The name of the “Selection Committee” formed under Section 7 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, must be changed to “Selection and Review Committee.” In addition to recommending names this Committee will regularly review performance of the ACC on a half-yearly basis. View Details
Section 8(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, must be amended as follows: “A person with a minimum of 15 years of experience in law, education, administration, judiciary, law enforcement, financial institutions, accounting and auditing professions, governance and anti-corruption initiatives in state or non-state institutions shall be eligible to become a Commissioner. View Details
Bangladesh must accede to the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters so as to adopt and implement the Common Reporting Standards (CRS) to ensure transparency in financial transactions, both national and international. View Details
Criminalise private sector bribery as a distinct offence consistent with Bangladesh’s commitment under Article 21 of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). View Details
End-to-end automation must be introduced in services of all public institutions, particularly police stations, registry offices, revenue offices, passport offices, as well as relevant institutions in sectors like education, health, local government, district and sub-district administrations and utility providers. View Details
Ensure transparency and integrity in political and electoral financing through necessary reforms to electoral laws: * Political parties and election candidates must make details of their funding and income-expenditure publicly accessible. * The Election Commission should, with the assistance of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the ACC verify the completeness and accuracy of income and wealth information provided under candidates’ affidavits and take appropriate actions, where necessary. * All public representatives of all levels must submit detailed income and asset statements of themselves and their family members to the Election Commission within three months of taking office and update annually. The Election Commission must publish these declarations on its website. * Political parties must refrain from granting party positions or nominations for elections to individuals involved in corruption or irregularities. View Details
The Mass Media Reforms Commission has attached a draft ordinance for a Journalism Protection Act to this report, based on a few examples of best practices worldwide. It proposes taking steps to issue it quickly. Furthermore, it deems the following steps appropriate regarding the incidents of misuse of various laws over the past 15 years: a. Cases filed against journalists under various applicable laws, including the Penal Code, Information and Communication Technology Act, Digital Security Act, Cyber Security Act, and Contempt of Court Act, must be identified and reviewed. Based on the information obtained after the review, the concerned government prosecutor must take appropriate steps to withdraw the cases or have the police submit the final report. b. If evidence of false cases is found upon review, legal and just action must be taken against the concerned authorities. c. Arrangements must be made to compensate affected journalists and their families. d. Affected media organisations must be provided with reasonable compensation. e. Incidents of illegal intrusion, surveillance, and eavesdropping into journalists’ communications and lives must be investigated, and arrangements must be made to punish the culprits. View Details
The Bangladesh Media Commission can be formed by combining the currently active Bangladesh Press Council for newspapers and news agencies, and the Broadcast Commission proposed by the previous government for broadcast media and online platforms. This institution must be established as an independent body, free from government control. Media institutions may finance the expenses of this organisation by determining a fixed-rate contribution from their income. As a media regulatory body, the responsibilities that the Bangladesh Media Commission will perform include: a. Determining the qualifications and disqualifications of publishers and editors so that persons convicted of criminal offences and loan defaulters cannot become media owners/editors. b. Determining the minimum educational qualification for journalism. c. Journalists working across the country will be registered with the Media Commission, and the Commission will maintain a list of them. d. It will formulate a code of conduct for journalists and ensure its compliance. e. It will recommend the issuance of licenses for broadcast media (TV and radio) and online portals and ensure compliance with the conditions of those licenses. f. Providing remedies for complaints by individuals, institutions, or groups harmed by false or deliberately motivated news. If this is possible, it will achieve an important advancement in establishing institutional accountability of the media, and the media will be able to earn public trust. View Details
