Despite the challenges that have come with working in an increasingly closing civic space, civic leaders in Bangladesh have found sustainable ways to address the priorities of their communities.

Leading up to the January 2024 election, Counterpart’s USAID-funded Promoting Advocacy and Rights activity partners and stakeholders engaged with political candidates to spotlight concerns and priorities from across Bangladeshi civil society. Amid intense interparty rivalry, Counterpart grantees were able to engage political candidates by sharing compelling messages and ready-to-launch solutions. This effort resulted in securing 263 commitments and promises from party leaders to support priority issues post-election.

Following the elections, Counterpart grantees entered a new stage of their advocacy: monitoring the fulfilment of policymakers’ commitments. Counterpart grantees and the communities they represent reconvened to refine their overarching priorities and engage the media to amplify awareness around their recommendations.

In April, Counterpart hosted a series of events that launched citizen-led advocacy plans aimed at advancing sustainable development and ensuring that the politicians’ campaign promises would be upheld. These events gave historically marginalized and underrepresented communities—too often disproportionately impacted by gaps in policy and service delivery—the opportunity to once again present their concerns, priorities, and recommendations directly to policymakers.

In response to the recommendations, the ministers and other politicians pledged to create a parliamentary caucus to further the agendas on sustainable development in marginalized communities. Grantees are also working to further popularize the recommendations at the local level, with the aim of enhancing service delivery and better support local governance.

Key recommendations:

Priority Issue: Ensure constitutional rights and access to social empowerment processes

While the constitution protects equal rights, vulnerable minority communities like the Dalits and cobblers face chronic discrimination and social exclusion with limited access to education, economic opportunities, and justice.

Policy Recommendations:

• Establish the National Commission for Minorities and enact the Special Protection of Minorities Act.
• Create and re-activate caucuses to provide a platform to advance minority rights (e.g., the Indigenous-Dalit-Minority Caucus or Dalit Caucus).
• Expand access to social safety net benefits and programs for marginalized communities.
• Fast track the enactment of the existing cabinet-approved Anti-Discrimination Law.
• Develop new and operationalize existing policies to incentivize private sector job creation for marginalized communities.

Priority Issue: Invest in smart and sustainable urbanization and service delivery

Rapid urbanization in Bangladesh’s cities has strained existing infrastructure, leading to inadequate and insufficient waste management, sanitation, and housing, especially for marginalized communities.

Policy Recommendations:

• Operationalize existing solid waste management policies and national and international commitments.
• Introduce a national ban on single-use plastics and restrict imports of plastic raw materials.
• Effectively expand the current policy (reduce, reuse, and recycle) to include recovery.
• Establish a solid waste management digital monitoring and surveillance system.
• Establish multi-stakeholder working committees to develop local approaches to implement monitoring frameworks for planned urbanization.

Priority Issue: Safeguard a healthy environment by reducing pollution.

Water, air, and noise pollution have reached alarming levels, and addressing these environmental issues will support healthy citizens, ecosystems, and livestock across the country.

Policy Recommendations:

• Establish regular multi-sectoral coordination meetings to share updates on river protection and environmental pollution challenges and opportunities for action.
• Establish a task force to explore policy incentives to stop and prevent river and environmental pollution.
• Initiate and expand public-private partners to explore environmentally friendly practices for factory waste management.
• Empower the National River Conservation Commission’s oversight authority over river pollution.
• Require environmental assessments before approving new infrastructure projects.