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UN urges govt to recognise, investigate HR violations , UN rights chief calls for HR screening of security personnel
Staff Correspondent | Published: 20:38, Aug 17,2022 | Updated: 00:03, Aug 18,2022
UN high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet addresses a press conference at a hotel in Dhaka on Wednesday. — Sourav Lasker
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday in Dhaka said that the Bangladesh government should acknowledge the allegations of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings and investigate them impartially.
She said that various UN human rights mechanisms – including the UN Committee Against Torture, had been raising concerns for several years about allegations of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killing, and torture, many of which had been attributed to the Rapid Action Battalion, and the lack of accountability for such violations.
‘I raised my deep concern about these serious allegations with the government ministers and highlighted the need for an impartial, independent and transparent investigation into these allegations accompanied by security sector reform,’ said Michelle Bachelet in her opening remarks at a press conference in a city hotel, which concluded her four-day visit to Bangladesh.
Responding to a question, she said that she had a meeting with the National Human Rights Commission where the commission acknowledged that there were some cases of rights abuse.
In Dhaka, Michelle Bachelet, also a former president of Chile, met with prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the foreign affairs, home affairs, law, and education ministers, government officials, and civil society representatives, among others.
She also visited Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar.
She said that there were continued, alarming allegations of both short-term and long-term enforced disappearances, and concerns about the lack of due process and judicial safeguards.
‘I encouraged the government to create an independent, specialised mechanism that works closely with victims, families and civil society to investigate allegations of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings,’ the UN High Commissioner said, adding that her office was ready to provide advice on how such a body could be designed in line with international standards.
She said that as the biggest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping missions, Bangladesh should ensure it had a robust system in place to ensure the careful human rights screening of security personnel.
She pointed out that Bangladesh also continued to face challenges on the human rights front, and she was able to discuss many of these extensively with the government and civil society members.
While touching upon the next parliamentary polls, the two-time president of Chile said that Bangladesh was entering an election cycle, with general elections due next year, which, she mentioned, tends to be a time of increased polarisation and tension.
‘The election period will be an important time for Bangladesh to maximise civic and political space, including freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly of political activists, human rights defenders, opposition parties, and journalists,’ Bachelet said, adding that it was also important to ensure that law enforcement forces have the necessary training to manage protests without resorting to the excessive use of force.
She underlined the need for more dialogue among political parties at the national level and with a wide range of civil society actors to prevent grievances from building and erupting in social unrest.
‘The voices of women, religious minorities, and indigenous peoples, and especially young people, need to be heard,’ she said.
She said that successive UN human rights reports had documented a narrowing of civic space, increased surveillance, intimidation, and reprisals, often leading to self-censorship here.
‘Laws and policies over-regulating NGOs and broadly restricting freedom of expression make it difficult – and sometimes risky – for them to function effectively.’
She said that democratic and civic space, as well as effective checks and balances and accountability, were essential as Bangladesh aims for the next level of development.
Michelle also stressed the importance of protecting minority groups, such as Hindus and ethnic minorities, from violence or land encroachment.
Underlining the need for demilitarisation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, she also called for full implementation of the CHT peace accord signed 25 years ago and unrestricted access for independent actors to visit the area.
Regarding the Digital Security Act, 2018, the UN rights office chief said they had submitted their recommendations for repeal and revision of certain provisions of the Act, to ensure their compliance with international human rights laws and standards and prevent an arbitrary application or misuse.
Asked whether it was the UN system’s failure to ensure the rights of the forcefully displaced Rohingya and safe return to their homeland Myanmar, she said, her office was not part of the UN Security Council.
She, however, said that they had been raising this issue and were active in the case. ‘The repatriation must always be conducted in a voluntary and dignified manner, only when safe and sustainable conditions exist in Myanmar.’
She said that she was very worried about ‘increasing anti-Rohingya rhetoric in Bangladesh, stereotyping and scapegoating Rohingyas as the source of crime and other problems.’
Earlier in the day, the UN High Commissioner interacted with students and young researchers at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies on climate change and human rights.
In the first-ever visit to Bangladesh by any UN rights chief, Bachelet arrived in Dhaka on August 14 on a four-day visit at the invitation of the government.
On the second day of her visit, a group of rights activists, lawyers, and development workers met with Michelle Bachelet and briefed her about their experiences in protecting human rights in Bangladesh over the years amid concerns over enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and custodial torture.
At least 613 people were victims of enforced disappearance between January 2009 and March 2022, and many of them were found killed, arrested, in jail or released, according to Bangladeshi rights group Odhikar.
New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said that the whereabouts of 86 enforced disappeared victims, mostly politicians, were unknown.
UN urges Bangladesh govt to recognise, investigate HR violations
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday in Dhaka said that the Bangladesh government should acknowledge the allegations of enforced disappearances...
www.newagebd.net
