[🇧🇩] 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.

www.thedailystar.net

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.

 

[Saif]

Rights challenges persist even one year after Hasina fled: HRW

It highlighted the shortcomings in the human rights situation, while recognising government efforts, enormous challenges and high expectations from the interim government.

en.prothomalo.com

Rights challenges persist even one year after Hasina fled: HRW
Prothom Alo English Desk
Published: 31 Jul 2025, 22: 09

The interim government is falling short in implementing its challenging human rights agenda a year since tens of thousands of people took to the street to successfully depose their authoritarian government, according to Human Rights Watch.

The rights watchdog made the observation in its latest report published on Wednesday. It highlighted the shortcomings in the human rights situation, while recognising government efforts, enormous challenges and high expectations from the interim government.

The report noted that some of the fear and repression that marked the Awami League’s 15-year rule, and abuses such as widespread enforced disappearances, appear to have ended. However, the interim government has used arbitrary detention to target perceived political opponents and has yet to deliver systemic reforms to protect human rights.


“The hope of the thousands who braved lethal violence a year ago when they opposed Sheikh Hasina’s abusive rule to build a rights-respecting democracy remains unfulfilled,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The interim government appears stuck, juggling an unreformed security sector, sometimes violent religious hardliners, and political groups that seem more focused on extracting vengeance on Hasina’s supporters than protecting Bangladeshis’ rights.”

Eleven reform commissions established in 2024, as well as the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and both Bangladeshi and international human rights activists, have submitted detailed recommendations to the interim government that are still pending.

Meanwhile, the government is facing enormous challenges including an alarming surge in mob violence, political violence, and harassment of journalists by political parties and other non-state groups, such as religious hardliners hostile to women’s rights and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. On 26 and 27 July, a mob damaged at least 14 homes belonging to members of the Hindu minority in Rangpur district., and there are continuing violations against minority communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Hasina fled Bangladesh on 5 August, 2024, following five weeks of protests in which security forces killed 1,400 people, according to the UN. The interim government led by Yunus, a Nobel laureate, was established on 8 August. But continuing torture and deaths in custody highlight the urgent need for security sector reform.

On 16 July, violence involving security forces and supporters of Hasina’s now banned Awami League killed five people in the town of Gopalganj after the National Citizen Party, formed by students who had participated in last year’s popular movement, held a rally there.

In what appears to mirror the partisan actions of the past, police later arbitrarily detained hundreds of alleged Awami League supporters, and filed ten murder cases against over 8,400 mostly unnamed people. The government denied carrying out “mass arrests.”

Between 6 August and 25 September, 2024, police lodged cases against 92,486 people, most of them related to murder. Nearly 400 former ministers, members of parliament, and other Awami League officials have been named in over 1,170 cases, which also include hundreds of unnamed individuals.

Materials provided to Human Rights Watch show that Mohammad Atiqul Islam, the former mayor of North Dhaka, has been detained since October 2024 in connection with at least 68 separate cases of murder or attempted murder during the 2024 protests. But 36 of these incidents occurred while he was outside the country. As in most other cases, the authorities have not filed charges. Detainees in other high profile political cases have also cited baseless grounds for arrest, and accused the authorities of denying them medical care and bail.

The first trial, with three defendants including Sheikh Hasina, who will be tried in absentia, is due to begin on 3 August, but there is no apparent prospect of trials in many cases, and no evidence has been produced against many of those detained.

Hundreds may have been arrested under the draconian Special Powers Act, which allows preventive detention and was used by the previous government to suppress dissent. In addition, over 8,600 people were reportedly arrested in a crackdown in February called “Operation Devil Hunt,” many of them allegedly Awami League supporters.

While it is vitally important to hold people accused of serious crimes accountable, many detentions of people allegedly connected to the Awami League appear to be arbitrary and politically motivated, Human Rights Watch said. Meanwhile, the government is prosecuting very few members of the security forces responsible for egregious violations under the Hasina government.

In July, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Police told the BBC that only 60 police officers had been arrested for their role in the deadly violence in July and August last year, an operation that involved dozens of police and military units, including the notoriously abusive Rapid Action Battalion.


On 27 August, 2024, the interim government formed a commission to investigate enforced disappearances during Hasina’s rule, and on 29 August, Bangladesh ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The commission, which has received over 1,800 complaints, has completed two interim reports, with another due in December.

The commissioners told Human Rights Watch that they have collected significant evidence. But they said that security forces members have destroyed evidence, limited their cooperation, and are resisting efforts to hold accountable the alleged abusers, many of whom are still security agency members. Several senior figures implicated in these crimes were able to flee the country after the interim government came to power.

The Yunus government also established 11 commissions to recommend legal and constitutional reforms in areas including the police, the judiciary, and women’s rights. However, the interim government has not adopted them, and efforts to reach political consensus on a significantly reduced reform agenda have been slow.

A crucial outstanding issue is ensuring women’s full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation in all decision-making processes, in line with UN Security Council resolution 1325, including through the reformed electoral system.

To help protect human rights beyond its tenure, Human Rights Watch suggested that the interim government end arbitrary detentions, including by ensuring that pretrial detention is an exception, not the rule. It should end impunity by supporting the prosecution of security force members accused of serious crimes; ensure the independence of the judiciary from the executive; begin security sector reform, including by disbanding the Rapid Action Battalion; and prioritize women’s rights and women’s full representation.

Foreign governments and the UN should support the interim government, Human Rights Watch said. This should include imposing targeted sanctions on alleged abusers. Other governments should prosecute individuals allegedly implicated in serious abuses who have left Bangladesh, including under the principle of universal jurisdiction. And they should make clear that Bangladeshi participation in UN peace keeping operations is contingent on ensuring accountability for grave violations of international human rights law.

“No one is in any doubt that Yunus’s interim government faces enormous challenges, but more needs to be done now to ensure a real and lasting change in Bangladesh’s human rights situation,” Ganguly said. “Political parties, whose members have been victims of rights violations in the past, should support reforms to ensure that such crimes can never recur and support rights protections for all.”​

 

[Saif]

Tarique affirms commitment to preventing rights violation

Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman on Wednesday said that the forthcoming national election presented a historic opportunity for the country to break away from past eras marked by corruption and human rights abuses...

www.newagebd.net

Tarique affirms commitment to preventing rights violation
Staff Correspondent 10 December, 2025, 16:09

Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman. | File photo

Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman on Wednesday said that the forthcoming national election presented a historic opportunity for the country to break away from past eras marked by corruption and human rights abuses.

He said that the BNP was the only political force offering a concrete and comprehensive plan for Bangladesh’s future.

Speaking virtually as the chief guest at a BNP-organised discussion titled ‘Plan to Build Bangladesh’ at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh auditorium in the capital Dhaka, Tarique said that the party was committed to preventing any future human rights violations.

He said that during the past autocratic rule, BNP members had faced widespread violations, including hundreds of enforced disappearances, thousands of killings and instances of torture.

‘The people are the ultimate holders of all political power and that freedom of expression must be protected for everyone, whether they support the BNP or another party.’ Tarique said.

Every citizen, he said, must be able to present their political ideas safely and without fear.

Tarique said the BNP intended to move public debate away from personal attacks and adversarial arguments, noting that people were tired of constant blame-shifting and now wanted clear answers to what political parties would deliver if elected.

He described the current political struggle as a battle for the nation’s future.

He instructed the party leaders and activists to go door to door at villages, unions, municipalities and districts to present the party’s nation building plan directly to voters and convince them to support the BNP’s paddy-sheaf symbol in the national polls slated for February 2026.

He said that electoral victory was essential to implement people-oriented plans and to safeguard the country’s future.

He said that the responsibility once carried by Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia now rested on the shoulders of party leaders and activists.

They must protect the country, he said, adding that everyone had to rise, step out of their homes and go to the people.

BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi presided over the meeting.​

 

[Saif]

Human rights commission remains dysfunctional over a year

The legal adviser, professor Asif Nazrul, assured that human rights commission Act would be amended and a new commission will constitute within a month.

en.prothomalo.com

Human rights commission remains dysfunctional over a year
Human rights commission ordinance has been issued. While many provisions are positive, several questions have also emerged

Partha Shankar SahaDhaka
Published: 10 Dec 2025, 15: 20

National Human Rights Commission logo File photo

Today, Wednesday is International Human Rights Day. This year’s theme is “Human rights are essential to our everyday lives.”

Yet, Bangladesh’s National Human Rights Commission has remained ineffective for over a year.

After some of the most serious incidents of human rights violations during the Awami League’s decade-and-a-half in power, the July uprising had generated public optimism.

However, following the assumption of power by the interim government, the then chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Kamal Uddin Ahmed, along with all other members, were compelled to resign in November last year.

It has been alleged that they were forced to resign. The role of the National Human Rights Commission during the Awami League’s tenure had also been widely criticised.

Subsequently, in March, the law adviser, professor Asif Nazrul, assured that the Human Rights Commission Act would be amended and a new commission will be constituted within a month or so.

However, despite the passage of eight months, the Human Rights Commission has not yet been reconstituted. In the meantime, over a month ago, a Human Rights Commission Ordinance was issued.

Although many aspects of the new law have been welcomed by human rights activists, certain provisions have raised concerns.

Commenting on the overall human rights situation, senior Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik told Prothom Alo, “The core aspiration of the July spirit was to ensure protection from state repression wherever possible. Unfortunately, that has not materialised.”

According to data from human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), more people were killed in mob beatings between January and October this year than in any single year over the past five years.

Human rights situation

Although the interim government has taken positive steps in investigating disappearances and other human rights violations, the increase in incidents such as mob attacks and lynching has raised serious questions.

According to data from human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), more people were killed in mob beatings between January and October this year than in any single year over the past five years.

ASK reports that 165 people were killed in mob beatings between January and October this year. The numbers were 28 in 2021, 36 in 2022, 51 in 2023 and 128 in 2024.

After the mass uprising in mid-2024, the interim government came to power. Between August 2024 and October of the current year, a total of 261 people were killed in mob attacks.

The core aspiration of the July spirit was to ensure protection from state repression wherever possible. Unfortunately, that has not materialised----Shahdeen Malik, senior Supreme Court lawyer.

During this period, numerous allegations were raised concerning mobs being mobilised for extortion, attacks, besieging individuals, and harassing women.

While the government has been accused of indifference in preventing these incidents, remarks by some responsible figures have also been criticised as tacitly supportive.

ASK’s senior coordinator, Abu Ahmed Faijul Kabir, told Prothom Alo, “In some places, mobs are being formed for extortion; elsewhere, freedom fighters are being humiliated; women’s freedom regarding clothing and their right to sports is being curtailed; attempts are being made to suppress artistic and cultural rights. This is a direct assault on state order.”

Although the number of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings (40 in 14 months) has declined under the interim government, the number of unidentified bodies recovered has increased.

According to the Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF) 352 unidentified bodies were recovered in 2023. The number rose to 504 in 2024. As of November this year, the figure stands at 586.

MSF’s executive director, Saidur Rahman, told Prothom Alo, “In the past, the identities of such bodies would eventually be confirmed. Now neither the police nor anyone else provides any information. I have not heard anyone from the ministry of home affairs say anything about it.”

For much of its time in power, this government kept the human rights commission ineffective. Now, by merely amending a law, the interim government is spending its time observing widespread human rights violations with indifference. This is a form of evasion of responsibility.

Sayeed Ahmed, Bangladesh Bureau chief of the south asians for human rights (SAFHR)

Deaths in custody are also rising. According to ASK, 83 people died in custody between January and October this year. The number was 65 last year, 106 in 2023, and 65 in 2022. A total of 112 people have died in custody during the interim government’s tenure.

Persecution of religious minorities continues as well. According to the Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad, between 4 August 2024 and 30 November this year, 2,673 incidents of attacks on minorities occurred. These included 82 murders and 44 incidents of rape.

The organisation’s acting general secretary, Manindra Kumar Nath, told Prothom Alo that attacks on minorities have never really stopped.

However, the current government has emboldened religious extremism, worsening the situation. Archbishop Bejoy D’Cruze of the catholic community in Bangladesh also told Prothom Alo that the country’s Christians now genuinely feel unsafe.

The interim government has also faced allegations of misuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Special Powers Act.

The interim government has also faced allegations of misuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Special Powers Act.

The new ordinance

The National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, 2025, has been issued with the aim of protecting human rights. After receiving final approval from the advisory council on 30 October, law adviser Asif Nazrul stated that the previous commission had been weak, with flaws in the appointment process and severe limitations in jurisdiction.

The objective of the new ordinance is to transform the commission into a genuinely empowered institution capable of playing an effective role in preventing human rights violations.

Previously, the commission could not investigate offences committed by law enforcement agencies. Government departments were also under no obligation to provide explanations or reports when requested. The new ordinance grants the commission these powers.

Despite the positive features of the ordinance, questions remain about its effectiveness.

First, what will happen if the next government does not pass the ordinance into law?

Secondly, with elections scheduled for February, it is unlikely that a new commission will be formed before then.

Sayeed Ahmed, Bangladesh Bureau chief of the South Asians for Human Rights (SAFHR), based in Colombo, told Prothom Alo, “For much of its time in power, this government kept the Human Rights Commission ineffective.

Now, by merely amending a law, the interim government is spending its time observing widespread human rights violations with indifference. This is a form of evasion of responsibility.”​