Bangladesh - Universal Periodic Review

UPR 30, May 14, 2018
Recommendations by Canada

Recommendations

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Thank you, Mr. President.

Canada applauds Bangladesh’s humanitarian efforts in addressing the Rohingya crisis and commits to continuing a strong partnership with Bangladesh on this issue of international importance.

Canada recommends that Bangladesh:

• Take prompt and effective measures to ensure that freedom of assembly and expression extends in practice to all people, media, civil society and political parties, throughout the upcoming election campaign and beyond, including activities conducted online.
• Eliminate child, early and forced marriage, including by reforming the Child Marriage Restraint Act to remove the exception for child marriage in “special cases,” as this term is not defined and is open to abuse.
• Take active steps to include LGBTI persons in human rights legislation in recognition of the many dangers and other challenges faced by the community, including the hijra.

Despite the progress made to date on improving working conditions in Bangladesh’s’ ready-made garments sector, more work remains to be done. Canada calls on the Government of Bangladesh to fully implement its obligations under international conventions, specifically with respect to ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as further alignment of the draft Export Processing Zone Act with the Bangladesh Labour Act.

Background

Bangladesh accepted all four of Canada’s recommendations during the last UPR round in 2013, which related to: child, early and forced marriage; protection for religious minorities; freedom for civil society and the media; and the protection of refugees.

Bangladesh has been recognized for generously hosting over one million displaced Rohingya from Myanmar. It has also achieved significant social progress by sharply reducing extreme poverty and infant mortality and increasing access to education, literacy and infrastructure development, underpinned by sustained high economic growth. Bangladesh was recently included in the formal probationary process for graduating from Least Developed Country status, the first country in UN history to meet all three criteria simultaneously.

Bangladesh will hold its eleventh general election in December 2018. Civil society groups, media representatives and opposition politicians have expressed concerns about a perceived shrinking of democratic space and continuing restrictions on journalists and civil society to organize and operate effectively in the country. Ain o Salish Kendra (a legal aid and human rights organization) and Amnesty International have reported arrests and intimidation of journalists and denial of the right of assembly to registered political parties who have sought to conduct peaceful demonstrations.

Some journalists and activists have contended restrictive laws such as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act have been used to suppress criticism of the government. There is concern that the proposed Digital Security Act 2018 will be used similarly to restrict the right to freedom of expression.

Child, early and forced marriage also continues to be a problem in Bangladesh, particularly in impoverished areas. A loophole in the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017 allows child marriage to be permitted by the courts in “special cases” or “for the greater good of the adolescent,” decreasing the effectiveness of the law.

Local LGBTI groups and people report police and public harassment and violence, which many community members are reluctant to report, for fear of exposure or retaliation.

Extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances persist in Bangladesh, and government forces have been implicated in many cases.