A Statement by Mr. Ushatan Talukder at the 14th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)

A Statement by Mr. Ushatan Talukder at the 14th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) held on 20 April - 01 May 2015 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York
Agenda Item 7: Human Rights
Madam Chairperson, distinguished delegates, indigenous brothers and sisters,
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings and hence we Indigenous People are equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. However, the indigenous people of the globe, including Bangladesh, continue to be subjected to various forms of human rights violations.
The historic Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Accord was one of the bold steps taken by the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led government to establish peace and harmony in that conflicting region. The CHT Accord of 1997 was expected to end militarization, systematic human rights violations and a culture of impunity, and allow indigenous people of the CHT to regain control over their lands, resources and local administration. However, the failure to fully implement the CHT Accord has led to widespread human rights violations and deprivation.
Bangladesh government implemented some provisions of the Accord. However, main issues of the Accord, particularly devolution of political authority, including general administration, law & order and police, remain unimplemented. The government claims that 48 provisions out of 72 provisions of the Accord have been implemented. This is untrue, misleading and misconceived. PCJSS asserts that only 25 provisions out of the 72 have been implemented. It means that two-thirds of the provisions of the Accord remain unimplemented until day.
Part D of the Accord deals with land disputes. The government claims two out of three provisions of this part have been implemented while the remaining has been partially implemented. Most importantly, resolution of land disputes has not even been started, 17 years after signing the Accord. Dozens of meetings have been held to draft amendments to the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act 2001 based upon a 13-point amendment proposal, including of the CHT Accord Implementation Committee on 20 January of this year. We do not see any tangible result of the aforesaid meetings and the numerous commitments of the government in this regard.
Instead of implementing the unimplemented provisions of the Accord, the government has, on the contrary, continuously violated the Accord, totally disregarding the mandatory consultation with CHT Regional Council on legislation concerning the CHT. The passage of the CHT Development Board Act 2014 (on 1 July 2014) and the Hill District Councils (Amendment) Acts 2014 are prime examples. The establishment of the University of Science & Technology and Medical College in Rangamati despite popular opposition are among other examples of the government’s arbitrary acts.
Through directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs on 7 January 2015, restrictions were imposed upon indigenous people to meet national/foreign organizations and individuals without the mandatory presence of local administration, army/BGB (Border Guards). No such restrictions were placed upon non-indigenous inhabitants of the CHT, thereby clearly demonstrating the racist decision, which is contrary to the Constitution of Bangladesh and the provisions of ICERD (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination), ratified by Bangladesh. These directives were supplemented with a prohibition against foreigners entering the CHT without the prior consent of the Home Ministry, to be taken a month in advance.
At the same time, the government has intensified its anti-accord and anti-Jumma programmes to evict the Jumma peoples from their ancestral lands and homesteads by clandestinely patronizing massive racist attacks on Jumma settlements, sponsoring forcible occupation of hundreds of acres of lands by the outsiders, declaring the swidden (Jum) and community lands as reserve forests, expanding and establishing army/BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) camps and establishing tourism centres run by the army.
Against this backdrop, I, on behalf of CHT people, urge the Government of Bangladesh to declare an outline (roadmap) with timeframe for proper and speedy implementation of the CHT Accord. I also urge the Permanent Forum to take initiative to implement its resolutions adopted at the 10th session regarding implementation of CHT Accord.
May I also request the Permanent Forum to adopt recommendations urging the government of Bangladesh to declare a roadmap for proper implementation of CHT Accord.