Human Rights in Bangladesh 2006

Contents: Glossary and acronyms. Acknowledgements. Introduction: the year in review/Hameeda Hossain. 1. Legislative and institutional developments: ASK Research unit. 2. Judicial developments on fundamental rights/Sara Hossain and Adeeba Aziz Khan. 3. Right to life/Shirin S. Chowdhury. 4. Right to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment/Adeeba Aziz Khan. 5. Right to liberty/Moin Ghani. 6. Right to freedom of the press and information/Md. Shahiduzzaman. 7. Right to prisoners/Mohammed Tipu Sultan. 8. Right to food/Md. Korban Ali. 9. Right to shelter/Farzana Islam. 10. Workers\' rights/Soma Islam. 11. Women\'s rights/Syeda Rubbaiyat Hossain. 12. The status of religious minorities/ASK research unit. 13. Rights of the Adibashis/ASK research unit. 14. Rights of the socially excluded/Surraiya Begum. 15. Child protection and child rights: current status and challenges/Suman Sengupta and Deloar Hossain. 16. Rights of the differently abled/Mosharraf Hossain.

"Human Rights in Bangladesh 2006 draws attention to the role of the state in meeting its obligations to ensure the rights to life, liberty and other fundamental freedoms. It seeks to identify the reasons for a weak enforcement of laws and inadequate institutional safeguards for the protection of civil, political, social and economic rights.

With parliamentary elections due in early 2007, electoral preparations in 2006 were mired in controversy. This publication details how mounting political confrontation threatened the democratic environment and undermined human rights throughout the year. It also records the more systemic discrimination against minority communities and women and discusses the challenges for protection of children and for the differently challenged." (jacket)