Int’l Rights Groups Urge Bangladesh to End Abuses Before Polls

Int’l Rights Groups Urge Bangladesh to End Abuses Before Polls

A coalition of international human rights organisations has urged Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus to take urgent steps to strengthen human rights, ensure accountability for past abuses, and guarantee free and fair elections ahead of the 2026 national polls.

The letter, signed by CIVICUS, CPJ, Fortify Rights, Human Rights Watch, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and the Tech Global Institute, followed a meeting with CA Yunus during the 2025 UN General Assembly in New York.

While commending initial reforms since the July Uprising, including restoration of basic freedoms and investigations into enforced disappearances, the groups warned that Bangladesh risks “backsliding” without deeper institutional changes.

They expressed concern over limited cooperation from some security forces and called for an end to arbitrary arrests, politically motivated cases, extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances.

The coalition welcomed ICT prosecutions of military and intelligence officers for crimes against humanity and urged full military cooperation with civilian courts. They also recommended a moratorium on the death penalty, disbanding the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and curbing powers of the DGFI.

Further, the groups pressed for criminalising enforced disappearances, reforming the National Human Rights Commission, and amending the Cyber Security Ordinance 2025 and other laws that could grant broad powers to state agencies.

On press freedom, they demanded protection for journalists and the withdrawal of politically motivated cases. Reforms were also recommended for the NGO Affairs Bureau and the Foreign Donations Regulation Act.

Regarding the Rohingya crisis, the organisations urged against forced repatriation to Myanmar and called for improved access to education, livelihoods, and movement for refugees amid declining aid.

The coalition also encouraged full cooperation with the International Criminal Court investigation into Bangladesh and Myanmar, highlighting the period before the 2026 elections as critical for demonstrating commitment to democracy, rule of law, and human rights.