ICT and Human Rights Promotion in Bangladesh

In this article, Siraj argues that the majority's access to basic information and the participation of the people are "the precondition for human rights development." Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs), according to Siraj, offer opportunities both for sharing information and encouraging participation in promotion of human rights. While most people in Bangladesh do not yet have access to the internet, Siraj argues that the unprecedented participation of youth in ICT fields has created a "great opportunity for social change by making community based ICT initiatives a
reality."

Although Bangladesh has a national commitment to ensuring nationwide access to ICT, Siraj points out that most rural people
do not yet have access and providers are not interested in providing service to the villages. Low levels of both education and leadership and lack of software and hardware have also hindered rural access.

Despite the challenges, the author believes that ICTs are having a positive impact on behavioural change and
practices in some parts of society. He lists 20 examples of activist websites in Bangladesh, including the human rights
sites Alochona and Banglarights.net and popular newspapers such as the Daily Star which cover human rights issues.

While almost all Dhaka based human rights groups have websites and connectivity, Siraj points out that "more than 2000 grassroots organisations and NGOs don’t have minimum ICT capacity
and minimum updates of information about contemporary human rights movement of the world." Organisations, he notes, such as UnnayanNet, Amnesty International, the Committee Protect Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Watch, and Transparency International are working to bridge this gap by providing ICT promotion or services in Bangladesh.

Siraj concludes with the following list of recommendations to achieve "effective human rights promotion through ICTs:" (Edited summary of Siraj's recommendations)

  • Use of ICTs as human rights advocacy tools for strengthening the virtual
    presence and networking capacities of human rights organisations;
  • Use of websites, blogs, online forums, and mailing lists for online campaigns,
    mobilisation and urgent news dissemination;
  • Promotion of online journalism and human rights activism for strengthening
    civil society involvement and participation of the people;
  • Establishment of a community based human rights multimedia resource centre with one computer in
    every village, as an initiative of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or local community organisations;
  • Use of multimedia local content, interactive legal quizzes on
    declarations and human rights and audio-visual presentations in public places and
    mass media;
  • Creation of a 24 hour ‘hot line’, ‘free dial’ and SMS for reporting human rights
    violations;
  • Creation of decentralised community radio projects to raise social awareness on local issues;
  • Promotion of compulsory ICT and human rights education in schools to
    institutionalise the human rights discourse.
Source: i4d newsletter, July 2005.
August 16, 2005