Bangladesh PR stresses on ‘Rule of Law’ for ‘Sustainable Human Development’

Dr. A K Abdul Momen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations New York delivered an important speech at a Roundtable on ‘The Rule of Law and Sustainable Human Development: Sharing Experiences of Building National Capacity’, co-organized by International Peace Institute (IPI), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO)   May 21. The Roundtable was held atTrygvyLieCenterfor Peace, Security & Development of the International Peace Institute inNew York. The Permanent Mission of Bangladesh along with the Permanent Mission of Turkey co-sponsored this event.

The roundtable was held keeping in mind the forthcoming High Level Meeting on Rule of Law of the General Assembly to be held on September 24  Moderated by Mr. Warren Hoge, International Peace Institute, the Session 1: The Rule of Law and Sustainable Human Development of the roundtable was addressed by four speakers, namely the Permanent Representatives of Bangladesh andTurkey, Mr. Olav Kjorven, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP and Ms. Irene Khan, Director General, International Development Law Organization.

The Permanent Representative of Bangladeshin his speech welcomed the Secretary General’s latest report on the ‘rule of law (A/66/749)’. Referring to the Secretary General’s comments that while responsibility for strengthening the rule of law lies with Member States and their citizens, the United Nations is ideally placed to support Member States’ efforts and to provide integrated and effective assistance, he observed that here the UN and the international community should follow the approach of ‘no one-size-fits-all’. He stressed that in order to ensure a world order based on international law, measures must be taken to ensure better implementation of international law, notably through technical assistance and national capacity-building in the developing countries.

Dr. AK Momen also said that sustainable development and good governance, to a large extent, depends on proper application and enforcement of fair ‘rule of law’. In a rules-based society, economic growth should not only be inclusive but it should also cover social protection, conducive environment, rights of people, right to development and a decent living, and also guarantee equal protection and access to opportunities. In fact, the rule of law is a building block needed to achieve sustainable development.

The PR of Bangladesh also highlighted various constitutional provisions of the rule of law. For example, he referred to articles 7, 11, 26, 27, 31, 44, 55, 56, 57, 65 (2), 102, of the Constitution, which are effective for ensuring rule of law inBangladesh. Referring to Articles 7, 26 and 102(2) of the constitution, according to which the Supreme Court exercises the power of judicial review whereby it can examine the extent and legality of the actions of both executive and legislative and can declare any of their actions void if they do anything beyond their constitutional limits, the PR said that he himself had been a beneficiary of it. In 1982 he was terminated by the military government under its P.O. Order No. 9 from public service, but after 23 years in 2005, the nation’s highest court nullified that order as it had no legal standing.

He further said that though our constitution provides for 18 fundamentals rights for citizens, enjoyment of these sometimes becomes difficult due to abject poverty and absence of proper legal aid owing to resource constraint and, as a result, the poor people, at times, find difficulty to fully realize them. The PR said that as the member states of the UN prepare to meet in ‘Rio+20 Summit’, where ‘Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ highlighting inclusion and equity would be framed, he looks forward to these SDGs as he believes that there is a positive correlation between Sustainable Development, especially sustainable human development and the rule of law.

HE the PR also mentioned thatBangladeshis actively promoting the rule of law and justice in all spheres of life, in particular through administrative, judicial and electoral reforms. In order to improve rule of law, the government has been successful to (1) separate the Judiciary from the Executive. Few independent Commissions have been formed, like, (2) Anti-Corruption Commission (which functions as an independent watchdog), (3) Law Commission, (4) Election Commission, (5) Information Commission to ensure Right to Information, and (6) Consumers Rights Commission. In addition, the Government also established an all independent (7) Human Rights Commission for upholding international standards of human rights and personal freedom in the country. It developed web-portal in each of the 4501 unions (lowest administrative tier) to provide better and effective services, improve governance, enhance transparency, participation and accountability. In the government procurement system, e-tendering has been established. Massive Mass campaign against corruption has also been launched and government is using hi-tech technology to reduce corruption. Citizens’ Charter of Rights has been instituted in all public sector institutions.

To end a ‘culture of impunity’ whereby killers were given immunity from justice, the government abrogated those black laws. Dr Momen said that another important aspect to ensure rule of law in Bangladesh is the initiation of the Trial of the War Criminals of 1971, who were involved in pre-mediated murder, rape, arson, killing, ethnic cleansing, looting of people’s property and assets and they committed ‘crime against humanity’. He assured the audience that utmost care is being made so that these are in compliance with International legal standards and norms.

The PR also said that the government ofBangladeshis committed to ensure the security of life and property of its people, protection of individual rights and the delivery of justice on the basis of equality and fairness. Press Release