A/HRC/11/L.10
page 72
Kazakhstan would appreciate Bangladesh’s consideration of acceding to the core treaties to
which it was not a party. It noted progress in the field of education, particularly for girls, and
steps for improving the role of women in society. It stressed the need to further strengthen the
national human rights commission. Kazakhstan expected the finalization of the national
document on eradication of child labour and encouraged Bangladesh to address problems faced
by children.
3. General comments made by other relevant stakeholders
292. The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, in a joint statement, welcomed the
recent decision of the Government to establish tribunals for the trial of those responsible under
the International Crimes Act of 1973. It expressed dismay that, despite the announced policy of
“zero tolerance” of extrajudicial killings, such killings had allegedly continued without any
substantive efforts to investigate or take appropriate action. It reported on cases of violence
against women since January 2009. It urged the Government to make concrete, measurable and
time-bound commitments to address these human rights violations, including investigations into
ongoing and past human rights abuses, including war crimes, extrajudicial killings, torture and
arbitrary detention, and cases of violence against women, minorities and indigenous people, and
to provide adequate reparation to victims and families. A call was made for a road map for the
repeal of discriminatory laws, with particular emphasis on those affecting religious minorities,
workers and persons with disabilities, as well as juvenile justice and gender-based personal laws.
It strongly urged the Government to take concrete steps for the full implementation of the peace
accord in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
293. The Asian Legal Resource Centre welcomed the attention given to the human rights
situation in Bangladesh thanks to the universal periodic review process. It noted grave violations
during the review period. Concerning recommendations 10, 20 and 26, the Centre said that
Bangladesh had promised to address the culture of impunity. It challenged Bangladesh to
produce evidence of cases in which State agents had been held responsible for torture or
extrajudicial killings. Bangladesh should repeal the Joint Drive Indemnity Act of 2003 and
article 46 of the Constitution, which provided blanket impunity to State agents involved in
violations. Concerning recommendations 11 and 25 and despite claims that the judiciary had
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