Bangladesh: Support the UN investigation into serious human rights violations

(Geneva) – The interim government of Bangladesh should seek a resolution at the upcoming session of the United Nations Human Rights Council establishing an independent mechanism to investigate and prosecute recent serious human rights violations in Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Chief Counselor Muhammad Yunus and other government officials released today. The Council should also ensure ongoing monitoring of the human rights situation in Bangladesh by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and establish regular reporting to the Council. The 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council begins on September 9, 2024.

The transitional government should also work with the OHCHR and relevant UN experts to launch an independent investigation into cases of enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings during former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule, Human Rights Watch said. This national mechanism should work with UN support and oversight to ensure its independence and compliance with international human rights standards.

“After Sheikh Hasina resigned amid mass protests, Bangladesh’s interim government bears a heavy responsibility to address the past and lead the country to a future where human rights are respected,” said Lucy McKernan, deputy UN director at Human Rights Watch in Geneva. “The government should support a Human Rights Council-backed investigation into recent human rights abuses, while also seeking UN support for an independent investigation into the former government’s human rights abuses over the past 15 years.”

The transitional government should take urgent steps to restore civilian control over the security forces, disband the notorious Rapid Action Battalion, reform institutions in line with international human rights standards and revise laws that violate human rights.

The crackdown on the protests that led to Sheikh Hasina’s ouster was the deadliest in Bangladesh’s modern history. Between July 15 and August 5, at least 440 people were killed and thousands injured. Most of the deaths and injuries were attributed to excessive use of force by police and violence by student and youth groups affiliated with the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina’s party. After August 5, an estimated 250 more people died, most of them in violent reprisals against Sheikh Hasina’s supporters.

Since taking office, the interim government has replaced officials who were allegedly involved in party politics. The chief justice of the Supreme Court resigned after protests demanding his resignation. The rule of law collapsed after the fall of the Hasina government, leaving Hindus and other minorities at risk of violence. However, the interim government said most police stations are now functioning again. Activists, however, fear that the authorities will repeat the previous government’s abuse of power by arbitrarily arresting Awami League officials and supporters, including journalists, and denying them due process and adequate access to legal counsel.

The Yunus government issued a public appeal for calm, intervened to contain the violence, and committed to investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the unnecessary and excessive use of force to quell the protests. The interim government also swiftly released political prisoners detained during the protests, dropped charges against activists, and committed to upholding the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced disappearanceand promised to investigate the more than 700 cases of enforced disappearances committed during Sheikh Hasina’s rule.

To meet its commitments to justice and accountability in a deeply politically divided environment, the transitional government should call on the Human Rights Council to establish an independent mechanism with a comprehensive mandate to investigate, collect, preserve and analyse evidence, and to work with credible and independent national and international judicial bodies to establish those responsible for the violence in July and August and its causes. An investigation mandated by the Human Rights Council would provide the greatest independence and credibility to Bangladeshis who distrust national institutions, and avoid political interference that could undermine purely national action.

The Council resolution should also mandate the OHCHR to monitor and regularly report on the human rights situation in Bangladesh during the transition period pending free and fair elections.

The recent protests reflect frustration that Bangladesh’s economic progress is unevenly distributed. Social protection needs to be reformed to guarantee adequate levels of protection for all and to ensure that no one is excluded from public benefits because of an inability to pay bribes or because they lack social or political connections.

The transitional government must reform the institutions, security sector, and judicial and legal system, which have been severely eroded under the previous and previous governments, to bring about lasting change in the human rights field, Human Rights Watch said. The transitional government should welcome technical assistance from the OHCHR to ensure the full independence of the legal and judicial bodies.

In addition to disbanding the Rapid Action Battalion, the transitional government should implement rigorous human rights training protocols for all security forces and repeal laws that allow impunity for human rights abuses by security forces, Human Rights Watch said.

“Without deep institutional reforms and UN support to ensure independence and transparency, the hard-won progress in Bangladesh could easily be lost,” McKernan said. “The UN and its member states should demonstrate their support for all Bangladeshis by supporting investigative and accountability measures and investing in rights-based institutional and security sector reforms.”