UNHRC office to be set up in Dhaka soon: Adviser

An office of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) will be set up in Dhaka soon, Social Welfare Adviser Sharmin Murshid said on Tuesday.
After holding a meeting with the visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, at a city hotel, the adviser told the journalists that the UNHRC will be able to directly investigate the issues that violate human rights once its local office is operational.
She said the interim government has given its green signal regarding operation of the UN human rights wing office here.
"It (the office) will be set up here soon. It means our strengths in respect to uphold human rights will increase further," she said.
Farida Akhter, Adviser to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, and Nahid Islam, Adviser to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, were also present during the post-meeting briefing.
UNHRC Chief Volker Turk arrived in the enpital on Tuesday morning on a two-day official visit.
UNB report adds: During his visit, the High Commissioner was scheduled to meet Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, said the UN office in Dhaka.
The UN rights chief will also meet the Chief Justice, the Army Chief and the heads of several reform commissions.
He will hold meetings with UN agencies and members of diplomatic missions in Bangladesh.
The High Commissioner will hold a news conference in Dhaka at the end of his mission on Wednesday.
Earlier, the UN rights chief received an official invitation from the Chief Adviser to conduct an impartial and independent fact-finding mission into human rights violations committed from July 1 to August 15.
The office deployed a fact-finding team to Bangladesh, with a view to reporting on violations and abuses perpetrated during the protests, analysing root causes and making recommendations to advance justice and accountability and for longer-term reforms.
Volker Turk made a phone call to Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus in August.
During his recent visit to New York, Chief Adviser Prof Yunus sought support from foreign friends for Bangladesh's new journey towards a happy and prosperous future, stressing that they do not want to miss the opportunity to build a new Bangladesh.
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