Date:- 19th October, 2019
The freshers’ reception and orientation program of the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (UMSAILS) LLM program was held at the University of Asia Pacific (UAP) on 19 October 2019. Twenty-two students of fifteen different public and private universities from South Asian region were admitted in the LLM Program with full and partial scholarships funded by UMSAILS.
National Professor Dr. Jamilur Reza Choudhury, Vice Chancellor, UAP and the Vice Chair of the South Asia Foundation (SAF), Bangladesh Chapter, chaired the session and briefly introduced SAF and UMSAILS. He spoke about how UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Madanjeet Singh founded SAF in 2000 as a secular, non- profit and non-political organisation comprising eight autonomous chapters: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAF’s core objective is to promote regional cooperation through a number of UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Institutions of Excellence in the eight SAARC countries. He warmly welcomed the newly admitted students of the LLM Program from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Eminent Jurist and Senior Advocate of Bangladesh Supreme Court, Dr. Kamal Hossain and also the Chair of SAF, Bangladesh Chapter, delivered his speech as the chief guest. He highlighted the need for legal and human rights education on South Asian perspective and expressed his contentment by entrusting the Department of Law & Human Rights of UAP for offering LLM courses with concentration on Human Rights. He recognized that the Department of Law & Human Rights of UAP is a center of excellence capable of providing quality legal and human rights education under the dynamic leadership of National Professor Dr. Jamilur Reza Choudhury.
Mr. Mahfuz Anam, Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star and also a member of the SAF Advisory Board, Bangladesh, also addressed the function as a special guest. He underscored the great significance of legal education and the role of lawyers as the protector of citizens’ right in our society. He recalled the utmost sincerity of Dr. Kamal Hossain in his professional life and urged the students to take lessons from him in this regard.
Mr. Monzoor Ahmed Chowdhury, Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) addressed the function as a special guest while Mr. Qayum Reza Chowdhury, Treasurer, BOT spoke at the program and assured all kinds of cooperation from the part of BOT.
Dr. M. Alauddin, Senior Vice Chairman, BOT, Mr. Justice AFM Abdur Rahman (Redt.), Air Cdre Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury (Redt.), Treasurer, UAP, faculty members also attended the programme.
Three newly enrolled students from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh shared their feelings and thoughts. The friendly and enthusiastic atmosphere of the event helped the freshers to familiarise with their surroundings. The programme was moderated by Dr. Chowdhury Ishrak Ahmed Siddiky, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, LLM Program while a vote of thanks was given by Mr. Md. Asaduzzaman, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Law & Human Rights, UAP.