Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni has said Bangladesh has made a significant qualitative change in the normative and institutional framework in its human rights regime.The foreign minister said this at Bangladesh’s Second Universal Period Review (UPR) held at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, according to a message received here.
Dipu Moni underscored the need for upholding the rule of law in every sphere of society and safeguarding the rights of the vulnerable and marginalised segments of the population.
In this context, she reiterated the present government’s unequivocal commitment to show ‘zero tolerance’ to attacks against minorities as occurred in Ramu, Cox’s Bazar last year and against the Hindu communities during the recent political violence.
Dipu Moni made a comprehensive presentation on the initiatives taken by the grand alliance government to improve the overall human rights situation in Bangladesh during the last four years.
The foreign minister said that in her last UPR presentation in February 2009 immediately after the grand alliance government came into office, she had made a commitment that Bangladesh would pursue the path of inclusion and that ‘change would come’.
Dipu Moni touched upon all the major legislative and policy initiatives and achievements taken by the government and briefed the meeting about its sustained efforts to promote and protect human rights based on the values and ethos of the War of Liberation that defined the Fundamental Rights and Principles in the country’s Constitution.
On the civil and political front, she stressed that there was no room for impunity under Bangladesh law for alleged human rights violations by the law enforcement agencies and that her government attached importance to sensitizing the agencies about their human rights obligations on the line of duty.
The Foreign Minister concluded her statement by seeking the international community’s support to strengthen its democratic, secular, inclusive and pluralistic socio-political fabric in Bangladesh.
A total of 98 countries spoke at Bangladesh’s UPR session and commended the significant strides it made in ensuring citizens’ civil, political, economic and social rights. UNB
