchira Tabassum Naved. “Spousal Violence in Bangladesh: A Call for a Public-Health Response.” Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition 26.3 (September 2008): 366-377. ProQuest. Web. .

This 11-page report, based on a review of available literature, provides statistics on the prevalence of domestic violence in Bangladesh, and discusses the consequences on the victim and her family. The authors also identify correlates of domestic violence, some of which point to ways in which domestic violence can be addressed. The authors also suggest further research based on the gaps they noticed in the literature.

Chowdhury, Elora Halim. “Negotiating State and NGO Politics in Bangladesh: Women Mobilize Against Acid Violence.” Violence Against Women 13.8 (August 2007): 857-873. Scholars Portal. Web. .

This report provides an overview of the history of acid violence in Bangladesh, some demographic information, as well as an explanation of the social causes of acid violence.

Dalal, Koustuv et al. “Wife Abuse in Rural Bangladesh.” Journal of Biosocial Science 41 (June 2009): 561-573. Scholars Portal. Web. .

This paper analyzes the results of a survey on physical and verbal abuse, as well as abuse by restricting access to food. The authors identify multiple risk

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factors, including age, literacy level and alcohol misuse, and provide interesting statistics on the prevalence of domestic violence in rural Bangladesh.

Panna, Shah Afroditi and Faustina Pereira. “Rights of Women.” Human Rights in Bangladesh 2008. Ed. Sara Hossain. Dhaka: Ain o Salish Kendra, 2009. 163-168. Web. .

Sambisa, William et al. “Physical and Sexual Abuse of Wives in Bangladesh.” Studies in Family Planning 41.3 (September 2010): 165-178. Scholars Portal. Web. .

This study provides statistics on the prevalence of domestic violence in Bangladesh, and identifies risk factors of both offenders and victims. The authors point to contextual factors, such as socio-economic status and substance abuse, that should be considered when developing policies or programmes aimed at eliminating domestic violence.

“WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence Against Women: Bangladesh”. World Health Organisation. World Health Organisation, 2005. Web. .

This 2-page fact sheet provides useful statistics on the prevalence of domestic violence, the type of injuries sustained by victims, the prevalence of violence during pregnancy, non-partner violence, sexual abuse, the effects of violence on health, and victims’ help-seeking habits.

Violence by State Mechanisms

“Crossfire.” Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, 2011. Web. .

This recent 53-page report exposes human rights abuses that have been committed by the Rapid Action Battalion since the Awami League government came to power in 2009. The major chapters of the report discuss the relative impunity of RAB forces, civil society’s response to the alleged human rights violations, and international cooperation.

“Ignoring Executions and Torture: Impunity for Bangladesh’s Security Forces.” Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, 2009. Web. .

This 80-page report provides an overview of impunity in Bangladesh, as well as background information on Bangladesh’ various security forces. The authors then discuss key cases of state violence and suggest solutions to the pervasive impunity, including a discussion of the relevant legal framework.

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“Judge, Jury and Executioner: Torture and Extrajudicial Killings by Bangladesh’s Elite Security Force.” Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, December 2006. Web. .

This 79-page report presents background information on the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), followed by a number of case studies of extrajudicial killings by the RAB. The report concludes by issuing recommendations to Bangladesh’s government, international partners and donors, and the United Nations.

Uddin, M. Jashim. “Security Sector Reform in Bangladesh.” South Asian Survey 16.2 (2009): 209-230. Scholars Portal. Web. <.

This 22-page article discusses possible measures for making the security sector more accountable, transparent and efficient in Bangladesh. The author also identifies key obstacles to reforming the security sector.

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Annex H - Bangladesh’s compliance with international instruments (overview)

Bangladesh is also a party to the Statute of the International Criminal Court, and a signatory to the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

Although it has complied with some of its obligations under international law to report to monitoring bodies regarding their implementation, Bangladesh is currently in breach of most of its reporting obligations and the only treaties for which it has submitted all reports are those under CEDAW and the CRC. For the ICCPR, ICESCR, ICRPD and CAT, no reports have been submitted to date, while no reports under ICERD have been submitted since 2000.217

217 Qumrunnessa Nazly, United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms, Ain o Salish Kendra, Dhaka, 2011, at pp. 164-168.

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Firstly, Bangladesh maintains a high number of reservations and interpretative declarations to the treaties it has ratified220. While reservations are legal under international law and are specifically provided for by Article 19 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties,221 commentators have noted that some of those maintained by Bangladesh are of uncertain validity in international law. For example, Bangladesh maintains a reservation according to which it does not consider itself bound by Article 2 of CEDAW which provides that ‘States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women’. The CEDAW Committee has expressed concerns about the validity of the reservation since Article 2 is fundamental to the rest of the convention222 and indeed seems to express the object itself of the convention.223 Similarly, Bangladesh has made a declaration to Article

218 Ershad, State v. Deputy Commissioner, Satkhira, 45 (1993) DLR (HCD) 643; Salma Sobhan v. Government of Bangladesh, unreported case; Massamat Renu v. Bangladesh, unreported case; Professor Nurul Islam v. Gvt of Bangladesh, 52 (2000) DLR (HCD) 413; Bangladesh v. Professor Golam Azam, 46 (1994) DLR (HCD) 132; all these cases are referred to by M. Shah Alam, Enforcement of International Human Rights Law by Domestic Courts, Dhaka, New Warsi Book Corporation, 2007 at pp. 112-114.

219 Bangladesh v. Sombon Asavhan, 32 DLR (1980) p. 198 and Hussain Muhammad Ershad v. Bangladesh, 21 (2001) BLD (AD), p. 69 also cited by Alam, ibid. at pp. 104-109.

220 CEDAW, reservation to articles 2 and 16(1)(c); CAT, declaration to article 14(1); ICCPR, declaration to articles 10, 11, 14 and reservation to article 14; ICESCR, declaration to 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 13; CRC, reservation to article 14(1) and 21. The text of these can be found online on the United Nations Treaty Collection website: http://treaties.un.org/.

221 Article 19, Formulation of reservations: “A State may, when signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to a treaty, formulate a reservation unless: (a) the reservation is prohibited by the treaty; (b) the treaty provides that only specified reservations, which do not include the reservation in question, may be made; or (c) in cases not failing under subparagraphs (a) and (b), the reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty.”

222 CEDAW Concluding observations, supra note 4841 at para. 11-12. On this topic, also see Michele Brandt and Jeffrey A. Kaplan, “The Tension Between Women’s Rights and Religious Rights: Reservations to CEDAW, Bangladesh and Tunisia” (1995-6) 12 J.L. & Religion 105.

223 International Court of Justice, Advisory Opinion on Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 28 May 1951 at p. 24 : “But even less could the contracting parties have intended to sacrifice the very object of the Convention in favour of a vain desire to secure as many participants as possible. The object and purpose of the Convention thus limit both the freedom of making reservations and that of objecting to

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14(1) of the CAT (regarding the right of victims of torture to fair and adequate compensation), according to which it “will apply Article 14 (1) in consonance with the existing laws and legislation in the country." This declaration prompted several objections from other state parties that it is not precise enough and therefore does not permit determination of whether Bangladesh acts in conformity with its obligations.224

These reservations and declarations cast a shadow on Bangladesh’s commitment and should be reconsidered or further specified. Withdrawing the reservations, a procedure that can be done at any time and without the consent of third parties225, would bring Bangladesh closer to a full recognition of international human rights.

In terms of co-operating with the monitoring mechanisms, Bangladesh has to date refused to recognise the jurisdiction of any monitoring bodies other than the CEDAW Committee to receive individual complaints or conduct inquiries.226 As a member of the United Nations, Bangladesh is also subject to the jurisdiction of the Human Rights Council and to scrutiny of its human rights record by mechanisms such as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the Special Procedures. Bangladesh participated in the last UPR in 2009227, but it has not to date extended a standing invitation to any of the Special Procedures to visit the country. Although two such Special Procedures have conducted recent visits to Bangladesh (the Independent Expert on Water, and on Poverty in 2009), five visit requests from mandate holders remain pending since 2005.228 And although Bangladesh responded to 85% of the letters of allegations and urgent appeals sent by special rapporteurs and working groups, it has not responded to the 12 questionnaires received from them.229

Finally, Bangladesh has not ratified several major human rights conventions, including the:  UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) and the Protocol 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (1967) them. It follows that it is the compatibility of a reservation with the object and purpose of the Convention that must furnish the criterion for the attitude of a State in making the reservation on accession as well as for the appraisal by a State in objecting to the reservation.”

224 The objections can be found on United Nations Treaty Collection website: http://treaties.un.org/ under each specific instrument and the list of reservations.

225 Article 22 of the Vienna Convention (unless the treaty otherwise provides).

226 Bangladesh has not recognized the jurisdiction of the following committees to receive individual complaints: CAT Committee, CERD Committee, CESCR Committee, Human Rights Committee; or to conduct inquiries: CEDAW Committee, CESCR Committee.

227 Documents regarding this can be found online. 228 Names to be provided

229 See the Compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: Bangladesh, Doc. no A/HRC/WG.6/4/BGD/2, 2 December 2008, at p. 4, online:

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 International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Minimum Age Convention No 138 (1973) - one of the eight (8) core labour standard conventions.  First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty (1989).  ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169 (1989).  International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990).  Optional Protocol to CAT (2002), which establishes a system of regular visits by independent international and national bodies to places of detention).  International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (2006).

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Annex I – Tips and ideas for education and awareness campaigns

1 Introduction The following tips and ideas are extracted from a draft training programme written for the Adilisha project by Greg Moran. Adilisha is a project of fahmu, an Oxford University-based NGO, targeting NGOs in Africa.230

Although the materials were written for African NGOs and are in very plain language, they are provided in the hope that some of the ideas, practical tips and case studies will be useful to the NHRC when deciding what materials and methods to use for conducting public education and awareness campaigns.

2 Publications

a. Booklets Booklets are a popular method of providing non-formal education. Since you have a fair amount of space, you can cover a topic in some detail.

However, booklets need to be read. If your target market is illiterate or semi- literate, you may well be wasting time and money producing huge numbers of booklets.

Many NGOs have already produced booklets on general human rights topics such as ‘what are human rights’ or your local bill of rights. Before deciding to produce a similar booklet, look around and see whether you can’t get free copies from other NGOs or whether you can’t help them to produce copies for you by:  Buying them;  Paying for re-prints; or  Paying for the booklet to be translated into languages that suit your needs.

Of course, you must read their booklets before deciding to do this to make sure they are correct and that they are suitable for your target market.

You may even find that another NGO has produced a booklet on a specific topic you want to cover and that this is suitable for your target market. For example, there are many publications around on HIV/Aids. Rather than producing a new one, see if you can’t use one already produced by another NGO.

Booklets can be used:  By schools;  By other NGOs;  When conducting workshops (as support material);  To educate the public generally.

230 For more information on fahamu and its work, see www.fahamu.org

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Tips:  Booklets should be in plain language and kept as simple as possible;  If you have the money, translate them into local languages. Or, use staff members who speak these languages to do this for you for free. Note though that each time you produce a new language version of a publication, you need to print it and the costs of this are the same as if it were a completely new publication.  Include pictures, diagrams and other images to explain what you mean. Try not to rely too heavily on text.  A5 booklets seem to work best. Also, keep the number of pages down to around 16 inside pages. If a booklet is too big or too thick, some semi-literate people will be scared off.  Make the cover as attractive as possible. You want to make sure that someone will pick the booklet up and read it, even if there are other publications lying next to it.  Limit the booklet to one topic only, even if the topic is human rights generally. For example, do not put out a booklet dealing with child rights, the rights of people with HIV/Aids and the rights of refugees. Rather produce a series of booklets – one per topic.  Do not be scared off completely by low levels of literacy. Often, adults who are only partially literate will have family a member read the booklet for them.  Never justify text (which is where you get all the text to line up on the right hand side of the page). People who do not have great reading skills find it much easier to read text that is not justified (like the text you are reading now) because each line of text looks different to the others.  Make the text as large as you can. Obviously, if you have limited funds and need to put a lot of information into one booklet, this becomes difficult. But try to make it possible for older people or people who are partially sighted to read the text.  Use as much white space as you can. That is, do not fill the page with text.  Avoid ‘widows and orphans’ – which is where you start an idea on one page and finish on another. Also avoid starting sentences or paragraphs on one page and having them run over onto the next page.

b. Pamphlets Pamphlets are very good information and awareness tools. Since they have much less space than a booklet, they are not that good as educational tools.

All organisations should try to produce at least one pamphlet on their own organisation. This should state clearly who you are, what you do and how to contact you. If you produce a number of publications, consider putting out a pamphlet that lists these and says how people can get copies.

Pamphlets can also be used as awareness raising tools for a variety of human rights issues. They work best if they lead people to other educational

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Tips:  Keep pamphlets to an A4 size, either z-folded or three-folded. Look at the diagram below to see what the different folds are.  If you can afford colour printing, use it, since a pamphlet needs to be as attractive as possible. In some ways, a pamphlet on your organisation is actually an advert.  By keeping publications to A4 size, you can easily photocopy these if you run out or if you cannot afford to print large numbers.  Keep text to a minimum. Pamphlets should not have more than around 1 200 words. (Note – if you are using MS Word, you can find out how many words you have written by clicking ‘Tools’ and then clicking ‘Word Count’ on the drop down menu.  Use the ‘back page’ of the pamphlet for all your contact addresses (and the addresses of other organisations that offer assistance or services). By listing other people’s organisations on your pamphlet, the chances are they will return the favour, giving you free publicity.  Keep text as simple as you possibly can.  Avoid graphics, since these take up a lot of space.  Keep the ‘front page’ of your pamphlet as clean and attractive as possible. Avoid too much writing and don’t start providing information on this page. Instead, put your logo on the front, the name of the pamphlet and not much else.

c. Comics Comics can be used to provide education in a fun and entertaining way. However, be careful with who you target these at. Many adults regard comics as ‘children’s books’ and will not read them. Some NGOs have reported success with adult comics by using photographs rather than drawings, but this can be expensive to do.

Instead, aim comics at the age group that usually reads them (5 – 18). Within this age group, be aware that there is a difference between the artwork that appeals to children and that which appeals to older members of the target group.

Comics are quite specialised and are usually very expensive to produce. You need to use experts (such as artists and story-tellers) or your activity will fail.

Tips:  Target your comic properly.  Use proper artists to provide artwork. The primary form of communication in a comic is a combination of image and text but it is the images that people notice first. If your artwork is poor, readers will not be interested in reading the story.

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 Use colour if you can afford it. In fact, if you cannot afford a colour comic, you should perhaps think of using another method.  Luckily, you can save costs by using very cheap paper (such as recycled newsprint), since most commercial comics are printed on the same paper.  Keep text to a minimum. Speech bubbles should not cover the page or the images you use.  Use people who have shown they are able to convey a message by using an interesting story. Comics work best when they tell a proper story and where the characters learn about a particular issue during the story.  Use simple and straightforward language.

d. Posters Posters serve a number of functions:  Awareness raising. For example, you could develop a poster with a simple message on child abuse (rather than an educational booklet on child rights).  Information. This could be: o An advert for an event you are running (like a music concert); o An advert for an activity (like a workshop or public meeting); o An advert for your organisation saying how to contact you; or o Even a notice pointing out where the toilets are at a workshop you are conducting.  Celebrating special days. For example, if your organisation focuses on HIV/Aids issues, you might want to produce a poster commemorating International Aids Day (1 December).

Remember that posters are usually placed where people are passing by. They will usually be stuck on a wall, tree or telephone pole and they are designed to attract the attention of a wide range of people. Ideally, a poster should have an eye-catching image or design and a slogan or headline. The idea is that someone who is not really looking for the information you are providing is caught by the image or headline. Hopefully, this will cause them to come closer and read the information. Also, because most people put their posters in the same type of places, you will be competing for attention with other ‘advertisers’.

While there are different types of posters, some basic rules remain the same:  Follow the “one idea – one poster” rule.  Text needs to be kept to a minimum.  You need to have an eye-catching image on the poster. While it does not need to be colour, colour definitely helps to draw people’s attention.  You need a slogan to draw people closer.  You can have a fair amount of information on the poster in much smaller text. Beware that this can only be read from close up though.  The larger the poster, the better. And the larger your text, the better too.

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Before designing a poster, think about where you are going to place it. For example, a poster on your bill of rights that will be given to schools to put up in their classrooms can have a lot more text than one that will be on a street pole. This is because children in class have time to read the poster when they have finished work, are waiting for a teacher and so on. People driving in a minibus past a lamppost have only a few seconds to read your message.

Also, a poster advertising an event or celebrating a particular day will have far less text than one showing how to cast your vote.

Lastly, think about how big the poster should be. A poster that people will only see fleetingly or from far away needs to be much bigger than one that they will have time to read from close up. As a general rule, posters should not be less than A2 size. If you can afford them, A0 posters are usually the most attractive.

Note: A2 is four times the size of an A4 sheet. A0 is 16 times as large as an A4 sheet (or twice as big as an A1 and four times as big as an A2).

e. Newspaper inserts A newspaper insert is a ‘pull-out’ section of a newspaper. They are also often called ‘supplements’. It could be any size and address any issue. Most often though, they are a double page spread in the middle of the newspaper.

These more common types of inserts can also be used for almost anything. A good idea though is to use the outside pages for text, your message, your addresses and so on and the inside double page as a poster.

Example If you have a poster on your bill of rights that you would like teachers to put up in their classrooms, you could develop an insert. Use the inside pages for the poster and the outside pages to provide additional information, such as:  What are human rights;  What is the bill of rights;  Why is the bill of rights important;  How to teach human rights in schools;  Some classroom exercises for teaching human rights;  Some information on your organisation and what it does;  Contact details for your (and possibly other) organisation.

Newspaper inserts can be quite expensive. If you are producing an insert that is of a different size to the newspaper (such as a small booklet or pamphlet), it has to be printed and physically inserted into the paper. Ordinarily, you will be expected to pay both costs. You can reduce the costs to your organisation (or avoid them completely) by:  Forming a relationship with the newspaper, so that they carry some or all of the costs. They can advertise the insert in advance, which might make more people buy the newspaper than usual.

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 Keeping your insert in black and white.  Making your insert the same size as the newspaper and making it the middle pages. In this way, the newspaper can be printed as usual with extra pages, saving the cost of having people actually putting the insert into the newspaper after it has been printed.  Asking advertisers to sponsor the insert. You can put their adverts into the insert if they agree to pay the costs. This is usually much cheaper for them than placing an advert in the newspaper itself. However, beware of who you ask to advertise in this way. For example, you would not want an alcohol manufacturer to place an advert in an insert aimed at children.

f. Newsletters Many NGOs have developed regular newsletters. These are quite cheap to produce (depending on what paper you choose, whether you use colour, whether you photocopy them or use printing companies and how many you need to produce).

A newsletter can be used to serve a number of purposes:  Keeping your communities informed of what you have been doing;  Providing information on what you are planning to do in the near future;  Advertising new publications you might have produced and, sometimes, distributing copies with the newsletter;  Providing education on a selected topic each edition;  Lobbying and building popular support;  Public participation (by saying what you are planning and asking for comments).

Newsletters can be printed on any paper, can be any length and can be brought out as often as you choose. Before deciding to produce these though, you need to first think about who you will be sending them to and what this will cost you. For example, you may have to pay postage costs if you are planning on mailing them. You also need to develop a mailing list of people who receive the newsletter. You can do so by using MS Word features that will both keep a mailing list and print sticky labels as required.

Email newsletters Newsletters can also be emailed, which saves printing costs completely. A good example of this is the newsletter produced by Pambuzuka (an organisation closely linked to fahamu). To receive this newsletter and see how it is done, write to the following address and ask to be placed on their mailing list: [email protected]

Note though that such a newsletter will only work if the people you want to receive it have access to email.

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Some tips:  Use newsprint to save costs (if you are having the newsletter printed);  If you are only planning to circulate a small number, think about photocopying them. Remember though that you must consider how many pages each one will be and to work out the cost of doing this. Costs will include paper, toner, electricity, wear and tear on your copier and staff hours for someone to actually photocopy, bind, staple, fold and so on.  See if you can’t find a sponsor for the newsletter. Offer to put their advert on the back page or inside for free.  Keep the newsletter regular. Decide in advance whether you will produce 12, six or fewer per year and stick to the plan you set.  Use photographs of events you have conducted in the newsletter to brighten it up.  Introduce a letters page so that people can write to you and have their ideas, concerns or comments printed. Invite people to tell you what to think in each issue.  Have your chairperson or director write a regular column.  If you are running a competition of any sort, publish an entry form in the newsletter. Also, use the newsletter to advertise the competition and to tell people about the deadline, prizes and so on.  Once you have run a competition, publish winning entries or information about the winners in the newsletter.  Choose a name that people will remember and that also means something. Many NGOs use a word in one of the local languages as the name of their newsletter.  Include a slip that people can fill in if they want to receive regular copies of your newsletter. Remember that people reading it may not be the ones you first sent it to and they may enjoy it so much that they want to subscribe to it. Be sure to add all new subscriptions to your mailing list.  Keep your language plain and simple.

g. Postcards Postcards with a human rights message on the front are a good way of raising awareness and popularising your organisation. As something practical people can use, these are very popular.

Tips:  Use artwork from an existing poster you have produced to make best use of money spent on it.  Use your logo on the front.  Print a small human rights message on the back.  Remember to use thicker paper.

h. Billboards Billboards are like very large posters and many of the rules are the same. Because billboards are on the side of the road or railway line, most people only see them when travelling past them. As a result, you need to make them attractive and to use as little text as possible on them.

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Tips:  Keep your message simple and use a colourful or striking image.  Remember that billboards usually remain up much longer than posters. As a result, they are better suited for raising awareness than to advertise an event.  Billboards are expensive because you have to pay for printing, costs of putting the billboard up and renting the billboard itself. Reduce costs by seeing whether the owners of the billboards will donate space to you if they have a billboard that they have not rented out.  Drive past, or take a train past billboards to see which are easiest to read. Look at both what the billboards that work best look like and also which sites are best. For example, a billboard at a taxi rank or train station is seen for much longer than one on the side of a busy main road.

i. Banners Banners are used mainly to advertise your organisation or an event. Because of the very high costs involved, you should really only produce banners that can be used over a long period of time or at a wide variety of events. The best example is one that merely has your organisation’s name and logo on it. You can use this when holding a press briefing, prize-giving ceremony, event and so on.

The main advantage of a billboard is that it shows up well in photographs of the event you use it at. Make sure that you position it behind the place or person that photographers will concentrate on.

For example, if you are putting on a music concert, hang your banner at the back of the stage. If you are holding a press briefing, put the banner behind the person from your organisation who will lead the briefing. Then, when pictures of the event are broadcast on television or printed in a newspaper, your banner will show up clearly.

3 Adverts There are three main types of adverts your organisation could produce: a. Radio adverts; b. Television adverts; c. Newspaper adverts.

All serve more or less the same purpose. Because of the costs, they need to be quite short and so work best for:  Raising awareness of your organisation and what it does;  Providing information on your organisation (such as how to reach you);  Raising awareness or providing information on a particular issue;  Advertising an event or competition that you will be running.

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Even when dealing with something other than what your organisation is or does, you should still mention the name of your organisation somewhere in the advert. This helps to advertise the ‘thing’ you are advertising as well as raising awareness of your organisation.

Lastly, remember that these are adverts. Whether on radio or television or in a newspaper, they will be competing with other adverts, usually made by companies with far more money than you have. As a result, they need to be attractive, exciting and engaging, otherwise people will ignore them.

a. Radio The most cost-effective radio advert is one of about 30 seconds, although this may differ from country to country. In any event, the length of time available for a radio event is surprisingly short.

Some tips:  See if you can’t get a radio station to offer you free time. Then, at the end of the advert, say something like ‘this advert was brought to you free of charge by Funky FM, the station for the funky at heart’.  Recording an advert is one of the most expensive parts of producing one. Most radio stations require the advert to be recorded on high quality machines using high quality tape or CD. Try to cut the costs of this by asking the radio station to allow you to use their recording studio.  Make sure about the radio station before you put your advert on it. For example, how many people listen to it? Is it government controlled? What languages does it broadcast in?  If the radio station broadcasts in one or more local languages, you may need to translate it. Use staff members to help you. You will also need to record the advert in these various languages.  Ideally, you should use a voice artist to record the advert. You need someone with a good voice (not too squeaky or soft) and someone who can make the advert sound exciting. See whether there are any members of staff who have a natural talent in this area and use them if you can. (Unfortunately, very few people are good at this and it may cost you more in studio time getting it right than if you paid a professional, who will get it in one or two takes).  Consider your community or local radio stations. They may be much cheaper to use.

b. Television Unfortunately, television adverts are usually way beyond the reach of most NGOs, since they are very expensive to produce and cost a lot to broadcast. If you are lucky enough to get funding to produce one, make sure that it is of the highest quality you can afford. This is because most people hate adverts on television and you need to capture their attention.

Very few NGOs have the technical know-how or skills to produce a television advert and so you will need to pay someone to develop yours. One way

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National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights around this is to see whether there is an advertising school near you. Visit the principal of the school or head of department and see whether or not you can convince them to set a project for their students to develop an advert for your organisation. Perhaps you could even raise money for a prize for the winning entry. Then, choose the best entry and use it for your advert.

Since there are very few independent television stations, you will probably not be able to get anyone to broadcast your advert for free. However, you can save broadcast fees by asking for your advert to be screened outside of peak viewing times (when time is more expensive).

Lastly, before embarking on a project to develop a television advert, do a lot of research. Check how much it will cost you and how many people that you want to reach actually own televisions. Then compare the cost of the advert with the number of people who will see it and work out whether or not you could use your money more effectively.

c. Newspaper Newspaper adverts are much cheaper than radio or television adverts. Even so, they are usually too expensive for NGOs to use them regularly. Instead, they are usually only used to celebrate a special day, to advertise an event or competition, or to mobilise the public around an issue.

Many NGOs have staffs that are capable of designing an advert, thereby saving a large portion of the costs of producing them. If your organisation does not have someone with these skills, you will need to get an agency to help you.

Other costs involved are mainly only the cost of placing the advert.

Some tips:  The larger your advert, the more expensive. However, the smaller the advert, the less chance anyone will notice it. Have a look at a newspaper in your area. Which adverts did you notice? Why was this so? Use this information to help you decide what your advert should look like and how big it should be.  The bigger the circulation of the newspaper, the more expensive their advertising space will be. Before choosing a newspaper, think about who you are trying to reach. If you are advertising an event that only people in your community will be interested in attending, it will not make sense to publish it in a newspaper with a national circulation. Instead, use a local paper that will be much cheaper.  Adverts with a headline and a graphic or photograph are generally more attractive. Again, look at the adverts in your local newspapers and see for yourself which work better.  Use the space available to you creatively. For example, if you want to advertise a competition, make the advert a copy of your entry form.  You can also save costs by using an existing poster as your advert.

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4 Events The term ‘events’ covers a wide range of things, such as:  Music concerts;  Football matches;  Sports days;  Family days;  Art exhibitions;  Events celebrating an important national or international human rights day (such as World Aids Day).

Events are a fun way of raising awareness and providing information. They have a limited role in education though because the main object is to entertain people. However, you can use them as a very good place to distribute your educational publications and, perhaps, to put on an educational drama for children.

All events work in the same way. The idea is to get people to attend a special day, to entertain them and to provide them with some information and awareness at the same time.

5 Drama Many community drama groups use drama as a way of educating people. It can be a very effective method but it requires acting skills and, like comics, storytelling skills to work properly. Its major advantage is that drama is engaging and a fun way to learn, particularly for children and youth. It can also be very cheap to produce and does not require literacy skills amongst the audience.

Tips:  Keep the drama relatively short. People find it hard to concentrate on a story for much longer than an hour and a half.  Keep costs to a minimum by using few props and costumes.  Keep the story interesting. Humour is a very good way of doing so, but be careful with jokes you use. For example, don’t tell sexist or ethnic based jokes.  Keep the number of characters in the story to a minimum to make it easier for people to follow the story.  Have actors play more than one character – they can show which character they are by the clothes they wear.

6 Give-aways The idea of ‘give-aways’ comes from commercial advertising. The tactic is to give people something they will use that may have a simple human rights message but is more about raising awareness of your organisation. The best way of doing this is to simply place your logo and name of your organisation on the items listed.

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Some of the items listed below are much more expensive to produce than others. Also, some last longer than others and are more visible. Decide from the list which suit your organisation’s needs and target market better.

 T-shirts. Perhaps the best give-away of all, these allow you to place a message on one side and your logo and name on the other. They are relatively cheap to produce and last a long time. As an item of clothing, they have value to people who receive them. As a result, people will wear them often, thereby advertising your organisation wherever they go. They work really well to commemorate special days or to give away at music concerts. As a general rule, try not to have too much information on them and try to make them look nice as well to encourage people to wear them.  Caps. Like T-shirts, these also advertise your organisation wherever they are worn. They are much cheaper than T-shirts as well.  Peaks. These are cardboard strips with a piece of elastic to go around the head. They can be very cheap to produce, although they do not last long. They are very nice give-aways at soccer matches, music concerts and other outside, daytime events.  Stickers. These are cheap and are fun mainly for younger people, although taxi drivers too can be encouraged to put them on their taxis. Because of their size though, they are quite difficult to see.  Pens. It is sometimes possible to get cheap pens made with your logo on. While they only really spread your message to people who actually receive them, they are useful at workshops, conferences and to give to schoolchildren.  Ties. These are expensive to produce and are usually given to visiting funders and other dignitaries.

7 Competitions Running a competition is an effective way of getting people to think about an issue. Examples of the types of competitions you can run include:  An arts or photography competition;  A competition to design a poster;  An essay or poetry competition.

To organise your competition, you need to:  Develop a proper strategy document and action plan, showing time frames for each part of the process, as well as who is responsible for the work.  Identify the target. Is it open to all members of the public or only a particular community? Is it open to all age groups or only school goers? Is it open to both children and adults?  Develop an entry form. This should have basic information about the competition as well as the address where entries need to be sent or dropped off. You need to print as many of these as you can. In some cases, such as when you are targeting school-goers, you can save money by printing one entry form per school.

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 Make sure your entry form says, ‘The decision of the judges is final’. This will prevent any arguments at a later stage. Also, if you plan to use the works you receive at a later stage and not to return them to entrants, include a note to this effect. It might say: ‘All entries become the work of Community Support NGO and, by submitting an entry, entrants agree to their work being used in the future without any payment’.  Make sure you have a prize or prizes (see below).  Distribute the entry forms to places that suit the target group. For example, if it is open to school-goers only, use the principal of the school to distribute it amongst the learners.  Market the competition. If you have the money, produce a radio or newspaper advert. If not, produce a cheap poster and put it up in areas where your targets gather. Try to get newspapers or radio and television stations to interview you about the competition.  Appoint independent judges. If it is an art competition, look to art teachers or lecturers, or even famous artists, to be the judges. This helps to prevent your organisation from being accused of being biased.  Make sure you have a plan for judging. If you receive thousands of entries, it may be necessary for you to go through these and to exclude those that clearly have missed the point. Otherwise, your judges may get angry with you if they have to read or look at every entry.  Plan and hold a prize-giving ceremony.

Competitions offer an excellent opportunity to find artwork for posters and pamphlets (even calendars) or to produce books of entries (if you have the money). In this way, you can maximise the effort you put in and also publicly recognise the winners. While you should not pay for using these works, you should at least credit the people who produced them.

Case study – SAHRC school poster competition The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) runs an annual poster competition for all school goers (and adults involved in Adult Basic Training and Education programmes). While this started life as an ‘arts competition’, asking for people to illustrate their favourite right in the Bill of Rights by producing a picture, collage, poem, song or essay, it soon became apparent to the SAHRC that the process of marking all these entries took too much time. In particular, written work had to be translated into English, which, although done for free by staff members, still took enormous amounts of time, and these had to be read an evaluated.

The SAHRC then decided to make this a poster competition. Each year, a different topic is chosen (such as Child Rights, HIV/Aids, and so on). Relationships have been developed between the main sponsor (a bank, which provides prize money and pays for posters and entry forms to be printed – using their own artists and printers) and a national newspaper. This newspaper prints a copy of the poster as an advert at no cost to the SAHRC, prints copies of the entry form and carries photographs of past winners, interviews with winners and so on. Further publicity is secured through interviews on radio and television stations. Additional prizes are received

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National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Baseline Survey on Human Rights from a variety of donors (such as book stores and soft drink companies) and hotels and airlines donate accommodation and transport for winners from far away.

Judges are chosen from school art teachers or lecturers and heads of creative NGOs. A venue is secured at minimal cost (including using schools that donate their space for free).

Prizes are awarded to the following categories:  Grades 0 – 3  Grades 4 – 6  Grades 7 – 9  Grades 10 – 12  Adults taking part in adult basic education programmes  Learners with special educational needs.

The winning entries in each category are then entered into another competition to find the overall winner. This overall winner receives the main prize and their entry is used to develop an official SAHRC poster each year.

A prize giving ceremony is held in Johannesburg and the winners and their family are invited to attend. Entertainment is provided by musicians who work for next to nothing and by school drama or dance groups. Members of the refugee community provide catering (thereby exposing South Africans to other cultures in the hope that this may reduce xenophobia).

SAHRC staff then choose their favourite entries from all of those received to develop the annual SAHRC calendar, which is sent all over the world. Click on the image to see how one of these entries was used:

Artwork is also available for use in pamphlets, postcards, booklets and so on.

Tips:  Try to involve a local radio station or newspaper in the competition. For example, offer to print their logo on all publications relating to the competition and to invite them to your prize giving ceremony. Then, get them to advertise the competition on their radio or in their newspaper.  Ask one of your sponsors to produce a poster for the competition themselves, using their logo and yours on the poster.

8 Human Rights Awards Recognising the achievements of members of the community you serve in the area of human rights is an effective way of engaging the public and of ensuring that people strive to do more. Awards can be offered to:  Individuals that have done something commendable;  NGOs or CBOs that have achieved remarkable results;  Journalists.

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To run a human rights award programme, you will need to:  Develop a strategy document;  Identify categories;  Call for nominations. This can be done with an advert in the newspaper, using your website, sending invitations to others via email or regular post. Your call for nominations should state clearly what the categories and requirements are and should say how people should motivate their nomination. For example, people could be asked to send copies of the CVs of people they are nominating plus a brief note saying what they have done to qualify and why they think they should win;  Identify independent judges;  Plan and hold a prize-giving ceremony.

Case study – Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) Human Rights Awards The Australian HREOC runs probably the most successful human rights award programme in the world. The awards have been going since 1986 and a major ceremony is held each year on 10 December (International Human Rights Day). The budget for the awards varies depending on what sort of event they decide to have. The HREOC have a full-time organiser for at least 2 months before the event and part time for about 3 to 4 months prior to that. In addition, a media, website and desktop helper is appointed for the month or so before the ceremony.

The HREOC calls for nominations around August. Each year, a different set of awards is available. For example, they may be for the journalist who has done the most to promote human rights, the best NGO and so on. People from different peer groups judge the awards. So, if there is an award for journalists, then a group of journalists decide who should win.

Anyone who wants to come to the ceremony is sent an invitation. Sometimes, a formal luncheon is held and people need to buy their tickets. However, in recent years there has been less interest in huge, expensive luncheons and so, in the last couple of years they have decided not to charge for the ceremony.

A major effort is made to ensure the media attend – for example press releases are sent out, they do some advertising, an advertise on their website. The amount of media coverage depends very largely on who wins the Human Rights Medal (the major award).

The aim of the Awards is really to keep faith with the community in recognising good work done over the year.

For more information, visit their web site at: www.humanrights.com.au

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9 Debating competitions A good way of encouraging schoolchildren to think about and understand human rights issues is to organise a school debate competition. Depending on how many schools are in your focus area, this can be a competition run in one school or an inter-school competition.

To run a debating competition, you will need to:  Develop a proper strategy;  Choose a topic;  Choose which schools you will run the competition in – and whether this will be an inter-school competition;  Find an appropriate prize;  Choose judges (who could be from your NGO);  Run the competition;  Plan and hold a prize-giving ceremony.

Debating competitions can also be run with church groups, youth groups and so on.

10 Speeches and presentations As a human rights activist, you could be invited to make a speech or give a presentation from time to time. You could also decide to approach schools in your area to see if they will allow you to do a presentation on human rights from time to time.

11 Public discussions While not competitions, public discussions are a way of encouraging people to think about issues and then allowing them to take part in a discussion of these.

Public discussions can be held at your offices or in a community hall or school. They work best when they are held regularly (such as once a month). The basic idea is that you choose a topic for discussion - anything relevant will do. For example, if there has been an increase in complaints to your organisation of sexual harassment, you could hold a discussion on the topic.

You will need to:  Choose a venue that is big enough to hold the number of people you think will attend. Preferably, someone will donate this space to you;  Choose a relevant topic;  Choose speakers to discuss this. You will be looking for people who are very knowledgeable but who can speak in plain, non-legalistic language. Be sure to give your speakers enough time to prepare and to tell them that their input should be kept as simple as possible. (Many ‘knowledgeable’ speakers will try to cite cases and statutes and so on, which is really not helpful to anyone);

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 Advertise the event – put up cheap posters, send out flyers and so on. The more frequently you hold these discussions, the less advertising you will need to do;  Conduct the event. Preferably, you should hold the event in the evening (to increase the numbers of people able to attend) and should provide a light snack and refreshments at your own cost.

The idea is to allow your speaker (or speakers) about a half an hour to discuss the topic before opening the floor to discussion. To maximise the discussion, keep a record of it and include a summary of the discussion in your newsletter, on your web site and so on.

12 Web sites Should your organisation have a web site (or should you be able to convince them to have one), use the web site to distribute all sorts of materials by putting copies of them on the site that people can download or print. Also include educational materials (such as a training manual) on the site for others to use. You can also use your site to conduct debates, post a competition entry form and so on. Lastly, make sure the site has sufficient information about what your organisation does, who it works with and how to contact you.

13 Web site discussion forums If you have a web site, you can use it as a place for public discussions as well. For example, you could pose a question on your home page and ask people to post their answers on your discussion forum. While you guide people to this forum by posing a controversial question, you should note that people will discuss all sorts of issues on your forum.

Note These forums can become problematic and you will need to ask yourself the following question in advance – how much will you allow in the interests of freedom of speech. Some people use these forums to write hateful and hurtful comments, since they can do so and remain anonymous. While some discussion of these issues may be worthwhile, you may want to have a notice saying that such comments will not be permitted. You will then need to visit the site quite frequently and remove any such comments. On the other hand, you may permit them and allow other visitors to address the issues instead.

Case studies While there is no real reason for discussion forums not to work, two attempts in South Africa have failed badly. The South African Human Rights Commission has one on its web site where members of the public are asked to discuss racism in schools. In over a year, only four people have posted their views. One of these actually posted a link to a ‘hate site’ – a web site hosted by racists. The other asked a question about how her husband could get compensation for damage caused to his car while it was being unloaded in the USA. An exercise by an NGO (ACCORD) has also failed.

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14 Workshops Workshops are perhaps the most effective educational tool for reaching illiterate and semi-literate people. They are also extremely useful for reaching people in areas where there are few (or no) newspapers, and where radio and television do not reach.

15 Using other people’s products It is possible to convince people producing things that the public use frequently to print a message related to human rights on their product. Since they are already paying printing costs for their packaging, there is no extra cost to them.

Example In Brazil, many children die because of dehydration. This happens even though there is a really easy way to prevent it, by mixing a little salt and a few spoons of sugar to a glass of water. NGOs focusing on children came together and were able to convince milk producers to include information on preventing dehydration on all milk cartons in the country.

Some common articles that could be used:  Cold drink tins;  Maize meal packets;  Match boxes;  Sugar packets;  Milk cartons;  Candle packets.

While a little harder to achieve, it is possible to convince some governments to print stamps with a human rights message on them. This could be a message about World Aids Day, International Day of the child or even if you have your own human rights days.

Tips  Keep messages short. A good idea is to have one or two of your rights in your bill of rights printed at a time – in simple language of course. You can then change the message every six months or so.

16 Soap operas Soap operas are television shows that usually broadcast every day. They get their name from the fact that they were used to advertise washing powder to housewives in the USA in the early days of television. They are usually broadcast in the early afternoon.

While very few NGOs could produce a soap opera, there is an interesting case study from Brazil that shows how these can be used.

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Case study Brazil is one of the biggest producers of soap operas in the world. They could be anything from a story about pirates to the lives of the families of football players.

Child rights activists in Brazil decided to get together and to approach the people who make these shows. They were able to convince the producers that child rights were extremely important and the producers agreed to introduce the issues in their soap operas. So, a story about football players would suddenly have a part of the story dealing with a child who has run away from home to be a football player and is now living on the streets. Or, a child in another show might be subjected to abuse and then find out how to discuss this with their parents.

17 Multi-media campaigns Multi-media campaigns are those that use a variety of methods at the same time. Because of this, they are extremely expensive and take a lot of work. If you are able to raise funds for them though, they are the most effective way of reaching a large audience.

Case study – Soul City Soul City is an NGO based in South Africa, but working throughout the continent. They have been around for about 10 years and are regarded as probably the best multi-media campaigners in the world.

Soul City is really a television show based in a hospital. The show was used in the beginning to teach people about health issues. Over the years, it has dealt with issues such as domestic violence, HIV/Aids, accessing health care, how to run a small business and a whole range of topics that improve the lives of people. The TV show is the main method and has become so popular that it is broadcast in many countries in Africa.

To back up the TV show (which runs at prime time, once a week), a newspaper insert is prepared and carried in a national newspaper the day of the show. The insert deals with the same issues covered in the show. Sometimes, a whole comic book on the issue is used as an insert.

At the same time, a radio show is broadcast using the same theme. Booklets covering the topics in the show are also produced and distributed.

A spin-off show, series of booklets and other methods has also started, called Soul Buddyz. It uses a group of children in the 10 – 14 year old age group and follows their daily lives. It focuses largely on sex and sexuality education and covers issues like child abuse and HIV/Aids.

Soul City is a massive project, using millions of dollars a year. Visit their website on: http://www.soulcity.org.za/

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18 A note on prizes Some of the methods set out above involve competitions of some sort – and competitions require prizes. While this does not necessarily have to be money, money is unfortunately one of the best ways of getting people to take notice. Even if it is a money prize, it does not have to be a huge sum.

Other examples of prizes:  Trophies;  Clothes;  Holidays;  Posters (which could be from your own organisation), books and other publications;  CDs and tapes.

In short, prizes can be anything anyone could want. Most importantly though, never underestimate the value of prestige. Many people will take part in a competition just to be able to say they won, particularly if winning shows they are smart, understand human rights or are artistic. Many people will also participate for the publicity they will receive. For example, if you say the winning entry will be published in the local newspaper, more people will enter.

Prizes need to be relevant to your target market. For example, a novel by Chinua Achebe or a bottle of whisky may not be much of an incentive to young children.

Never make the prize the only objective of winning. Ideally, you want people to think about the issue and not about the prize. Instead, try to offer other incentives (such as publicity, using the winning entry to design a poster and so on).

Where do you get prizes? An obvious place to look would be to a funder, but funders are not generally keen on providing prizes – with one notable exception. Funders are prepared to provide prizes for human rights awards, particularly if these are national awards and have achieved a certain level of status. Where it is a small competition though, such as a school poster competition, you may need to look elsewhere.

You could start by approaching local businesses. For example, if there is a local bookstore, you could ask them to donate books as prizes. Next, look to businesses that regularly sponsor local football matches, beauty competitions and so on. These may be prepared to donate prizes if you offer them something in return, such as free advertising (by using their logos on entry forms or posters advertising the competition) and by inviting them to attend the prize-giving ceremony. At the ceremony, to which members of the media will be invited, allow them to hang banners and such in prominent places.

You could also approach community leaders and wealthy people within the community to donate prizes.

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Tips  When running competitions aimed at school goers, try to get prizes for the schools that winners come from as well. This will ensure principals encourage learners to participate. A good example is to provide books for the school library.  When looking for prizes, beware of: o Alcohol; o Cigarettes; o Prizes from organisations that may be trying to bribe you. For example, your organisation may have received a complaint about unfair labour practices in a particular business. When looking for prizes, be wary of such businesses, since they might expect too much in return; o Businesses with a bad human rights record in the community; o Companies with a bad international human rights record. For example, shortly after being implicated in the death of Ken Saro– Wira (a Nigerian activist), Shell (the petrol company) sought to sponsor many human rights awards as a way of improving their image.

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