Women and girls are central to the success, growth and prosperity of any country.

Less than a week ago, on September 20, 2018 the Consideration of the Universal Periodic Review Outcome of Bangladesh was held at the 39th regular session of Human Rights Council.

For India to embrace the evolving understanding of sexual rights by removing an archaic legacy of colonial time,

When we talk about cases filed under the ICT Act, 2006, Section 57 of the Act crosses our mind almost instantly. Since its enactment in 2006, there were no charges under Section 57 until April 2013 when four bloggers were arrested for alleged incitement of religious hatred. There wasn't even a tribunal to try the cases, as the government had never felt the need to establish one until the end of 2013.

Rapid urbanisation has been inevitable in Bangladesh and, of course, is a sign of economic development and prosperity. It is believed that if the current rate of urbanisation continues, our urban population will exceed rural population by 2040. Because urban transition occurs in diverse patterns, it has both pros and cons.

On July 24, 2018, the UK government hosts the Global Disability Summit in partnership with the government of Kenya and the International Disability Alliance.

For more than two weeks in campuses across the country students demanding a review of the controversial quota system for appointments to civil bureaucracy experienced brutality of a monumental scale.

A 'secret' memorandum of understanding (MoU) between UN agencies and the Myanmar government, a draft of which has been leaked online, revealed that Rohingya refugees cannot expect much change back home on their proposed return. While the UN is yet to publicly release the final MoU, the fact that the Rohingya themselves had not been consulted has been criticised by the Rohingya community.

In 1989, the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme recommended that July 11 be observed by the international community as World Population Day, a day to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues. This year, on World Population Day, the United Nations Population Fund,

One of the most densely populated countries in the world, Bangladesh faces formidable challenges to eradicate poverty and provide sustainable development to its communities. Yet the country has been successful in the past decade in rising to these challenges.

Election of Bangladesh Cha Sramik Union (BCSU) on June 24 was a joyous occasion for tea workers. BCSU happens to be the largest trade union in Bangladesh. And it is the only union for the 97,646 voters who are all registered workers in 161 tea gardens in Sylhet, Maulvibazar, Habiganj, Chattogram and Rangamati Hill District. The recent election was the third time since 1948 that the impoverished tea workers had voted for their leaders.

AT the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem, it was not just governments that came together to decide on new drug policies that are humane and leave no one behind—people in general, including women and youth, congregated too.

Tragically, more than 68 million people worldwide have been forced from their homes and are in need of generous hearts to help them through challenging times. Today is World Refugee Day, which provides an opportunity to reflect on the suffering of displaced people and what we can do to provide them safety as well as to prevent future displacement. On this year's World Refugee Day, Bangladesh stands out as a beacon of hope and inspiration.

It is believed that there are more displaced persons in the world today than at any other point in history. According to the UNHCR, there are 68.5 million people around the world who have been forcibly displaced from their home. The UN Refugee Agency goes on to state: Among them are nearly 25.4 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18.

Since August last year, the world has witnessed how hundreds of thousands of desperate Rohingyas have fled across the border into Bangladesh, bringing with them tales of unimaginable horror.

The government of Bangladesh has declared a war on narcotics. It has proclaimed its intent to uproot the scourge of drugs from the land. “None will be spared”, came the stern warning from the authorities. Rapid Action Battalion, the elite law enforcement agency (LEA), swung into action from the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. Other agencies, including the police, were not to be left behind.

The current definition of rape in our Penal Code was formulated in 1890 back in colonial times.

On April 9, 2018, in an attempt to work around the impasse in the Security Council and the fact that Myanmar is not a state party to

In “Dhaka, Ottawa and The Hague: Rohingya Convergence” (The Daily Star, April 19), I referred to the legal process commenced by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to the arrival of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

When Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj undertook a two-day visit to Myanmar on May 10-11, it had important implications for Bangladesh.