Human rights violators must be punished, regardless of who they are: Minister
He was addressing a prize distribution ceremony of an essay competition titled ‘Bangabandhu and Human Rights’
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq said the government's stance about human rights violators is clear. People who violate human rights in Bangladesh will be brought to book and must be punished.
He was addressing a virtual prize distribution ceremony of an essay competition titled 'Bangabandhu and Human Rights' on Saturday.
More than 25,000 students from Classes IX to XII participated in the competition organised by the National Human Rights Commission to mark the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujib.
The minister said that Bangabandhu developed benevolent qualities at an early age. He always supported the helpless and downtrodden. Bangabandhu's soul cried out whenever he saw human beings suffer.
He said after gaining independence in 1971, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, showing respect to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations, declared human rights as one of the principles of governing the country.
Anisul Huq said that the spirit of Bangabandhu's ideology was built on the principle of poverty eradication through the establishment of good governance and removal of disparities in society. The challenge in today's world is to establish and protect human rights by doing away with terrorism and poverty.
He said the right to justice is a core element of human rights. Therefore, to ensure that people are not deprived of justice, the government enacted Courts' Use of ICT Act, 2020 a few days after the Covid-19 outbreak to enable trial proceedings to continue virtually.
As a result, all of Bangladesh's courts have been able to run trial proceedings online despite the high Covid-19 infection rate, he added.
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Nasima Begum presided over the event, while NHRC member Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed, UNDP resident representative Sudipto Mukherjee, spoke, among others.
Jatiya Sangshad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury connected with the event as chief guest.
