All members of National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh resign

The resignation comes after a report highlighted a rise in crimes and political violence in the country

All members of Bangladesh's National Human Rights Commission, or NHRC, have resigned, three months after the interim government took the reins.

Chairman Kamal Uddin Ahmed and five other members, submitted their resignation letters to the president on Thursday.

The commission’s spokesperson Yusha Rahman told bdnews24.com that the commission resolved to resign on Thursday afternoon, and the resignation letters were subsequently delivered to the president.

When asked to clarify the reasons for the resignations, Yusha said: "I am unaware of the reason."

In his resignation letter, NHRC chief Kamal said: "I hereby submit my resignation under Section 6(4) of the National Human Rights Commission Act 2009, requesting to be relieved from my position as chairman. I respectfully ask for your acceptance of this resignation."

The commission’s full-time members—Md Salim Reza, Aminul Islam, Kongjari Chowdhury, Biswajit Chanda, and Tania Haque—also tendered their resignations.

The commission had been appointed by former president Md Abdul Hamid in December 2022.

Following the dissolution of the Sheikh Hasina administration on Aug 5 and the establishment of an interim government, several governmental departments underwent substantial reshuffles and saw numerous resignations.

Earlier, in its monthly report, the NHRC highlighted a rise in crimes such as mob beatings, rapes, and other offences in October.

It also documented political harassment, assaults on political leaders, and other violent acts.

Two days after the report’s release, all commission members tendered their resignations.