Bangladesh committed to curb corruption: Minister

Law Minister Anisul Huq today said Bangladesh is firmly committed to fight against corruption and thus graft is being curbed in the country day by day.

He came up with the observation while addressing the 10th session of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Implementation Review Group (IRG) in Vienna, capital of Austria, law ministry sources said.

“We also expect that the international community would extend their full support to us, in order to materialize corruption free society which was a dream of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is the liberator of Bangladesh, and the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in 1971 for establishing a sovereign and independent state of Bangladesh,” Minister Huq said.

He said, “Article 20 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh provides that as a general principle, no person shall be able to enjoy unearned incomes meaning that the Constitution being the supreme law of Bangladesh prohibits corruption”.

Minister Anisul is leading the Bangladesh delegation, including senior officials from Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of Ministry of Law, Anti-Corruption Commission, Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh mission in Vienna at the thee-day conference.

He said, “I would like  to mention here that the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947; the Criminal Law amendment Act, 1958; the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004 (with latest amendment in 2013);  the Right to Information Act, 2009; the Whistle Blower Protection Act, 2011; the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012; the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, 2012; the Extradition Act, 1974; the Public Procurement Act, 2006 and the Rules made thereunder; the Anti-terrorism Act, 2009; the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2009 etc. are major legal instruments in Bangladesh towards implementation of UNCAC provisions”.

“Apart from this, Bangladesh has established the National Human Rights Commission and the Information Commission. Bangladesh has also adopted the National Integrity Strategy (NIS) by the Cabinet Division to build up a golden prosperous corruption free society,” Anisul said.

“Corruption Prevention Committees have been formed by the Anti-Corruption Commission in 9 Metropolitan Cities, 62 Districts and 421 Upazillas (local Govt. unit) with a view to creating integrity and honesty among members of the society by massive awareness programs. ‘Honesty & Integrity Units’ have been set up in Schools, Colleges and other educational institutions all over the country”, the law minister added.