Reforms in land commission law soon: Debashish
Special Assistant to Chief Adviser Raja Debashish Roy at a consultation yesterday said the government is working to bring some reforms in land commission law in a month or two.
Debashish Roy, also in-charge of CHT and environment and forest ministries, was speaking as the chief guest at the consultation on 'Collective action on indigenous issues' at Biam auditorium in the city.
The reforms would reflect some aspirations of the indigenous people, he added.
The special assistant “The CHT Commission should be implemented. If so, the possibility of a separate national commission for the indigenous people could also be discussed.”
Debashish said one of the commissioners of the newly formed Human Rights Commission could be engaged for the indigenous people.
The consultation, jointly organised by Research and Development Collective (RDC) and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), was presided over by Justice Gholam Rabbani.
Speakers at the consultation underscored the need for forming a national commission for the indigenous people of the country to overcome their problems.
The called on the political parties to include the issue of the indigenous people in their election manifestos and allocate reserved seats for them in the parliament and all the local bodies of representatives to ensure their participation in their own development.
They said the non-implementation of the CHT Treaty is a problem of the indigenous people and the government should take steps to implement it.
RDC General Secretary Prof Mesbah Kamal presented a keynote paper at the consultation.
He said representation of the indigenous people at the national, regional and local levels should be ensured, adding that non-recognition of the indigenous people in the constitution and land-related problems are their main problems.
Gholam Rabbani said it is illegal to discriminate the indigenous people on grounds of race, sex or religions in this independent country. They also participated in the country's liberation war.
Ex-additional secretary ASM Mobaidul Haque, VSO Country Director Shahana Hayat, VSO Programme Officer Mahtabul Hakim, Bangladesh Adivasi Parishad Chairperson Anil Marandi and Danida Human Rights and Good Governance of Programme Officer Kirti Nishan Chakma.
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