Dhaka, April 28 (). UN Special Rapporteur on torture Alice Edwards has expressed concern over Bangladesh’s lack of an ‘A-status’ National Human Rights Commission and the absence of a national prevention mechanism to stop torture in custody.
He said that violence in the country has been deeply systemic and present for a long time. He said these things in a consultative meeting held at Hotel Holiday Inn in Dhaka.
The purpose of the meeting was to strengthen the framework to prevent torture and enhance accountability in Bangladesh.
The event was jointly organized by Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust, Association for the Prevention of Torture, International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and Redress.
The Special Rapporteur, who is currently on a week-long study visit to Bangladesh, said that while the country has a strong ‘legal framework’, its supporting framework is incomplete. This was reported by Bangladesh’s leading newspaper The Daily Star.
He explained the legal framework means that Bangladesh’s Constitution prohibits torture, the country has ratified the ‘Convention Against Torture’, and a law criminalizing torture was enacted in 2013. He said the biggest gap still missing is an ‘A-status’ National Human Rights Commission, as per the standards of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. Strong security arrangements in police custody are very important to prevent torture.
He said that the person detained should be aware that he is in police custody; He should have the right to meet a lawyer, undergo a medical examination, have audio-video recording, and be produced before the court quickly.
He also said that judges are also not aloof from this responsibility, they should not condone torture nor send people to jails where crowding and violence are common. There is a need for independent institutions to investigate cases of custodial torture. The investigation should be quick and impartial, that is, it should be completely independent of the culprits.
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AY/ABM
