Parliamentary Caucus to Review Every Human Rights Violation, Holds First Meeting at Parliament

The Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Peace will review any incident of human rights violation in the country. Government and opposition MPs will work together in this effort.

Alongside identifying incidents of human rights violations, the caucus will also monitor whether the trial process and follow-up steps in those incidents are being properly carried out.

The caucus held its first meeting on Wednesday in the Cabinet Room of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. Caucus chairperson Fahima Nasrin told reporters this after the meeting.

Earlier, the parliamentary caucus was formed on November 2 by a decision of Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.

A caucus literally means a group that agrees on a specific issue. A parliamentary caucus is an informal platform of MPs formed around a specific issue or policy. It is not a standing committee of parliament or a constitutional institution.

A Parliament Secretariat statement said the caucus's patron, Deputy Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Kaysar Kamal, attended the meeting. Discussing the caucus's work plan, the Deputy Speaker said the caucus was formed to identify those who violated human rights in the past and those who were victims, present an acceptable picture, and work with vigilance and awareness so that such acts do not happen again in future.

At the time, he urged that the matter of human rights violators in no way trying to pose as victims be considered with importance.

Noting that no such parliamentary caucus had been formed in Bangladesh before, the Deputy Speaker said everyone must work together to build it into an effective body. To that end, he called on all concerned to stand the caucus up as a strong framework based on mutual cooperation of the relevant ministries, including law, home, foreign, and information and broadcasting.

At the same time, the Deputy Speaker urged the executive division to work neutrally to speed up the caucus's activities.

The meeting, chaired by caucus president and MP Fahima Nasrin, was attended by caucus members Humam Quader Chowdhury, Saeed Al Noman, Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, Mohammad Nazibur Rahman, Md Abul Hasnat, Zohrat Adib Chowdhury, Sanjida Islam and Anna Minj.