International concern about blocked human rights project

It is the second time that the implementation of the project has been obstructed. Just four months into the project, on August 31 2009, the Ministry of Home decided to shut it down, effective immediately. No reasons were given for this action.

The purpose of the project is to train human rights defenders in Bangladesh in the UN Convention against Torture and its Optional Protocol as well as putting focus on the fact that torture committed by the authorities is prohibited both by national and international law. The project is co-founded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by the Bangladeshi human rights organization Odhikar with support from RCT.

- Killings and torture is the brutal reality that faces human rights defenders in Bangladesh. With the immediate closure of the project, it seems that the present government does not want to deal with the widespread torture and wants to prohibit Odhikar from exposing the human rights perpetrators, Adilur Rahman Khan, Secretary for Odhikar, said at that time.

Read more here about the project and the first sanctions 

When the the project was cancelled in 2009, Odhikar, subsequently filed a writ petition to the High Court Division of the Supreme Court challenging the decision. The Court issued a ruling against the Government and at the same time stayed the impugned order. Accordingly, Odhikar resumed project activities up to the end of December 2009 and a positive approval by the State Bureau for NGO Affairs Bureau for the extension phase to end of March 2010 without bureaucratic delay was expected. However, the application from Odhikar for the extension of the project was cancelled by the State Bureau for NGO Affairs Bureau without any justification.

RCT find it hard to understand the precise reasons for the obstruction by the Bangladeshi authorities. RCT is concerned that the Government of Bangladesh is occupying a seat in the Human Rights Council and at same time the Bangladeshi authorities are making restrictions for the legitimate work of human rights organizations in Bangladesh. Therefore, we express our sincere trust that the Delegation of the European Commission and the Embassy of Denmark will request for an explanation from the Bangladesh authorities as well as add pressure for approving the project extension without further delay.

For further information, please contact Program Manager Erik Wendt

Written by Heidi K. Tokle