PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN BANGLADESH: DIFFICULTIES DURING THE PERIOD OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

When the Covid-19 outbreak started, Bangladesh, as a developing nation, did not have adequate resources to fight against it compared to other developed nations. To the government of Bangladesh, the primary challenge was to protect the citizens’ health and ensure their safety from the outbreak with limited resources. Moreover, this public health-related challenge motivated them to announce lockdown in the name of general holiday for several times. However, with these restrictions, the people of Bangladesh are deprived of several fundamental rights according to the constitution of Bangladesh, as well as a number of human rights norms. It is pretty fascinating that, for the first time in his- tory, the people of Bangladesh were deprived of their rights, including freedom of move- ment, assembly, etc, without the declaration of emergency in accordance with the consti- tution. Even the Supreme Court was on vacation for several days, which generated a vac- uum condition in the justice system for the people who were deprived of their fundamental rights. This paper aims to analyse the conditions of human rights in Bangladesh during the Covid-19 pandemic and how the pandemic-related laws and law enforcement agencies of Bangladesh regulated citizens. On the other hand, in terms of participation, Bangladesh’s Covid-19 vaccination drive has been quite successful in the South Asian region despite the government keeping it optional for everyone. This paper has aimed to scrutinise the social hesitancy regarding the ongoing vaccination drive. Furthermore, this paper will take a hypothetical view and further examine if the government made it compulsory, then how it will deal with the supreme law of Bangladesh.