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Published : 18 Jan 2025, 02:50 AM
Human Rights Watch, or HRW, warns that even if the government in Bangladesh changes, the practice of human rights violations will remain the same without “systemic reforms”.
In its World Report 2025, released on Thursday, the annual country report styled, “Bangladesh: Lasting Reforms Needed to Stop Abuses,” highlights the flow of events in 2024.
It says: the interim government should reform institutions in line with international human rights standards with the help of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.”
The New York-based international human rights organisation called on the interim government to “disband the notorious Rapid Action Battalion, reform security forces to ensure independent oversight and accountability, and pursue justice for the victims of enforced disappearances and their families”.
“It should also ensure unfettered access for human rights monitors to the Chittagong Hill Tracts and work with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to register Rohingya refugees so that they can access protection, medical care, and food rations,” the annual report suggests.
It touches on abuses by government forces; attacks on ethnic and religious minorities; enforced disappearances and torture; economic, social, and cultural rights; freedom of press and expression; women's and girls’ rights; Rohingya refugees; sexual and orientation and gender identity; and labour rights, emphasising the need for permanent reforms.
“Bangladesh’s interim government has taken significant strides toward a democratic and rights-respecting future, but its progress could evaporate without deep institutional reform and international support,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“The interim government needs to protect Rohingya refugees, support credible investigations and reparations for enforced disappearances, and provide for civilian oversight over security forces.”
“Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled Myanmar and are living in refugee camps are at risk of violence at hands of armed groups and gangs. Unregistered refugees risk hunger and do not seek health care out of fear that they will be returned to Myanmar.
Activists have raised concerns that security forces have continued to carry out abuses, including arbitrary arrests of opposition supporters and journalists and denying them due process and proper access to legal counsel,” the HRW report adds.
The report notes: “While the interim government acceded to the United Nations Convention on Enforced Disappearances, security forces have failed to release those unlawfully detained or provide answers to their families about what happened to them.
The government should reform institutions in line with international human rights standards with the help of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, it says.
“Nearly 1,000 people, including over 100 children, were reportedly killed in the violence in July and in reprisal violence after Hasina’s ouster.”
Even though Sheikh Hasina's rule has ended, since August 2024, the security forces have been inflicting torture similar to Hasina's administration. This includes indiscriminate arrests of Awami League supporters and journalists known to be pro-previous government, and numerous criminal cases filed against “unknown' suspect”, raising concerns in the report.
In the face of a mass uprising, Hasina fled, and the interim government formed under the leadership of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has established several reform commissions to restore transparency and accountability, according to the report.
Emphasising the need for permanent reforms, Human Rights Watch has said without them, these practices in Bangladesh will continue unabated.
The report highlights the release and investigation of those arrested during the July movement by a UN human rights fact-finding mission, as well as addressing allegations of enforced disappearances and murders during the Hasina regime.
It discusses initiatives to prosecute former government officials for human rights violations during the July uprising at the International Criminal Tribunal.
"The ICT has been fraught with violations of fair trial standards, and while the interim government invited amendments to the Act that established the court to bring it in line with international standards, it still lacks some due process protections."
According to the HRW, the law still includes provisions for the death penalty, which is a “violation of international human rights law”.
The report also covers the arrest of several thousand leaders and activists of opposition parties by security forces before the elections held last January and mentions the boycott of the election. It quoted the UN to say that the election, which marked Hasina's fourth consecutive term, “was not inclusive”.
The report notes that while the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations did not support the election, China, Russia, and India congratulated Hasina.
During protests demanding reform of the quota system in government jobs, the report criticises that “the authorities imposed a nationwide internet shutdown, restricting access to information, and enforced a curfew with a shoot-on-sight order”.
It expresses concern over attacks on the ethnic and religious minorities and details various incidents of attacks and violence.
“Following Hasina’s resignation, rioters attacked her supporters, including Hindus, Ahmadi Muslims, and ethnic minorities, resulting in violence that killed over 200 people. Criminals and opposition supporters attacked shops, homes and places of worship. Many Muslims protected minorities and criticized the attacks.”
Expressing concern about the violence in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the report criticizes the denial of access to international human rights observers and journalists in the area and the killing of four people from the hill communities by army gunfire during protests.
As always, the issue of 'enforced disappearances' at the hands of the law-enforcing agencies in Bangladesh has come up in the report.
According to the human rights organisation Odhikar, cited in the report, more than 700 people were 'disappeared' under the Hasina government. Some of them were later released and presented in court. A few others died in gunfights with security forces, and about 100 are still missing.
Criticising the long-standing “culture of impunity”, the report mentions: "Allegations of torture continued to surface, including from students taken into custody during the protests. Historically, allegations of torture in Bangladesh have rarely been investigated or prosecuted."
Human Rights Watch has expressed disappointment in its annual report about the “uneven distribution of resources” in the country.
"While Bangladesh has made economic progress,” it observes, “the recent protests reflected frustration over uneven distribution of resources. The unemployment rate of young people aged 15-24 remains the highest in the region, and 42 percent among young women.
“Bangladesh has the biggest gender gap in youth unemployment globally. Cost of living, including food, reached its highest point in a decade, with little reprieve for those with low incomes.”
The rights watchdog has discussed the state of freedom of the media and expression in Bangladesh, stating, "The Cyber Security Act (CSA), enacted in 2023, retains many of the abusive elements of its predecessor, the Digital Security Act, granting wide authority to officials to criminalize and jail political critics."
Its report also sheds light on the protection of freedom of speech and welcomes criticism of the interim government.
“The interim government has committed to protecting free speech and welcomed criticism. However, as of October, authorities had filed cases against at least 129 journalists and scrapped nearly 200 press accreditations, underscoring the point that without systemic reform, the abusive practices will remain the same regardless of the change of government.”
It further notes that “In September, courts ordered police to investigate a man accused under the CSA for insulting Yunus and the Quran in a Facebook video”.
While women played “the pivotal role” in the July uprising, Human Rights Watch believes “they have not been adequately represented in the cabinet of the interim government”.
It says, "Sexual and gender-based violence are widespread and women and girls in Bangladesh have little recourse to seek protection or access justice for these crimes.”
The report criticises the rejection of asylum applications from an additional 18,000 Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh due to violence last year.
According to traditional international law and the provisions of the UN Convention Against Torture, it is obligatory for Bangladesh not to send back anyone who faces the risk of persecution, torture, or other adverse conditions, it says.
At the same time, the report discusses the government led by Yunus's commitment to repatriating refugees and the uncertainties and violence in the camps.
The report also highlights the lack of legal protection against ongoing discrimination based on gender identity in Bangladesh and mentions the threats of violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LGBT, community.
Human Rights Watch has brought up the labour situation in Bangladesh.
It observes, "Many companies use loopholes to circumvent international labor and environmental regulations."
The report mentions police violence against garment factory workers during protests, the hazardous ship-breaking industry, and violations of labour and environmental regulations in this sector.
It also points out the lack of freedom for labour organisations, the absence of protection for workers, and the failure to amend labour laws.
“The authorities have yet to amend the labor laws to protect workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining in line with International Labour Organization (ILO)’s conventions and recommendations.
The Human Rights Watch's report addresses the authorities' failure to stop all forms of violence and harassment in the workplace.
“The authorities also have not ratified the ILO Violence and Harassment Convention (C190), which requires comprehensive protections to end violence and harassment, including gender-based violence, at work,” it concludes.
