Mizanur Rahman (professor)

Rahman completed his master's in law and PhD at the Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.^[4]

Rahman began his academic career at the University of Dhaka in 1989 in the Department of Law.^[4] In 1990, he became the founding coordinator of the Professional Legal Education (Continuing Legal Education Programme - CLEP) under the Bangladesh Bar Council.^[3] He introduced clinical legal education methods and jointly coordinated the first Clinical Legal Education Program at the Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka.^[3] He was also the first to introduce the "Street Law" initiative in South Asia.^[3] He developed the Rebellious Lawyering concept in Bangladesh.^[5] In 2000, Rahman founded Empowerment through Law of the Common People, which focused on critical human rights education, awareness, and grassroots legal reform.^[3]

In 2010, Rahman was appointed Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.^[4][6] During this period, he represented Bangladesh at the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council.^[3] He worked on issues including prison reform, rights of the third gender, labour rights, issues on the Bangladesh-India Border, and legal awareness in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.^[3][7][8][9] He met Sahara Khatun, Minister of Home Affairs and demanded she investigate sensational murder cases and enforced disappearances such as M Ilias Ali, a former member of Parliament.^[10] He told her that enthusiastic law enforcers were engaging in human rights violations.^[10] He called comments by Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque criticizing him "indecent".^[11] In 2013, Rahman visited Banshkhali in Chittagong after Hindu homes, temples, and businesses were attacked by activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir.^[12] The violence erupted following the war crimes verdict against Delawar Hossain Sayedee.^[12] Rahman condemned the attacks as acts of brutality and a challenge to state sovereignty, urged compensation for the victims, and called on political leaders to resist religious extremism and protect minority communities.^[12] He condemned the Bangladesh Election Commission for giving sexist symbols, dolls, gas stoves, etc., to female candidates.^[13]

Rahman called the trial of the Border Security Force soldier for the Shooting of Felani Khatun "a joke" after the trial found the soldier not guilty.^[14][15] He was denied entry to Sylhet Central Jail as he had not secured proper permission, according to Inspector General of Police Brigadier General Ashraful Islam Khan, whose removal Rahman had demanded.^[16] He stopped his plans to visit prisons after the incident.^[17] One of the drawbacks of the commission he highlighted was the lack of financial independence and he called for more freedom for the commission.^[4][18] He was critical of the slow investigation into the Murder of Sohagi Jahan Tonu.^[19] Rahman served as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission for two consecutive terms till 2016.^[4]

Rahman called for exceptional support for residents of enclaves on the Bangladesh-India border.^[20] He was chairman of the Department of Law of the University of Dhaka.^[21] In March 2019, he was forced to resign as provost of Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall of the University of Dhaka by activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League.^[22]

Rahman has consulted for international and national organizations, including UNICEF, USAID, UNDP, the Ford Foundation, ILO, and IOM.^[3] Domestically, he has advised institutions such as the Press Institute of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Insurance Academy, and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.^[3]