Annual Report | June 2019- May 2020 | Click for PDF File

Beneficiary Community: Approximately 300,000 Bihari Urdu speaking camp dwellers have been living in 116 camps of 13 regions in urban settings across Bangladesh. Bihari Urdu Speaking community is a political victim of 1971. Almost four decades they passed their life as stateless. However they have ended their statelessness in 2003 and 2008. A group of young generation from Geneva Camp first time filed a writ petition in High Court and claimed as Bangladeshi citizens and after a year high court declared that the Bihari those are living in 116 Camps all over in Bangladesh they are Bangladeshi citizens and Urdu Speaking Bangladeshi. Bihari Urdu Speaking Community living in 116 in inhuman refugee like camps situation without having basic facilities as human being. All the Camps are urban based in Dhaka-Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Adamjee Nagr, Mymensign, Rangpur, Bogra, Saidpur, Khulna, Ishwardi and Chittagon.

Project Justification:

However, in 2008, the High Court of Bangladesh confirmed that the Ur-du-speaking camp dwellers are Bangladeshi citizens, and this landmark verdict raises a hope among the young Urdu-speakers ending of decades-long struggle with statelessness. Due to lack of mass awareness on the High Court landmark verdict among the general people and government official, the camp dwellers have not only been deprived from their civil and political rights but also from their socioeconomic and cultural rights. The Urdu speaking camp dwellers are yet to enjoy the citizenship rights and have been facing difficulties to get their national identity card, enroll in voter list, passport and access to basic services provided by government and non-government service providers.

Considering their deprivation and sufferings to have full access to citizenship rights, since June 2013, in partnership with Namati and Council of Minorities have been working to promote their citizenship rights considering the following objectives:

• To build an effective model for using legal empowerment approaches, specifically community-based paralegals, to facilitate the acquisition and use of identity documents to gain access to rights and opportunities part of the core content of citizenship;
• To develop robust evidence on the relationship between identity documentation and statelessness, including current government practice and discrimination that may contribute to an ongoing lack of effective citizenship, despite the possession of identity documents;
• To encourage use of this evidence for national litigation and national or international advocacy efforts related to gaining access to effective citizenship rights, if necessary.

Project overview:

To respond to these justice challenges, in 2013 the Council of Minorities and Namati partnered to establish a network of community-based paralegals in Urdu-speaking camps in Dhaka (Mirpur and Mohammadpur), Mymensingh, Khulna, Chittagong, and Syedpur under the project of “Empowering Linguistic Minority to Realize Rights In Bangladesh”. Community-based paralegals can bridge the gap between law and real life. They use knowledge of law and government, and skills like negotiation, community education, organizing, and advocacy to seek concrete solutions to instances of injustice. In addition to serving as a dynamic “frontline” of justice service providers, paralegals focus on empowerment. They not only work alongside clients to resolve a legal issue, but also leave each client in a stronger position to deal with similar problems in the future – critical in the Urdu-speaking community, which has been marginalized through statelessness, discrimination, and poverty.

In total 14 paralegals are working in six paralegal centers in Dhaka- Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Saidpur, Mymensign, Khulna and in Chittagong. Paralegals are working three ways thatare

• i) Assist to the Camp dwellers to achieve civil documents
• ii) Awareness on legal education and access to justice
• iii) Capacity building of community

Assist to the Camp dwellers to achieve civil documents

Paralegals are assisting the camp dwellers to achieve civil documents like Birth and Death Certificates, Councilor certificate, National Identity Card, Passport, Tread License, General Dairy, Opening Bank Account, Health Support, Education Support, Old Age Allowance, Disable Allowance, TIN Certificate and Affidavit.

Civil documents achieved in six centers from June 2019 to May 2020

Testimonial of civil documents

 Awareness on legal education and access to justice

Paralegals are building awareness on legal education and access to justice within the camp community through door to door outreach, organizing community group meeting and screening legal awareness documentary film in the camps. These three ways they are disseminating the message of legal education and access to justice.

Daily Outreach:

Every day paralegals are doing outreach inside the Camp. During the outreach they disseminate the message of 2008 high court judgment, importance and uses of the civil documentation like birth certificate, national identity card, passport, trade license and other many services.  Every day they are assigned to visit at list 5 houses in their rotational weekly plan.  Through the daily outreach paralegals reached 39,079 Camp dwellers and disseminated the message of 2008 high court judgment, uses and importance of the   civil documentations in their daily life.

Community Group Meeting:

Paralegals organize community group meeting and they invite 10-15 women, men, boys and girls to attend the community group meeting. In the group meeting they disseminate the message of 2008 high court judgment and realize them how Biharis have ended their statelessness through the high court. In the group meeting they discuss about the importance and uses of the civil documentations in their daily life. In every center every month they organize one community forum and invite 50 community members including men, women, boys and girls.

ness documentary film in the camps:

Paralegals organized screening of the documentary films in the camps. This is the first time paralegals screened the audio visual film based on civil documentation process, impertinence and uses of civil documents in their daily life. After the screening paralegals raised some questions related to the films and recap the audience knowledge and even audience also raise some important questions related to the film.

Capacity building of the community

In June 2019 to May 2020 we have organized 6 community advocacy meeting in 6 paralegal centers and invited 40 community members in each center. We have shared our project activities and good practices. Beneficiaries were also shared their experiences within the meeting. Community people expressed their gratitude to Council of Minorities and NAMATI for their initiative and hard work for the camp dwellers. They also demand to continue this project because civil documentations are one of the key element for the camp dwellers to claim them self as Bangladeshi Citizens.