The government will try all incidents of extra-judicial killings after investigations in order to establish rule of law and protect human rights of people, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said on Saturday. The government is against any kind of extra-judicial killings and committed to protect the fundamental human rights of people, he said, adding the government in its nine months has taken many steps to implement the commitments.

The law minister made the remarks while inaugurating a pilot scheme titled "Human Rights Training for Law Officers and Legal Practitioners" at Hotel Sonargaon in Dhaka this morning. The programme was jointly organised by Promoting Access to Justice and Human Rights in Bangladesh Project of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Presided over by Law Secretary Kazi Habibul Awal, the inaugural function was addressed, among others, by State Minister For Law Qamrul Islam, Vice-chairman of Bangladesh Bar Council Abdul Baset Majumder, chairman of Legal Education and Training Institute (LETI) of Bangladesh Bar Council and former SCBA president M Amir-Ul Islam, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) AFM Mesbahuddin and UNDP Country Director Stefan Priesnar.

The law minister said the government will try the crimes against humanity that took place since 1971 to 1975 in the country. Genocides, killings, rapes, and arson attacks took place during the Liberation War of the country in 1971, and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members and four national leaders were brutally in 1975, he said, adding that all the incidents are crimes against humanity.

Shafique Ahmed said the government has taken initiatives to appoint an ombudsman as per provision of the constitution in order to ensure the constitutional rights of the people. A committee headed by the speaker of parliament will elect the ombudsman in a very short time, he said. He said the ombudsman can probe the allegations against any governmental, semi-governmental or statutory bodies or organisations, and can recommend the government to take proper steps against any of them.

The minister said the government has enacted the Right to Information Act and also constituted an Information Commission for ensuring free flow of information. He also said the government has taken steps to strengthen the national human rights commission in order to ensure the rights of the people. State Minister for Law Qamrul Islam said the law officers have to play effective role in building awareness among the citizens about their legal, fundamental and human rights.

-Daily Star