Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions and Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development on Thursday in a joint letter urged the interim government鈥檚 law, justice, and parliamentary affairs adviser to strengthen the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh.
The law adviser was also urged to ensure a transparent process for selecting new commissioners and amending the NHRC Act, said the letter signed by Forum-Asia executive director Mary Aileen D Bacalso.
The NHRC leadership has been vacant since the resignation of all its members on November 7, 2024, said the letter.
It said that as the Interim government sought to fill these positions, it must take necessary steps to ensure the formalisation of a fair, clear, transparent, and participatory selection process.
The letter also said that the principles of pluralism and independence from government interference must be respected in the selection of the NHRC鈥檚 decision-making body.
鈥榃e urge the government to ensure that the new commissioners are diverse in composition, reflecting gender balance and the representation of religious and national minorities,鈥� said the letter.
鈥榃e also take this opportunity to advocate for the reform of the National Human Rights Commission Act of 2009 (NHRC Act),鈥� the letter added.
According to the Paris Principles, a functioning and effective NHRI should have a broad mandate to investigate all alleged human rights violations, including those involving the authorities and security forces, the letter said.
鈥榃e remind the interim government that the NHRC should be legally prescribed to exercise a broad mandate, powers, and functions as Bangladesh navigates a period of transition,鈥� the letter added.
Strengthening the NHRC through a fair, transparent, and inclusive selection process is a step toward upholding justice and protecting human rights in Bangladesh, said the rights bodies in the letter.聽