NHRC chair: 2016 was terrible for global human rights

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque has visited the Jaypurhat schoolgirl - who was seriously stabbed after an attempted rape on Saturday - at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) on Monday. The girl was still not out of danger according to her doctor. Talking to the journalist after the visit, the NHRC chairman addressed different issues about human rights violation throughout the year. Asked whether NHRC failed to play its role, he said, “The year 2016 was terrible for human rights across the world and even United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights voiced in a similar way. We have experienced massive human rights violation in Iraq and Syria. And in Myanmar, human rights violation has taken place under state’s supervision.” “Militant attacks have been taking place in several countries throughout the world and we have also experienced a stream of it,” he added. Asked why NHRC was not so responsive to minor incidents in a way it responded to the major incidents, Reazul Hoque said, it was not possible for NHRC alone to response all the incidents equally. Police and other law enforcing agencies have to work in sync going beyond earthly desires. Human rights violation cannot be wiped out without forming a greater social movement, he added. However, he appreciated the role of different social organisations and media houses of our country in creating pressure to protect human rights, when needed.