Geneva [Switzerland], September 26 : At the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the UN-EU Human Rights Officer, Charlotte Zehrer from Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), in her oral intervention, has drawn international attention to the precarious conditions faced by ethnic and religious minorities in Bangladesh, calling for urgent action from the UNHRC.
She highlighted what she described as a "deeply concerning" pattern of violence and discrimination. Ms Zehrer reported more than 2,400 incidents of attacks against minorities in the past year, noting that indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill tracts, along with Hindu and Christian communities across Bangladesh, have been the primary targets.
She described the multiple forms of abuse, including assaults on homes and places of worship, gender-based violence predominantly in the form of rape, arbitrary arrests, fabricated blasphemy charges, land confiscation, forced displacement, and the coerced resignation of minority professionals.
She also warned of growing cases of forced religious conversions affecting teenagers and young adults. While acknowledging the cooperation between the Bangladeshi government, the Human Rights Council, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). She urged that such engagement must go further; she also urged the need for genuine accountability and immediate steps to protect vulnerable communities.
She specifically appealed for the release of detained minority leaders and activists, the reform or repeal of discriminatory laws, and impartial investigations into all reported human rights violations. It further called for stronger international oversight, recommending that the United Nations consider deploying a fact-finding mission to monitor the situation closely.
"Ensuring justice for minorities in Bangladesh is not only a national responsibility but also an international obligation," she stated, urging the Council to intensify efforts to hold perpetrators accountable.
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