“It is not possible to realize the ultimate objective of realizing the ESCR without a strong civil society. So, the entire process of preparing the alternative report should aim at building a strong civil society.” Priti Darooka pointed out this very fact during the workshop on preparation of alternative report on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which was held from 6th October, 2017 to 7th October, 2017 in NGO Forum, Lalmatia, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The workshop aims at giving instructions to those, who are going to participate in the making of the report, as to how they can make an effective report which will bring forward the real scenario of ESC rights in Bangladesh.
Sheepa Hafiza, Executive Director of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) welcomed everyone in the program and Zakir Hossain, Executive Director, Nagorik Uddoyog highlighted the importance of collaborative approach while doing such reportring. Priti Darooka, Executive Director of Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR), an international advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, India, facilitate the workshop. Priti has immense experience on ESCR and provided training on developing good ESCR training to 15 countries’ CSOs.
This is the first time the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has submitted report under ICESCR in June 2016. The review session on the progress of implementation of the covenant in Bangladesh will be held March 2018 by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). Members of Human Rights Forum, Bangladesh (HRFB), International Land Coalition (ILC) and South Asian Feminist Alliance (SAFA) participated in the workshop.