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(Geneva) Bangladesh Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the interim government should seek a resolution at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council meeting to establish an independent mechanism to investigate and hold accountable for recent serious human rights violations in Bangladesh Letter to Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and other interim government officials The Council should also ensure that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continues to monitor the human rights situation in Bangladesh and reports regularly to the Council. The 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council will begin on 9 September 2024.
The interim government should also work with OHCHR and relevant UN experts to establish an independent domestic investigation into enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings that occurred during the 15 years of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule, Human Rights Watch said. This domestic mechanism should operate with the support and supervision of the United Nations to ensure its independence and compliance with international human rights standards.
“After Sheikh Hasina’s resignation amid massive protests, the interim government of Bangladesh has a heavy responsibility to account for the past and lead the country towards a future that respects human rights,” he said. Lucy McKernanDeputy Director of Human Rights Watch in Geneva. “The government should support a Human Rights Council-backed investigation into recent rights violations, while also seeking UN support for an independent domestic investigation into 15 years of rights violations by the previous government.”
The interim government should urgently take steps to enable citizen oversight of the security forces, disband the notorious Rapid Action Battalion, reform its institutions in line with international human rights standards, and amend abusive laws.
The crackdown on protests that led to Sheikh Hasina’s ouster was the deadliest in Bangladesh’s recent history. At least 440 people were killed and thousands injured between July 15 and August 5. Most deaths and injuries were attributed to Excessive use of force by law enforcement officials and violence by students and youth groups affiliated with Sheikh Hasina’s political party, the Awami League, led to an estimated 250 deaths since August 5, most of them in violent reprisals against Sheikh Hasina’s supporters.
Since the interim government came to power Replacement of officials He was allegedly involved in partisan political struggles. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court The interim government was forced out after protests demanding his resignation. Law enforcement has collapsed since Hasina’s fall, putting Hindus and other minority communities at risk of violence, but the interim government says Most police stations are now operationalActivists, however, fear that authorities are replicating abuses of the previous government by arbitrarily arresting Awami League officials and supporters, including journalists, and depriving them of due process and proper legal counsel.
The Yunus government publicly called for calm, took action to quell the violence, and pledged to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the unnecessary and excessive use of force to suppress the protests. The interim government also quickly released political prisoners detained during the protests, dropped charges against activists, and pledged to sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Torture. Enforced disappearanceand promise investigation More than 700 cases of enforced disappearances Crimes committed during Sheikh Hasina’s rule.
To effectively implement its commitment to justice and accountability in a highly divided political environment, the interim government should request the Human Rights Council to establish an independent mechanism with a comprehensive mandate to investigate, collect, store and analyse evidence, and work with credible and independent national and international judicial institutions to seek accountability for the July and August violence and its root causes. A Human Rights Council-mandated investigation would have the greatest independence and credibility among Bangladeshis who distrust domestic institutions, and would avoid political interference that could undermine purely domestic measures.
The Council resolution should also mandate OHCHR to monitor the human rights situation in Bangladesh during the transition period and until free and fair elections are held, and to report regularly.
Recent protests reflect dissatisfaction with the uneven economic development of Bangladesh. Social security reforms should be undertaken to guarantee adequate protection for all and ensure that no one is excluded from public benefits because of an inability to pay a bribe or a lack of social or political connections.
Human Rights Watch said the interim government needs to reform its institutions, security sector, and judicial and legal systems to achieve lasting human rights change. These institutions, security sector, and judicial and legal systems were severely damaged under the previous and preceding governments. The interim government should welcome technical assistance from OHCHR to ensure the full independence of legal and judicial institutions.
In addition to disbanding the Rapid Action Battalion, the interim government should implement strict human rights training protocols for all security forces and repeal laws that allow security forces to abuse their powers with impunity, Human Rights Watch said.
“Without deep institutional reforms and UN support to ensure independence and transparency, Bangladesh’s hard-earned progress could easily be undone,” McKernan said. “The UN and Member States should demonstrate support for all Bangladeshis by supporting fact-finding and accountability measures and investing in rights-based institutional and security sector reforms.”
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