UN rights chief hails Bangladesh prosecutions over enforced disappearances

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Bangladesh has begun legal proceedings against security officials accused of sanctioning enforced disappearances and torture under the previous government – a move UN human rights chief Volker Türk called “an important step towards accountability.”

Last week, the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) submitted formal charges in two cases connected to alleged abuses at the Task Force for Interrogation Cell and the Joint Interrogation Cell, including charges of crimes against humanity.

Officers and officials charged

As part of the action, arrest warrants were issued for several former military officers, including ex-Directors-General of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), and former officials of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

The Bangladesh military also announced it had detained over a dozen officers accused of serious crimes committed under the previous administration.

“It marks the first time that formal charges have been brought for enforced disappearances in the country. It is a significant moment for victims and their families,” High Commissioner Türk said.

He urged the Bangladeshi authorities to ensure due process and fair trial guarantees, particularly regarding detained officers. He also emphasised the protection of victims and witnesses as “sensitive and significant cases must be ensured.”

Address violations

Bangladesh’s ratification of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances in August 2024, and amendment of the International Crimes Tribunal Act, now formally recognise enforced disappearance as a crime under domestic law.

Nevertheless, Mr. Türk said that pending cases – some dating back to the previous administration which was forced from power by massive youth-led protests last year – must also be addressed, and that those arbitrarily detained should be released.

As many as 1,400 people, including many children, were killed in the weeks-long movement, which culminated in the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, after she fled the country.

She had been in power since January 2009, having earlier led Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001.

An end to abuses

In its report, an OHCHR fact-finding investigation found credible evidence of torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances that “may amount to crimes under international law.”

That report’s central recommendation – echoed again by High Commissioner Türk – was for Bangladesh to ensure those responsible for grave abuses, regardless of rank, face justice through fair and transparent proceedings.

He also urged Bangladesh to halt the use of the death penalty in any of these proceedings, no matter the charge, calling for “a comprehensive process of truth-telling, reparation, healing and justice” to begin, so the abuses of the past cannot recur.