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Published : 07 Nov 2025, 01:09 AM
Former foreign minister AK Abdul Momen, who previously served as Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the UN, has appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to intervene in what he described as Bangladesh’s “deteriorating human-rights, political, and humanitarian situation” since April 2025, citing “repression, extrajudicial actions, and disregard for democratic and humanitarian principles”.
In a letter dated Oct 28, 2025, addressed to Jürg Lauber, president of the UNHRC in Geneva, and copied to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, Momen warned that recent developments in Bangladesh showed “a pattern of persecution and disregard for the rule of law”.
His warning came as former prime minister Sheikh Hasina faces charges of crimes against humanity at Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, where prosecutors have sought the death penalty on five counts, including incitement, command responsibility, and joint criminal enterprise over the reported deaths of 1,400 people during the July–August 2024 crackdown on protests.
Hasina, who served as Bangladesh’s prime minister for more than 15 years, fled to India on Aug 5, 2024, following the July Uprising and remains there.
Momen urged the UN and its mechanisms to take “urgent” steps to monitor, investigate, and respond to the “crisis” unfolding in the country.
His letter cited the government’s move to ban all activities of the Awami League, Bangladesh’s largest and oldest political party, on May 11, 2025, under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
On May 13, the Election Commission suspended the party’s registration, effectively preventing it from contesting in elections.
The letter also criticised amendments to the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, which Momen said were passed “without due process to enable prosecution of entire political entities”.
He urged the UN to press Bangladesh to rescind the bans, restore political pluralism, and halt the misuse of anti-terror laws against political parties.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Referring to a fact-finding report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Feb 12, Momen said it had documented killings, torture, and enforced disappearances linked to the July–August 2024 protests, and called for accountability.
He said, on Oct 15, 2025, the OHCHR welcomed “important steps toward accountability” after the International Crimes Tribunal issued charges and arrest warrants in cases involving enforced disappearances and torture.
However, Momen said the 25 accused -- current and former Army officers, many of them UN peacekeepers -- must be tried in “civilian courts with fair-trial guarantees”.
He said 15 of the officers had already been taken into Army custody, raising concerns about “retaliation, torture, or incommunicado detention”.
Momen urged the UN to reaffirm the need for civilian-court jurisdiction, dispatch technical support to ensure due process, and monitor the treatment of the accused to prevent abuse.
‘INDEMNITY TO KILLERS: CONTRARY TO JUSTICE’
Momen also called on the UN to declare any indemnity or legislative protection granted to perpetrators of killings and grave human-rights violations as “illegal, void and contrary to international law and the principles of justice”, saying such immunity “perpetuates impunity and obstructs reconciliation”.
“All executive orders to provide indemnity or legislative protection to killers and grave human rights violators must be withdrawn right away,” the letter said. “No one should be above the law.”
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Momen expressed alarm over the “persisting harassment, detention, and violence against journalists and human-rights defenders”, which he said had chilled public discourse.
He urged the UN to demand an immediate end to such intimidation and to support independent investigations into attacks on media.
MINORITY PROTECTION
Between August 2024 and June 2025, civil-society monitors reported “2,442 incidents targeting Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian communities”, Momen said, citing the EUAA Country Focus report (August 2025).
He urged the UN to press for stronger policing against “mob” violence and assist in protecting vulnerable communities.
MASS ARRESTS
Momen’s appeal also highlighted mass-arrest drives such as “Operation Devil Hunt”, which he said had led to widespread “arbitrary detentions and ill-treatment”.
He noted that both UN and media reports had recorded high casualties and mass detentions during the 2024 crackdown, underscoring the need for transparent and accountable security operations.
The letter urged the UN to demand transparency, ensure detainee registries, and guarantee access to counsel, family contact, and medical examination for those in custody.
SPECIFIC UN ACTIONS SOUGHT
Momen concluded with a list of specific recommendations to the UNHRC and OHCHR, including:
Establishing a fact-finding and monitoring mandate on Bangladesh, focusing on enforced disappearances, torture, political persecution, and minority protection;
Pressing for civilian trials consistent with ICCPR due-process standards in the “25 officers” and related cases;
Calling for the release of arbitrarily detained individuals and protection from reprisals for lawyers, journalists, and rights defenders;
Supporting judicial independence and accountability, emphasising that “the judiciary must not be a tool of extortion”.
