B'desh human rights abuses echo at UN, Yunus under fire over tribal, minority killings

Geneva, Oct 1 The recent violence against the indigenous people in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts has sparked concerns among world leaders about the condition of the backwards and religious minorities in the South Asian nation.

Several human rights bodies have raised concerns over this incident and have urged the interim government to take strict action against the perpetrators.

This comes just days after several indigenous people were killed and injured in the Kahagrachari district following widespread arson, looting and indiscriminate firing carried out by the Bangladeshi security forces.

This happened on September 23, when people were demanding justice for a Marma schoolgirl who was brutally gang-raped. The locals staged a protest demanding the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators.

The issue was also raised at the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

An exhibition was also showcased outside the United Nations in Geneva by the International Forum for Secular Bangladesh on Wednesday, turning the global spotlight on the worsening human rights record of the South Asian nation.

The two-day poster display ran alongside the 60th session of the Human Rights Council.

Through 30 panels, it highlighted the rise of radical fundamentalism, communal violence and minority oppression, suppression of press freedom, mob terrorism and sexual abuse.

Suhas Chakma, Director of New Delhi-based think tank Rights and Risks Analysis Group, drew attention to the massacre of indigenous people.

Speaking at the session of the UN Human Rights Council, Chakma stated that the three indigenous peoples were shot dead and dozens were injured when the Bangladesh Army indiscriminately fired on protestors seeking justice for an indigenous girl gang-raped on September 23.

He added that in the last year, Bangladesh witnessed 637 mob lynching deaths, targeting of 878 journalists, 2,485 acts of violence against religious minorities and criminal cases against over 5,00,000 political opponents.

"The Interim Government of Muhammad Yunus sacked all the members of the National Human Rights Commission on 7 November 2024, for highlighting a rise in mob beating, rape, political harassment, assault on political leaders, and other violent acts in its newsletter in October 2024. As of today, new members of the NHRC of Bangladesh have not been appointed, which is an 'unacceptable example of negligence toward state responsibility'," said Chakma.

"Regretfully, the Global Alliance of NHRIs failed to take measures to suspend the NHRC of Bangladesh on the grounds of non-existence of the Commission itself after I filed a complaint on 8 November 2024," he added.

Chakma urged the UN Human Rights Council to urge Bangladesh to immediately appoint all members of the NHRC of Bangladesh to address increasing human rights violations in the country.

Earlier on September 23, addressing the UN Human Rights Council, Charlotte Zehrer, the UN-EU Human Rights Officer, from Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), expressed concern over the human rights situation of ethnic and religious minorities in Bangladesh, citing over 2,400 incidents of violence targeting minorities in the last year.

She stressed that such attacks are carried out against indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, especially in the Chittagong hills, as well as against Hindu and Christian minorities across the country.

"The documented violence includes attacks on places of worship and homes, gender-based violence mostly in the form of rape, arbitrary arrests and false blasphemy charges, land grabbing and forced displacement, the forced resignation of minority professionals and the forced conversion of teenagers and young adults," Zehrer stated.

"We call for the immediate release of unjustly detained minority leaders and activists, the retention or reform of laws used to target minorities, and independent investigations into all reported incidents of violence and discrimination," she added.

She further urged that protection of indigenous peoples and minorities in Bangladesh should be closely monitored by the international community, including a UN fact-finding mission.

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