Bangladesh returned to democracy 17 years ago following a popular upsurge, constitutional liberties still face some challenges. The human rights situation and overall political and security conditions in Bangladesh have deteriorated on many counts over the last decade, concurrent with the shift in the role of the state, from socio-economic welfare of the citizens to promoting ‘free’ market, that in essence it seems to safeguard the interest of the private sector against the citizens at large. Unfortunately, the continued occurrence of political confrontations, arbitrary arrests, custodial deaths, violence against women, extra-judicial killings and torture by state and non-state actors hinder the enjoyment of civil and political rights.
Odhikar continued two projects that commenced in 2006 and ended in mid 2007, and also implemented three new projects. They are Democratic Elections: Motivation, Orientation and Support; Pluralism & Diversity: Promotion of Article 41 of the Constitution of Bangladesh through Education and Training; Promoting Human Rights especially Rights of Ethnic People, through Empowering the Leaders of the Ethnic Community Project; Documentation, Fact Finding and Policy Advocacy to stop Human Rights Violations; Ending Impunity for Acid Attack and Rape Project. This Annual Report gives an overview of each of these projects and highlights the key findings, recommendations and outcomes.
Annual_activity_report_2007 (full text in English, PDF)
