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Rejaul Karim Siddiquee

LEGAL HELP?

Resume

Supreme Court of Bangladesh

Position: Advocate
Tenure: 2013 to present
Roles and Achievements

o   Legal advice, litigation, and referral services

o Legal empowerment of socially excluded people

Education

    • LL.M (Master of Laws), University of Chittagong, 2006

    • LL. B Hons’ (Bachelor of Laws), University of Chittagong, 2005

    • Short Course on Social Protection and the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, 19 July to 6 November 2022, Department of Social Policy and Social Security Studies, Bonn Rhein Sieg University of Applied Sciences (HBRS)

    • Bar Vocational Course (BVC), Legal Education and Training Institute (LETI) of Bangladesh Bar Council, 2007

Training & Workshop

    • Participated and completed Multi-disciplinary Training of Trainers on Justice for Children in Bangladesh, BRAC CDM Gazipur, Bangladesh, 23-27 April 2016, organized by Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh and UNICEF

    • Participated in South Asian Workshop on People Centered Advocacy organized by National Center on Advocacy Studies (NCAS), Pune, India held in Kolkata, India (2008).

    • Completed IMC Worldwide Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption (UK and Europe), January 28, 2020

    • Completed Training on Advocacy and Policy Influencing, Dhaka, Bangladesh 3-6 September 2019, facilitated by MDF Asia Training and Consultancy

    • Completed Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Training, Dhaka, October 30, 2018, facilitated by Democracy and Governance Office, USAID/Bangladesh

    • Attended Seminar on Foundations of Leadership, Nazimgarh Garden Resort, Sylhet, Bangladesh, 7-13 March 2020, hosted by Acumen Bangladesh.

International Conferences

    • Attended Global Disability Conference (online), October 2022, hosted by Korean Disability Forum (KDF). I delivered a speech on the role of UNCRPD concluding observations as a tool to implement rights of persons with disabilities.

    • Attended United Nations High Level Political Forum (HPLF) on Sustainable Development Preparatory Expert Meeting (EGM), 18-20 May 2021, hosted by Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)

    • Attended Conference of State Parties to the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP14 & COSP15) as speakers in virtual expo and side-events.

Scholarship, Fellowship & Awards

    • Provisionally awarded with Commonwealth Scholarship by Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC reference number: BDCS-2022-691)

Membership

    • Member of Supreme Court Bar Association (Since 2013)

    • Member of Dhaka District Bar Association (Since 2008)

    • Enrolled as an advocate of Bangladesh Bar Council on 6th June 2007

Countries of work experiences

Bangladesh, India, Philippines, Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, Republic of Korea, and Switzerland.

Qualification and expertise

    • Operational support and Grantee management: I have 18 years’ experience of working in the development sector, and I am playing managerial roles for 10-years in national and international organizations including International Disability Alliance (IDA), BlueLaw International, IMC Worldwide and Maxwell Stamp PLC. Currently I am managing two projects titled “Positioning OPDs as Equal Partners on Assistive Technologies” & “Boosting AT user Engagement and Knowledge, Globally and Locally” that are being implemented by IDA in collaboration with Global Disability Innovation Hub and ATScale. Earlier I successfully managed USAID`s Expanding Participation of People with Disabilities Program (2018-2020) and Community Legal Services program funded by DFID (now FCDO).

    • Strategic Planning and Inclusive budgeting & Programing:  I have proven experience of strategic planning, inclusive budgeting and programming, project cycle management and grantee management. I have mobilized stakeholders to advocate for CRPD Compliant budgeting and fostered discussion to allocate sufficient budget for reasonable accommodation. Based on my work experience I tremendously contributed to the technical paper “Applying CRPD standards to programmatic processes: A look at inclusive programming in practice (2022)” by the International Disability Alliance. I have contributed to strategic litigation program to make the laws work in Bangladesh.

    • Partnerships and Strategic Alliances: I have a proven track-record of building and managing partnerships and strategic alliances with OPDs, NGOs, INGOs, donors and UN agencies in Bangladesh. I contributed to formation of CRPD Platform-Bangladesh comprising of leading OPDs and CSOs of Bangladesh that submits parallel reports to the UN bodies including CRPD Committee. I also contributed to form National OPD Advisory Committee (NOAC) that intends to bring the OPD alliances under an umbrella OPD in Bangladesh.

    • Policy influencing and legal harmonization: I have proven skills in people centered advocacy and policy influencing. I contributed to the legal reforms in compliance with international treaty and conventions for the persons with disabilities, women, and children. I contributed to the drafting of bills including the Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act 2013, Children Act 2013, Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Act, Anti-Human Trafficking Law, and Anti-Discrimination Law

    • International Advocacy: Drafted Alternative Report under Article 35 of the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). I participated in the 11th Pre-Sessional Working Group and 27th Session of the CRPD Committee at UN facilities, Geneva, Switzerland in 2019 and 2022 respectively, as team lead of Bangladesh Civil Society Delegation to support review of Bangladesh by the Committee on Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

    • Media Advocacy & Inclusive Communication: I have strong connection with print and electronic media and contributing to the national dailies regularly. I contributed to the capacity building of media activists to reduce negative analogy of disabilities. I supported making documents available in accessible formats i.e. braille, text to speech, audio (DAISY) and sign language video. Currently, I am coordinating publication of quarterly newsletter AT Digest.

    • Capacity Building and Empowerment of OPDs: I have facilitated hundreds of sessions on CRPD including sessions of Bridge CRPD-SDGs Training. I have supported OPDs including National Grassroots Disability Organization (NGDO) to update their legal documents including Constitution and safeguarding policies.

    • Research and Knowledge: Experienced in research methods, data collection tools and techniques, data analysis, conducting research on wide variety of legal and socio-legal issues including international human rights laws, international reporting mechanism, inclusive development, disability rights, inclusive employment, inclusive education, assistive technology, Agenda 2030, child rights and gender issues, worker’s right, cyber laws, right to information law, local governance, legal harmonization, and access to justice.

Employment History

 

International Disability Alliance

 

 

Position: Training Officer

Tenure: July 2022 – Present

Address: 150 route de Ferney, P.O Box 2100 ch1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland

Roles and achievements:

    • Partner OPD identification and selection of grantees

    • Grantee management, contract execution, and fund disbursement

    • Strategic litigation to implement disability laws.

    • Develop a web-based Case Tracking System which is fully accessible to persons with visual disabilities.

    • Supporting OPDs to build capacity of leaders, persons with disabilities, to sensitize executives, local elites, and professionals. About 2000 people have been made aware of the rights of persons with disabilities in the past eight months.

    • Conduct data quality assessment following a well-structured method.

Position: In-country researcher, Study on Assistive Technologies and Economic Opportunities for People with Disabilities in South Asia

Tenure: January 2020 – June 2020)

Roles and achievements:

    • Collecting and analysing data regarding assistive technologies and economic opportunities for people with disabilities in Bangladesh

    • Compile research report

Bangladesh Legal Aid & Services Trust-BLAST

Position: Research Specialist, Making SDGs Stand for Persons with Disabilities Focusing Access to Justice in Line with the CRPD

Tenure: July 2014 –June 2018

Address: 1/1 Pioneer Road, Kakrail, Dhaka-1000

Roles and achievements:

    • Drafted Lawyers’ Manual on Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2013 [Published by BLAST in 2018]

    • Drafted Handbook for the DPOs on Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2013 [Published by BLAST in 2018]

    • Alternative Report under Article 35 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [Submitted to the UNOHCHR in 2019]

    • Team leads of a thematic group (formed by BRAC) on “Identifying the legal provisions that are inconsistent with the CRPD provision and causes disability-based discrimination” which was done for exploring recommendations for presenting in the Global Disability Summit held in 2018.

    • Contributed to eight PILs regarding access to transport, services and employment of Persons with Disabilities.

    • Coordinated pro-bono research advisory group formed of academics and legal professionals.

    • Coordinated equality fellowship program and supervised research activities of 12 young fellows selected from the marginalized and socially excluded communities.

    • Supervised a study titled, “Present Practice of Dissemination of Legal Instruments in Bangladesh: A Study on Accessibility by the Persons with Disabilities (2015)”;

    • Exploring data from the government offices by using Right to Information Act, 2009.

    • Conducted study titled “Transfer of Indigenous Peoples’ land in Bangladesh and Implementation of Section 97 of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act, 1950: Challenges and Ways forward (2016-17)”

Maxwell Stamp PLC

Position: Project Manager, Community Legal Services Project-funded by UKAID, Bangladesh

Tenure: January 2014-June 2014

Address: House 2, Road 119, Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212

Roles and achievements:

    • Identification of partners and grantee selection

    • Grantee management targeting to reach 10 million people residing at hard-to-reach areas.

    • Budget and financial management

    • Monitoring of Grantee activities

Bangladesh Legal Aid & Services Trust-BLAST

Position: Research and Advocacy Officer, CRPD Project

Tenure: April 2013-Dec 2013

Address: 1/1 Pioneer Road, Kakrail, Dhaka-1000

Description of role and achievements:

    • Develop training manual and facilitate training sessions with persons with disabilities.

    • Conduct survey on status of access to justice by the persons with disabilities in 8 districts of Bangladesh.

    • Collect data on the implementation of CRPD Articles 9 (accessibility), 12 (equal recognition of law), 13 (access to justice), 16 (freedom from exploitation and violence), 24 (education), 25 (health), 27 (employment) and 29 (participation in political and public life) from 8 districts.

    • Conduct accessibility audit of the Court buildings of Dhaka City.

Bangladesh Nation Women Lawyers Association-BNWLA

Position: Research and Documentation Officer, SIDA Project, Bangladesh

Tenure: June 2010 – September 2012

Address: Monico Mina Tower, 48/3 West Agargaon, Dhaka-1207

Roles and achievements:

    • Study on Identification of Loopholes in the Arbitration Council under Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961: An Empirical Study on Bangladesh, 2012

    • Background Study of the Need of Establishment of National Women Commission in Bangladesh [2012]

    • Study on Protection of the Rights of Street Children in Bangladesh: A Quest for Legislative Initiatives and Reforms. [June 2012, Co-researcher]

    • Prosecution of Human Trafficking Cases: Issues, Challenges & Remedies [First draft, 2011]

Ain-o-Salish Kendra (ASK)

Position: Staff Lawyer, Core Project, Bangladesh

Tenure: May 2010- July 2010

Address: 2/16 Block B, Lalmatia, Dhaka-1207

Description of role and achievements:

    • Drafting writ applications and submissions for hearing of pending cases.

    • Research on situation of socio-economic and cultural rights in Bangladesh

National Alliance of Disabled Peoples’ Organizations (NADPO)

Position: Coordinator, Strengthening Capacity of DOP leaders

Tenure: May 2009-Aprl 2010

Roles and achievements:

    • Forming Organizations of persons with disabilities

    • Strengthening network of OPDs

    • Capacity building of OPDs

    • Host yearly congregation of OPDs

Bangladesh Legal Aid & Services Trust-BLAST

Position: Research Assistant, Access to Justice Project funded by DFID (now FCDO)

Tenure: April 2007 – December 2008

Roles and achievements:

    • Study on Legislative Initiatives and Reforms in the Family Laws of Bangladesh.

    • Contribute to CEDAW alternative report

    • Support public interest litigation to execute Constitutional rights of marginalized and socially excluded communities.

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International Disability Alliance, 150 route de Ferney, P.O Box 2100 ch1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland

Position: Training Officer

Tenure: July 2022 – Present

Roles and achievements:

o   Deliver training and workshops in different countries and facilitate sessions.

 

o   Development of training content, curriculum, methodology and PPTs for Bridge CRPD-SDGs Training and other capacity building sessions including thematic workshops on social protection, assistive technology.

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