The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday said the transition in Bangladesh was a historic opportunity to ensure governance is anchored in human rights, inclusivity and rule of law, stressing the need for accountability for all those responsible for human rights violations and violence.
“Accountability for violations and justice for the victims are key for the way forward, and will need to be accompanied by a national healing process. All those responsible for human rights violations, including those who used or ordered the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, must be held to account and victims must be provided with reparations and effective remedies,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said at the UN bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
“A comprehensive, impartial and transparent investigation into all human rights violations and abuses that have occurred will be a critical first step.”
Her remarks came as the Office issued a preliminary report on the protests and unrest in the country in recent weeks. Triggered by the reinstatement of a quota system for allocation of civil service positions, initially peaceful student protests in Bangladesh in mid-June were followed by violence and serious human rights violations committed by security forces, with hundreds of people believed to have been killed – including at least 32 children – and thousands injured.
“There are strong indications, warranting further independent investigation, that the security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force in their response to the situation,” Shamdasani told reporters. “Additional, alleged violations, that also warrant thorough, impartial and transparent investigations, include extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, and severe restrictions on the exercise of freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.”
Following the resignation of the Government on 5 August 2024, there were also reports of looting, arson and attacks on members of religious minorities, as well as reprisals against and revenge killings of members of the former ruling party and police. On 15 August, mobs armed with bamboo sticks, iron rods and pipes reportedly assaulted supporters of the former Prime Minister. Journalists were also reportedly attacked and threatened preventing them from filming at the scenes.
“Law enforcement agencies need to receive clear instructions and training on the use of force, in line with international human rights standards,” Shamdasani said. “They must protect populations at risk against any retaliatory or revenge violence, including minority communities. The High Commissioner welcomes the initiative by various student organisations, faith leaders and other people forming groups to protect minorities and religious sites belonging to minority communities.”
She said the UN Human Rights Office welcomes the release of thousands of detainees and longer-term political prisoners, including victims of enforced disappearances. “We urge the release of all those arbitrarily detained.”
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on the transition in Bangladesh
TRT: 3’14
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 16 August 2024 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
- Interior shot: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The transition in Bangladesh is a historic opportunity to reform and revitalise the country’s institutions, to restore fundamental freedoms and civic space, and for inclusive governance, giving all the people in Bangladesh a part in building the future. Accountability for violations and justice for the victims are key for the way forward, and will need to be accompanied by a national healing process. All those responsible for human rights violations, including those who used or ordered the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, must be held to account and victims must be provided with reparations and effective remedies. A comprehensive, impartial and transparent investigation into all human rights violations and abuses that have occurred will be a critical first step.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “These initially peaceful student protests were followed by violence and serious human rights violations committed by security forces, with hundreds of people believe to have been killed, including at least 32 children, and thousands injured.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “In a preliminary report we are issuing today, there are strong indications, warranting further independent investigation, that the security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force in their response to the situation. Additional, alleged violations, that also warrant thorough, impartial and transparent investigations, include extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, and severe restrictions on the exercise of freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.”
- Cutaways: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Following the resignation of the government on the 5th of August 2024, there were also reports of looting, arson and attacks on members of religious minorities, as well as reprisals against and revenge killings of members of the former ruling party and police.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Mobs armed with bamboo stick, iron rods and pipes reportedly assaulted supporters of the former prime minister. Journalists were also reportedly attacked and threatened, preventing them from filming at the scenes.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Law enforcement agencies need to receive clear instructions and training on the use of force, in line with international human rights standards. They must protect populations at risk against any retaliatory or revenge violence, including minority communities. The High Commissioner welcomes the initiative by various student organisations, faith leaders and other people forming groups to protect minorities and religious sites belonging to minority communities.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We also welcome the release of thousands of detainees and longer-term political prisoners, including some victims of enforced disappearances, and we urge the release of all those arbitrarily detained.”
- Cutaways: Briefing room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN Security Council meets amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tensions in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the biweekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson made the following remarks deplored the death in State custody of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Lebanon: Tyre hospital strikes leave patients without critical care – WHO
The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
El Niño confirmed, extreme weather events will be more intense, says WMO
The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘A disease you get when you care for someone’: on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis with WHO
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on 29 May called for more robust measures by both states and tech companies to make online platforms safer for children, insisting on effective regulation, oversight and accountability. The digital world that connects children to learning, community and creativity also expose them to real risks, to their safety, to their privacy, and to their well-being. Online harms to kids’ safety, privacy, and well-being are not innate or inevitable.
See High Commissioner video: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d357/d3579089
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: Life-saving medicines blocked as killing continues, disease gains ground
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of diseases is being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international human rights and refugee law, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OHCHR
Lebanon's first responders face high risks amid conflict, with 116 killed since March.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC Ebola outbreak: hundreds of suspected cases, no vaccine
A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN Human Rights Office report released today covers 19 months of large-scale violations of international law including atrocity crimes, from October 2023 to the end of May 2025.