COI reports are published on the Home Office website and the vast majority of the source material is available in the public domain. A list of the COI reports and other documents reviewed by the IAGCI is available at http://icinspector.independent.gov.uk/country-information-reviews.
Other Maps of Bangladesh
Economy
23 The World Bank, ‗Bangladesh Overview‘: ‗Results‘, undated. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/bangladesh/overview. The main text of this COI report contains the most recent publicly available information as of July 31, 2013. has since expanded rapidly and, according to the Grameen Foundation, has proven effective in helping to alleviate poverty in the country and empower women, who are the main lenders of capital.24 By June 2011, a total of about TK 248 billion had so far been advanced to 35 million people; there were 576 licensed lending institutions in June 2011, with outstanding loans to 20.65 million borrowers.
History
Zia and the BNP won a landslide victory in the vote and she became prime minister again. The president's term ended in September 2007, but Ahmed remained in office in the absence of a functioning parliament.
Political parties which contested the general election
As Bangladesh prepares for its first parliamentary elections in seven years, the country's independent audit of the country's new digital electoral roll has found that all names on the list are legal voters and that almost all eligible voters are on the list. The independent audit of the computerized voter roll by the Washington-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) was compiled from two nationwide surveys that sampled nearly 17,000 eligible voters nationwide.
Results of the general election
Post-election violence
This spontaneous movement created worries for Jamaat-e-Islami and some sections of the BNP. See Al Jazeera, Infographic: Turmoil over Bangladesh tribunal, 09 May 2013 for an overview of the War Crimes Tribunal 66.
Shabagh Square
Constitution
Under the 15th amendment of the Constitution of 2011, secularism was restored as a fundamental principle of the state, while Islam was retained as the state religion' 73. 72 Division of Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
Political system Structure of the Parliament
The recently passed Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution has increased the number of reserved seats for women to 50, but retained the system of indirect elections despite the persistent demands of women's organizations and the Awami League's own election promise of direct elections .'76. Executive power is heavily concentrated in the hands of the prime minister and her or his cabinet.
Caretaker government
The position of president is largely ceremonial, although he or she does have some important appointing powers and has gained greater authority during election periods, including over the armed forces. While Parliament forms a number of standing committees (including a standing committee for each ministry), as required by the Constitution and parliamentary regulations, it has only limited oversight over the executive.
Bangladesh Election Commission
Introduction
Suspected extrajudicial killings, disappearances and kidnappings continued, with human rights groups claiming the involvement of the country's security services. 95 National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), “About NHRC” http://www.nhrc.org.bd/about.html Accessed June 1, 2013.
Security forces
Women (CEDAW), date of accession 6 November 1984; the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW-OP), date of ratification 6 September 2000;. Bangladesh has the obligation to submit periodic reports to the treaty monitoring bodies established by the international human rights instruments.
Police and paramilitary forces
Bangladesh Police
Border Guards of Bangladesh
Rapid Action Battalion
Bangladesh Ansar/Village Defence Party
Police Reform Programme
110 Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Ministry of the Interior, Police Reform Program (Phase II), Annual Report 2012, (p. 9). 111 Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Ministry of the Interior, Police Reform Program (Phase II), Annual Report 2012, (p.10).
Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI)
The government deployed all its agents including the police, Rapid Action Battalion and other intelligence agencies to prevent the public rally of the opposition. Indeed, Bangladeshi law enforcers have massively arrested hundreds of ordinary people and activists of the opposition political parties.
Torture
Six people were allegedly tortured to death.1 Of them, 17 were allegedly tortured by the police and one by the RAB.' 123 See section 8: Security forces - Extrajudicial killings.
Extra-judicial killings
The authorities have failed to investigate and prosecute the RAB or other security forces responsible for extrajudicial killings or torture. Security forces, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a paramilitary unit made up of military and police personnel, have been criticized for, among other things, excesses.
Corruption in the law enforcement agencies
In fact, it is claimed that the police often do not respond to complaints if they do not receive bribes. Victims are often reluctant to report abuse directly to the police themselves for fear of reprisals, or simply because they don't believe someone.
Accountability and impunity
Military service
137 The State Party report of 14 July 2005 to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) notes: 'There is no provision for compulsory conscription into the Bangladeshi armed forces. 138 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), [CRC/C/OPAC/BGD/1] Consideration of reports submitted by States Parties pursuant to Article 8(1) of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts.
Abuses by non-government armed forces
Sheikh Hasina's Awami League (AL)-led government, which came to power on January 6, 2009, consolidated its secular commitments until 2012 by reining in Islamic extremist groups and the left-wing extremist (LWE) movement in the target country. According to partial data collected by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), the country saw a total of 18 terrorism/insurgency-related deaths, including 17 militants and one civilian, in 14 incidents of killing through 2012 (data till December 9).
Judiciary
The Judges of the Supreme Court Division [follow] at least 10 years of experience as [a] lawyer in the Supreme Court Division. Samiul Islam, Institute of Business Administration, Dhaka University, ‗The Structure of Judicial System', 18 February 2010 http://www.slashdocs.com/mrpxwv/the-structure-of-judicial-system-in-bangladesh.html Accessed August 23, 2012.
Informal systems of justice: village courts and Shalish
The World Bank report included a detailed assessment of the functioning of local justice mechanisms, including shalish and village courts. The government is yet to establish a separate secretariat for the judiciary and the transfer, promotion and posting of judges in the lower judiciary is still virtually decided by the government.
Politically-motivated’ cases
The higher judiciary, ostensibly free, has continuously lost public confidence primarily because of the partisan appointment of judges, in most cases, by successive governments. Despite the long-standing demand from various quarters and the constitutional mandate, successive governments are yet to enact a Supreme Court Judges Appointment Act that guides the procedure and qualification of judges to avoid controversies over their appointment at the Supreme Court level. ; and to stop the alleged politicization of the highest judiciary.'160.
Presidential clemency for criminals
In addition, judges are often limited in the performance of their duties due to various obstacles, financial and otherwise. Defendants have the right to be promptly and fully informed of the charges against them.
Legal Aid
Arrest and detention – legal rights
Arbitrary and lengthy pre-trial detention continued to be a problem due to bureaucratic inefficiency, limited resources, lax enforcement of trial rules and corruption. In some cases, the length of pre-trial detention was equal to or longer than the sentence for the alleged crime.
Cognizable offences, as summarized in Section 4(f) of the Criminal Procedure Code..are those in which a police officer may arrest without a warrant and include crimes such as murder, robbery, theft, rape, rioting and assault. The police officer must also allow the person arrested to consult a lawyer of his choice if he so desires or to meet any of his immediate family members.'178.
The Special Powers Act, 1974 (SPA)
Prison conditions
Odhikar did not provide an analysis of the causes of these deaths or say what the mortality rate was. Many of the buildings are dilapidated and house inmates year after year that exceed cell capacity. Low quality food supply; lack of adequate medical facilities; crime; the spread of various types of diseases and torture have led to the death of prisoners in Bangladesh.
Death penalty
The body of this COI report contains the most current publicly available information as of July 31, 2013. The Code of Criminal Procedure indicates that executions do not require executive approval.
Political affiliation
Additionally, the government (which can mean the legislature or some other executive officer) can commute death sentences.'195. Confrontation between the two major political parties – the ruling Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (in opposition) – and their internal clashes is one of the main reasons for the continued partisan violence.
Student political groups and violence
- Freedom of speech and media
- Human rights institutions, organisations and activists
- Corruption
- Freedom of religion Religious demography
The government and Chhatra League blame Islami Chhatra Shibir - the student wing of the country's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami - for the latest attacks. Although the country has a long tradition of social activism throughout its history – the language movement is one example – the emergence of the NGO sector has been a relatively new phenomenon that began in the late 1970s.
The state and religion
The same study estimates that 8 percent of elementary school students and 19 percent of high school students attend ―Aliyah‖ madrassas, state-regulated private madrassas a. Members of religious minority groups were often at the bottom of the social hierarchy and had less political recourse.
Fatwa
Ethnic groups
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) are a hilly, forested area in southeastern Bangladesh which for many hundreds of years has been home to people from 13 indigenous tribes [collectively known as the Jumma or Pahari people]. 295 UN Economic and Social Council, Permanent Forum on Indigenous Affairs, Study on the status of implementation of the 1997 Chittagong Hill Tract Agreement, E/C February 2011.
Biharis recognised as citizens
According to recent estimates, the Urdu-speaking community in Bangladesh numbers about 250,000 people, with over 151,000 residing in 116 camps and open settlements. The sooner Urdu-speaking people are brought into the mainstream of the nation, the better."
Living conditions
Sexual orientation and gender identity
Strong social stigma based on sexual orientation was common and prevented an open discussion of the subject." 309. Male-to-male sexual activity is an offense under section 377 of the Bangladesh Penal Code and there is an absence of non-discrimination laws and regulations specifying protections for MSM.
Ill-treatment by police officers and by ‘mastans’
Disability
The law ensures equal treatment and freedom from discrimination for persons with disabilities; however, disabled people were subjected to social and economic discrimination. Due to inaccessibility and discrimination, people with disabilities were sometimes excluded from mainstream public health, education and social protection.
Women
The pro-women policies, strategies and measures of the Government undertaken in the past decades have positively influenced the reduction of poverty of women. Positive indicators of women's progress in the country are reflected in continued gender equality in school.
Marriage
Employment opportunities for women have increased greatly in the past decade, largely due to the growth of the export garment industry. The women's movement in Bangladesh has also made strategic use of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to advocate for changes in laws and policies.
Domestic violence
Most women in Bangladesh experience [domestic violence] in their lifetime, which takes various forms of abuse, viz. sections of the Prevention of Repression of Women and Children Act 2000 (amended 2003) provide various penalties.
Rape
There was also often a reluctance on the part of the victims to inform the doctors of the injuries they had sustained. pp. 84-85) Dr. Ameen noted that women in villages often applied. There is also a tendency for women to "compromise" their cases in light of the long delays experienced through the legal process.'371.
Sexual harassment, including stalking
It is also worrisome that in 2012 there was an increase in rapes of girls and rapes committed by law enforcement authorities."372. A] total of 479 girls and women were [reported] as victims of sexual harassment from January to December 2012.
Acid attacks
According to the Acid Survivors Foundation, special courts were not entirely effective, and prosecutors obtained a conviction in about 8 to 10 percent of cases.'382. The Acid Control Act of 2002 was introduced to control the 'import, manufacture, transport, collection, sale and use of acid, and to provide treatment for victims of acid violence, to rehabilitate them and to' provided the legal ones.
Vigilantism and illegal fatwa
Shelter and welfare support to woman victims of violence
Children Overview
UNICEF and Save the Children welcome the passage of the Child Rights Act 2013 in the Bangladesh National Parliament (Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad). Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (Third and Fourth Periodic Report of the Government of Bangladesh under the CRC: August 2007,417 (p. 23) Consideration of reports submitted by States Parties under Article 44 of the Convention: Bangladesh.
Juvenile justice
While there are currently three specialized juvenile courts in the country and four more are under consideration, most children are dealt with through regular criminal courts, where they are often tried alongside adults and have no legal rights. representation. 421 Asian Human Rights Commission, 'Rights of the Child come in contact with Law and state of Juvenile Justice system – Bangladesh perspective', 5 June 2012 http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-ART search term Accessed at August 22, 2012.
Rape and child sexual abuse and exploitation
The [Government] introduced the Pornography Control Act 2012, but subsequent rules are necessary for the implementation of the Act. Most of the relevant laws fail to define child prostitution and do not address all its manifestations.
Trafficking
The survey showed that 40 percent of the girls and 53 percent of the boys were under 16 years old.”429. See also Section 23: Women: Violence against Women and Section 23: Women: Rape and Child Care and Protection below.
Child labour
The Child Labor Unit of the Ministry of Labor and Employment monitored, coordinated and supervised child labor programs. The government has also developed a national program to eliminate the worst forms of child labor by 2015.
Corporal punishment
Child marriage
445 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) [CRC/C/BGD/4] Processing of reports submitted by States Parties under Article 44 of the Convention: Bangladesh. 447 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), [CRC/C/65/Add.22] Consideration of reports submitted by States Parties under Article 44 of the Convention: Bangladesh.
The Primary Education Stipend Project (PESP)
The Female Stipend Program (FSP)
Madrassas
On the other hand, an unknown number of traditional private madrasahs exist outside the state sector. The academic standard achieved is generally perceived to be much lower than in general education.
Children with disabilities (in education)
Trafficking Overview
Lack of awareness and respect for human rights of women and children makes them vulnerable to exploitation. However, several studies show that more than 1 million women and children have been trafficked out of the country in the past 30 years.
Corruption
Medical issues Basic indicators
Note: The World Bank database has different estimates for some of the above indicators: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator. Despite the availability of all these services at different levels, the population's utilization of the services is relatively low.
HIV/AIDS
Prevalence and national response
Access to treatment and welfare services
Anti-retroviral therapy
- Freedom of movement
- Internally displaced persons (IDPs)
- Foreign refugees
- Citizenship and nationality
- Exit and return
- Forged and fraudulently obtained official documents
- Employment rights
Bazar.' The report added that 'passport holders do not require exit permits or visas to leave the country. 536 Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliament "Bangladesh Citizenship (Interim Provisions) Order, 1972", Notification published by the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs (Division of Law).
Chronology of major events
1996 Two rounds of elections finally lead to victory for the Awami League, with Sheikh Hasina Wajed, daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, becoming the first. In November, the law that provided lifelong security to former prime minister Sheikha Hasina and sister Sheikha Rehana was repealed.
Political organisations
Political general strikes (hartals) have become more frequent since 27 June 2010 as part of the party's continued attempts to destabilize the government and force new elections.” The party managed to retain 32 seats in the 1996 elections and join the AL-led government.
List of abbreviations
