[🇧🇩] Human Rights and Bangladesh

[Saif]

Review MoU with UN to open rights office in Dhaka

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed yesterday called for a review of the three-year agreement signed with the United Nations to establish a Human Rights Office in Dhaka.

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Review MoU with UN to open rights office in Dhaka
Salahuddin urges govt at Hefazat roundtable

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed yesterday called for a review of the three-year agreement signed with the United Nations to establish a Human Rights Office in Dhaka.

Speaking at a roundtable at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital, he urged the authorities to reassess the decision to avoid what he termed "international embarrassment" for Bangladesh.

Hefazat-e-Islam organised the event, where several other political and religious organisations also criticised the interim government's move to open the mission without consulting political parties.

Salahuddin said if the decision had been taken through broader political discussions, it would not have sparked controversy.

"The interim government's decision to allow the establishment of a United Nations Human Rights Commission office in Bangladesh, without any political dialogue, is not justified," he said.

Referring to past incidents of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, Salahuddin said the actual death toll from the 2013 Shapla Chattar crackdown has yet to be acknowledged.

While recognising the need to address rights violations, he questioned the compatibility of Western human rights standards in the context of Bangladesh's society and religious values.

"The Chittagong Hill Tracts issue is also there. If the UN uses human rights as a pretext in a way that could compromise the country's territorial integrity, it must be taken seriously," Salahuddin also said.

He also expressed concern over the global role of the UN Human Rights Commission, saying, "The human rights situation in Bangladesh is concerning, but what is happening in Gaza is far worse. In Palestine, Arakan, and other places, Muslims are facing severe oppression. Yet we do not see any significant action from the UN Human Rights Commission there."

He mentioned that although the UN office has been approved for a three-year term, a review will take place after one or two years. He said the next elected government would decide whether to renew the agreement, and advised the interim government to thoroughly reassess the matter before implementation.

Hefazat's Secretary General Sajidur Islam said the move goes against "the values of Islam" and promotes "western hegemony".

Its Joint Secretary General Mamunul Haque said, "Issues involving religion and national sovereignty require scrutiny and input from Hefazat-e-Islam."

AB Party Chairman Mujibur Rahman Monju alleged that UN Women has long promoted western values in Bangladesh.

Gono Odhikar Parishad President Nurul Haque Nur said, "A pro-American government is running the country now. Making such decisions without any discussion is a form of authoritarianism."

Jahangir Alam of the National Democratic Party; Col (retd) Mohammad Abdul Haque, chairman of Retired Armed Forces Officers Welfare Association; Inqilab journalist Munshi Abdul Mannan; and Rezaul Karim Abrar, president of Bangladesh Mujahid Committee, also spoke, among others.​

 

[Bilal9]

UN jumps up and down about Human Rights (for minorities) in Bangladesh.

Here is India below showing middle finger to the UN on exactly that same concern in India.

The UN is toothless on enforcing these human rights for minorities and will simple play into the hands of India by promoting Indian propaganda on the "Hindu card" in Bangladesh.

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GENEVA (7 March 2024) – UN human rights experts* today sounded the alarm over reports of attacks on minorities, media and civil society in India and called for urgent corrective action as the country prepares to hold elections in early 2024.

“We are alarmed by continuing reports of attacks on religious, racial and ethnic minorities, on women and girls on intersecting grounds, and on civil society, including human rights defenders and the media,” the UN experts said, expressing concern that the situation is likely to worsen in the coming months ahead of national elections.

They noted reports of violence and hate crimes against minorities; dehumanising rhetoric and incitement to discrimination and violence; targeted and arbitrary killings; acts of violence carried out by vigilante groups; targeted demolitions of homes of minorities; enforced disappearances; the intimidation, harassment and arbitrary and prolonged detention of human rights defenders and journalists; arbitrary displacement due to development mega-projects; and intercommunal violence, as well as the misuse of official agencies against perceived political opponents.

“We call on India to implement its human rights obligations fully and set a positive example by reversing the erosion of human rights and addressing recurring concerns raised by UN human rights mechanisms,” the experts said.

They deplored the low level of response from India to their communications, noting that of the 78 communications sent by UN human rights experts over the past five years, from 7 March 2019 to 6 March 2024, only 18 received replies from the Government that could be made public. During the reporting period between 1980 and 12 May 2023, 445 cases referred to India by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) under its humanitarian procedure remained pending, with the fate and whereabouts of the alleged victims unknown (A/HRC/54/22).

The experts also regretted that despite India’s standing invitation to UN Special Procedures since 2011, there have been no country visits since 2017, with 15 active pending requests by UN human rights experts to which there is no reply from the Government on their permission to conduct official visits to the country.

They urged India to take concrete measures to address concerns raised in their previous communications and reports.

The experts called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to monitor the evolving human rights situation in India, and for the Human Rights Council to consider measures that could contribute to the prevention of human rights violations in the country, in line with its mandate under General Assembly resolution 60/251.

“In light of continuing reports of violence and attacks against religious, racial and ethnic minorities, and other grave human rights issues, and the apparent lack of response by authorities to concerns raised, we are compelled to express our grave concern, especially given the need for a conducive atmosphere for free and fair elections in accordance with the early warning aspect of our mandates,” they said.

 

[Saif]

UN jumps up and down about Human Rights (for minorities) in Bangladesh.

Here is India below showing middle finger to the UN on exactly that same concern in India.

The UN is toothless on enforcing these human rights for minorities and will simple play into the hands of India by promoting Indian propaganda on the "Hindu card" in Bangladesh.

================================================


GENEVA (7 March 2024) – UN human rights experts* today sounded the alarm over reports of attacks on minorities, media and civil society in India and called for urgent corrective action as the country prepares to hold elections in early 2024.

“We are alarmed by continuing reports of attacks on religious, racial and ethnic minorities, on women and girls on intersecting grounds, and on civil society, including human rights defenders and the media,” the UN experts said, expressing concern that the situation is likely to worsen in the coming months ahead of national elections.

They noted reports of violence and hate crimes against minorities; dehumanising rhetoric and incitement to discrimination and violence; targeted and arbitrary killings; acts of violence carried out by vigilante groups; targeted demolitions of homes of minorities; enforced disappearances; the intimidation, harassment and arbitrary and prolonged detention of human rights defenders and journalists; arbitrary displacement due to development mega-projects; and intercommunal violence, as well as the misuse of official agencies against perceived political opponents.

“We call on India to implement its human rights obligations fully and set a positive example by reversing the erosion of human rights and addressing recurring concerns raised by UN human rights mechanisms,” the experts said.

They deplored the low level of response from India to their communications, noting that of the 78 communications sent by UN human rights experts over the past five years, from 7 March 2019 to 6 March 2024, only 18 received replies from the Government that could be made public. During the reporting period between 1980 and 12 May 2023, 445 cases referred to India by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) under its humanitarian procedure remained pending, with the fate and whereabouts of the alleged victims unknown (A/HRC/54/22).

The experts also regretted that despite India’s standing invitation to UN Special Procedures since 2011, there have been no country visits since 2017, with 15 active pending requests by UN human rights experts to which there is no reply from the Government on their permission to conduct official visits to the country.

They urged India to take concrete measures to address concerns raised in their previous communications and reports.

The experts called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to monitor the evolving human rights situation in India, and for the Human Rights Council to consider measures that could contribute to the prevention of human rights violations in the country, in line with its mandate under General Assembly resolution 60/251.

“In light of continuing reports of violence and attacks against religious, racial and ethnic minorities, and other grave human rights issues, and the apparent lack of response by authorities to concerns raised, we are compelled to express our grave concern, especially given the need for a conducive atmosphere for free and fair elections in accordance with the early warning aspect of our mandates,” they said.

When will these so called custodians of human rights criticize Israel for conducting heinous crimes against Palestinians? The genocide of Gazans by Israel is often overlooked by these so called human rights organizations to protect the interests of Zionists in the Middle East.