57th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council
Item 2: General Debate on the oral update by the High Commissioner
Oral statement delivered by Muda Tariq
On behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and Amnesty International
11 September 2024
Mr. President,
We thank the High Commissioner for his global update.
Bangladesh stands at a crossroads. Steps that Bangladesh and the international community take now to follow up on the demands of the student movement that, as the High Commissioner stated, “carried human rights as its torch”, are critical for opening the way in Bangladesh for a future rooted in human rights principles.
We appreciate the openness of the interim government to engage with the High Commissioner’s Office and the positive steps taken in the past month, in particular, the accession to the International Convention on Enforced Disappearances and the establishment of a domestic commission of inquiry on enforced disappearances.
However, systems that have long enabled the deepening inequality, systemic discrimination, rampant corruption, shrinking of civic space, and serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and targeted harassment of human rights defenders, civil society actors, journalists and perceived critics, and impunity for these violations remain.
State institutions, including the judiciary, national human rights institutions and law enforcement and national security agencies lack public confidence owing to years of political interference and instrumentalisation against critics and the political opposition.
With such long-standing concerns, entrenched impunity, and emerging reports of attacks against religious minorities and reprisals against members and supporters of the former government, international oversight and participation, through a Human Rights Council mandate, are crucial for ensuring credibility, public confidence, and effectiveness of domestic investigations.
Such a mandate from the Council would provide much-needed sustained stability and support for any domestic process in this transition.
Thank you.
This post was originally published on FORUM-ASIA.