Some dreams yet to come true

The dreams of the Liberation War for building a country free from disparities and social and economic deprivations have not materialised yet, jurist Dr Kamal Hossain said yesterday.

He called upon the young generation to make those dreams come true.

One of the authors of the country's constitution, Dr Kamal made the comments and call in the first AK Khan Memorial Law Lecture on "Economic and Social Justice under the Constitution of Bangladesh", which he delivered at the Faculty of Law of Chittagong University.

The faculty and AK Khan Foundation jointly hosted the programme where CU Vice Chancellor Prof Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury spoke as chief guest.

Referring to the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, Dr Kamal said the government should frame a strict building code and make everyone go by it to prevent such tragedies in the future.

The five-storey building collapse killed more than 1,100 people.

 The jurist also laid emphasis on workplace safety to enhance Bangladesh's image abroad and ban child labour without delay.

Describing the eviction of slum dwellers as contrary to law and the recommendations of the UN Conference on Human Settlements in 1976, he said there should be rehabilitation schemes for the slum people because shelter was a basic right.

The programme was chaired by Dean of Faculty of Law Prof Abdullah Al Faruque, while Bangladesh Law Commission Member Prof M Shah Alam was present as a special guest.

AK Khan Foundation Trustee Secretary Abul Kashem Khan, CU Professor Emeritus Alamgir Mohammad Sirajuddin, and Chairperson of Department of Law Nirmal Kumar Saha also spoke.