Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Mizanur Rahman on Saturday called on all the human rights defenders in the country to
stand firm against ill-attempts to thwart the progress so far made in terms of ensuring the rights of women and of ethnic and religious
minorities. “Whatever the degree is, we’ve achieved some progress in ensuring the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, and also for
ensuring rights to women. There’s no scope for retreating in this regard whatever the obstacles are. It’s the human rights workers who
will surely stand against such attempts,” he said. He was addressing the national seminar on ‘Role of Human Rights Defenders: Protection
and Promotion of Human Rights in Bangladesh’, organised by the National Human Rights Commission at a city hotel. A NHRC manual for
human rights defenders was launched at the programme. The NHRC chief also observed that the safety and security of human rights workers is
a vital concern as they often face obstacles from both the state and society. “The first threat comes from the state. And the state needs
to be tolerant, it must honour dissent. It must understand that having dissent doesn’t necessarily make enemies,” he said. “There’re
obstacles also from in society. Women journalists or human rights activists are often offended in their works. So, the question of their
(human rights activists) can’t be overlooked at all,” he added.
“One’s right to defend human rights is also a human right,” Mizanur said. – UNB
