29-07-2022

FRIDAy, JuLy 29, 2022
2
A faint glimmer of hope in Rohingya
repatriation process
>(From page-1)
The case has been
cognizable and is now vying
for a final verdict after the
ICJ accepted the Gambia's
complaint where it alleged
against Myanmar that
genocide has taken place
under the Genocide
Convention, highlighting two
dimensions or waysgenocidal
intent and the
commission of genocidal
acts. Myanmar's persecution
of the Rohingya as
`Genocidal Intent' includes:
its systematic denial of legal
rights to Rohingya, the
restrictions on their ability to
marry and bear children and
severe restrictions on
freedom of movement along
with detention camps, and
its support for and
participation in, pervasive
hate campaigns aimed at
demonizing
and
dehumanizing the group. On
the other hand, `Genocidal
Acts' against Rohingya by
Myanmar includes: the
incidents from the October
2016 and August 2017,
``clearance operations'' with
mass executions of Rohingya
men, women and children;
the systematic burning of
Rohingya villages with the
intent to destroy the group in
whole or in part; the
targeting of children; and the
commission of rape and
sexual violence on a massive
scale. That cold-blooded
clearance campaign forced
more than 700,000
Rohingya fled into
neighboring Bangladesh.
Since the allegation of
Gambia has now been
considered as the genocide
case, the ICJ in future can
take strong actions against
the accused (Myanmar) and
in favor of the victim
(Rohingya) or the plaintiff
(Gambia). Under Article 94
of the UN Charter, all
member countries must
abide by ICJ decisions in
cases to which they are a
party, and in the event of
noncompliance, the UN
Security Council may decide
upon measures to be taken to
give effect to the judgement.
The ICJ can pave the way in
the future to ensure that
those responsible for
genocide are held to account
before a competent tribunal;
and can ensure to provide
reparations to Rohingya
victims of genocidal acts
including ``allowing the safe
and dignified return'' of
those who have been forcibly
displaced and ``respect for
their full citizenship and
human rights and protection
against discrimination,
persecution and other
related acts.'' The ICJ can
now also arrange the
assurance and guarantees
from Myanmar that it won't
repeat its violations of the
Genocide Convention.
But all that hope remains
somewhat uncertain as
power in Myanmar is now
held by the brutal military
what is the main accused.
Since the 2021 coup in
Myanmar and the
assumption of authority by
the 'State Administration
Council', the military has
committed grave human
rights violations as a part of a
widespread and systematic
attack against people across
the country, amounting to
crimes against humanity.
Atrocities against the
Rohingyas persist, and
military rule since the coup
has heightened their
vulnerability. The same
generals who oversaw the
mass atrocities against the
Rohingyas in 2017 are now at
the helm of the brutal
military regime- putting at
further risk Myanmar's
adherence to the ICJ's legally
binding provisional
measures order which
directed Myanmar to:
prevent the commission of
genocidal acts; to ensure its
military, police, or any other
irregular force supported or
directed by it or under its
control not commit
genocidal acts; to preserve all
evidence of genocidal acts,
and to submit a status report
every six months until a final
judgment by the Court.
A review of previous cases
shows that partial or full
judgments of the ICJ have
been enforced if the parties
involved have democratic
governments in power. In
case of Myanmar, while the
military junta assumed the
right to represent Myanmar
at the ICJ, the opposition
National Unity Government
(NUG) asserts that it is the
legitimate representative of
the country. The
encouraging aspect is that
the NUG officially
recognized the ICJ's
jurisdiction, pledged to
withdraw all of the
preliminary objections, and
promised to cooperate with
the proceedings.
The proceedings before
the ICJ are an important
means to hold Myanmar
accountable for the mass
atrocities against the
Rohingya. Bringing justice
to the Rohingya and all
groups suffering under
Myanmar's military is
necessary to break the
deeply rooted trend of
impunity inMyanmar and
end the accompanying risk
of resurgence of atrocity
crimes. The limited action
by the international
community, including the
failure of the United Nations
Security Council to pass a
resolution imposing a global
arms embargo and referring
the situation in Myanmar to
the International Criminal
Court has further
emboldened Myanmar's
military making the ICJ
proceedings especially
important.
In the absence of domestic
accountability, the case
before the ICJ offers hope to
the Rohingyas in their
efforts to hold the military
junta accountable for the
crime of genocide. If the case
proceeds to the substantive
stage, the Court will decide
whether Myanmar
committed, failed to
prevent, and failed to punish
the international crime of
genocide against the
Rohingya. The ICJ hearings
once again reflect the urgent
need to provide a platform
for the Rohingyas to share
their vision and voice.
Tonmoy Chowdhury,
Refugee & Security Affairs
Analyst,
ctonmoy555@gmail.com
Covid-19 in Bangladesh
4 more die, 618 new
cases reported in
24hrs
DHAKA : Bangladesh
recorded four more Covid-19-
linked deaths with 618 new
cases in 24 hours till Thursday
morning.
With the latest figures, the
country's total fatalities
reached 29,284 while the
caseload 2,004,188, according
to the Directorate General of
Health Services (DGHS).
The daily case positivity rate
rose to 6.62 from Wednesday's
6.83 per cent as 9,338 samples
were tested.
The deceased included two
men and two women. Three of
them were from Chattogram
and another from Dhaka
division.
The mortality rate remained
unchanged at 1.46 percent.
The recovery rate rose to
96.80 per cent from
Thursday's 96.79 per cent.
In June, the country
reported 18 Covid-linked
deaths and 20,201 new cases,
according to the DGHS.
Bangladesh reported its first
zero Covid death on
November 20 last year since
the pandemic broke out here
in March 2020. The country
registered its highest daily
caseload of 16,230 on July 28
last year and daily fatalities of
264 on August 10 in the same
year.
'Sheikh Hasina Tantpalli'
to create job for people of
south-western region:
Minister
DHAKA : The Ministry of
Textiles and Jute is setting up
'Sheikh Hasina Tant palli' in
Shibchar Upazila of Madaripur
district at the Jajira end of the
Padma Bridge to create
opportunities for selfemployment
in the southwestern
region.
Textile and Jute Minister
Golam Dastagir Gazi said this
while visiting the project on 120
acres of land in the upazila on
Thursday.
Under this project, weavers
will be provided with all kinds
of facilities including residential
buildings, handloom shed,
dormitories, rest house, cyber
cafes and power substations.
Dissemination Seminar on Role of Local Government in Facilitating Reproductive Health and
Nutrition Service in Bangladesh & Assessment of Institutional Capacity and Quality of Training
Conducted by NIRPORT was held yesterday.
Photo : PID
KCC announces Tk 861.06cr
budget for 2022-23FY
KHULNA : Khulna City Corporation
(KCC) has announced its annual budget
amounting to Tk 861.06 crore for the
2022-23 fiscal years.
KCC Mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleq
made the announcement at Shaheed
Altaf Auditorium in Nagar Bhaban.
Revenue expenditure in the proposed
budget has been estimated at Tk 192.11
crore while development expenditure at
Tk 668.95 crore.
The mayor said that no new tax has
been imposed on the budget. The
corporation has a plan to increase its
Smokeless tobacco control needs tougher
>(From page-12)
According to a report by the World
Health Organization in November 2021,
1.3 billion people in the world now use
tobacco products. In 2015, this number
was 132 crores. In 2020, 22.3 percent of
the world's population used tobacco
products. Among them 7.8 percent are
women. In 2020, the number of women
who used tobacco was 23 crore 10 lakh.
Among them, the number of women
aged 55 to 64 years is the highest. More
than 8 million people die every year due
to the use of tobacco and tobacco
products alone. Among them, about 1.2
million people are dying due to tobacco
products even if they do not smoke
revenue by collecting dues of
municipality taxes, levying taxes on all
newly constructed establishments as per
the existing rules and expanding its own
source of income.
In the budget, Tk 56.31 crore has been
earmarked for annual development
works.
In the proposed budget, Tk 42.37
crore has been allocated for the
development sector from the revenue
sector while Tk 13.94 crore for
infrastructures and renovation. A total
of Tk 14.88 crore has been proposed for
directly.According to the survey
conducted by Anti-Tobacco Women's
Alliance (Tabinaz), the number of
smokeless tobacco users in our country is
63 per thousand, while the number of
women is 379. This information is
undoubtedly worrying. Smokeless
tobacco like Gul, Saadapata contains
more than 2000 chemicals, which cause
life-threatening diseases.
Executive Director of Pragya ABM
Zubair said that the strictness of the law
is necessary to reduce the consumption
of tobacco and to protect the future
generation from the grip of tobacco.
These harmful tobacco products should
waste management and mosquito
eradication.
In the last 2021-22 financial year, the
budget was Tk 608.02 crore and the
revised budget was Tk 450.65 crore. The
rate of implementation of the budget
was 74.12 per cent.
KCC's finance and establishment
affairs standing committee's president
councillor Sheikh Md Gausul Azam
presided over the event. Officials of
KCC, and media representatives, among
others, were present during the budget
announcement.
be banned in public places for both men
and women, along with restrictions on
the sale of smokeless tobacco. He said
that the goal of making the country
tobacco-free by 2040 is possible only
through the strictness of the law.
According to the survey by Global
Adult Tobacco, out of 3.78 million
tobacco users in the country, 2.2 million
people use smokeless tobacco, which is
58 percent. Again, if we look at the
smokeless tobacco factories, it will be
seen that the number of listed companies
in the country is 20 to 30. But in the
actual sense, its number is 10 to 15
thousand.