Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Chittagong Hill Tracts
This conference was held in Copenhagen on May 31 and June 1, following up the earlier work of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission, an international body of experts which published a series of reports on the governance and human rights problems of the CHT between 1991 and 2000. The territory had been administered separately during the colonial era, but since independence it has been effectively under the control of the military. Arrangements for local self-government, agreed in 1997, were not implemented, and immigration of settlers from the rest of Bangladesh have progressively diluted the CHT's cultural, linguistic and religious identity. The Copenhagen meeting discussed the present situation, and made decisions on how to proceed, which will be announced shortly.
CHT Commission mission statement
Mission statement of the re-established CHT Commission:
The purpose of the Commission, which is composed of concerned experts from inside and outside Bangladesh, is to promote respect for human rights, democracy, participatory development and land rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, including examination of the implementation of the CHT Peace Accord of 1997. It will build on the work already done by the Commission between 1990 and 2001.
Today, events in the CHT become known rapidly worldwide, and the issues are well known in Bangladesh and internationally. They are increasingly of concern to human rights organizations, the media, and all within Bangladesh who are looking for a peaceful future in the CHT based on the preservation of the linguistic, cultural and religious rights of the indigenous inhabitants.
The limited implementation of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord, particularly as regards land rights; the continued violations of human rights in the region; the relentless influx of Bengali settlers, and the oppressive presence of the military, made a compelling case for re-establishing the CHT Commission, decided at the Copenhagen Conference of May 31 and 1 June.
The meeting elected Ms Sultana Kamal, Ms Ida Nicolaisen and Eric Avebury as co-chairs of the Commission.
This conference was held in Copenhagen on May 31 and June 1, following up the earlier work of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission, an international body of experts which published a series of reports on the governance and human rights problems of the CHT between 1991 and 2000. The territory had been administered separately during the colonial era, but since independence it has been effectively under the control of the military. Arrangements for local self-government, agreed in 1997, were not implemented, and immigration of settlers from the rest of Bangladesh have progressively diluted the CHT's cultural, linguistic and religious identity. The Copenhagen meeting discussed the present situation, and made decisions on how to proceed, which will be announced shortly.
CHT Commission mission statement
Mission statement of the re-established CHT Commission:
The purpose of the Commission, which is composed of concerned experts from inside and outside Bangladesh, is to promote respect for human rights, democracy, participatory development and land rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, including examination of the implementation of the CHT Peace Accord of 1997. It will build on the work already done by the Commission between 1990 and 2001.
Today, events in the CHT become known rapidly worldwide, and the issues are well known in Bangladesh and internationally. They are increasingly of concern to human rights organizations, the media, and all within Bangladesh who are looking for a peaceful future in the CHT based on the preservation of the linguistic, cultural and religious rights of the indigenous inhabitants.
The limited implementation of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord, particularly as regards land rights; the continued violations of human rights in the region; the relentless influx of Bengali settlers, and the oppressive presence of the military, made a compelling case for re-establishing the CHT Commission, decided at the Copenhagen Conference of May 31 and 1 June.
The meeting elected Ms Sultana Kamal, Ms Ida Nicolaisen and Eric Avebury as co-chairs of the Commission.
