Quick Facts
Biography
Kamal Uddin Ahmed is a Bangladeshi retired government official who is currently serving as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission. He is the former Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Career
Kamal Uddin Ahmed joined BCS Administration cadre in 1986 as Assistant Commissioner.
He served as the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Ahmed was promoted to joint secretary from deputy secretary and stationed as the deputy secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. In 2010, Ahmed placed Non-Governmental Organizations in the Chittagong Hill Tracts under government surveillance. Ahmed as Additional Home Secretary oversaw the joint survey with India of border lands to solve the adversely possessed land issue between the two countries. He led a 12-member Bangladeshi delegation in a meeting with an Indian delegation following the Border shooting of Felani Khatun.
In 2013, Ahmed was the additional secretary of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology.
Ahmed was transferred from his post of the Additional Home Secretary to the acting secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in January 2015.
In December 2016, Ahmed was appointed the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs replacing Mozammel Haque Khan. He was then the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
In August 2017, Ahmed was made Member Secretary of the Bangladesh Planning Commission replacing Mustafa Kamal Uddin who was appointed Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs replacing Ahmed.
In September 2019, Ahmed was appointed Full Time Member of the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh under Chairman Nasima Begum. His appointment was criticized by the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions which described it as a flawed selection.
In December 2022, Ahmed was appointed Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh with pay and privilege of a judge of the Appellate Division of Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He defended the track record of the commission investigating law enforcement and enforced disappearance while highlighting the limitations of the commission.
Ahmed met the European Union election exploratory mission in July 2023 ahead of the 2024 general elections in Bangladesh to discuss the human rights situation in Bangladesh. He described sanctions by the United States on Rapid Action Battalion for human rights violations as "politically motivated".