Amnesty pushes Bangladesh

Amnesty International's Secretary General told a meeting of NGOs in Bangladesh that the organisation is in the country to push for reform.

Irene Khan said "as Amnesty International’s Secretary General and a Bangladeshi, I feel there is a window of opportunity that can turn the trend from which this-country has suffered. In this country, there has been a culture of impunity."

"This culture of impunity goes back to 1971; we feel it is an institutional problem. There needs to be a strong independent judiciary, police-reform, action to address torture and ill-treatment."

She said that the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the military need to be held accountable for human rights violations, that there needs to be an effective National Human Rights Commission and freedom of information legislation.

Via Bangladesh Blogger