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 | OHCHR , UNOG
“Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya are subjected to ruthless and systematic human rights violations and abuses, which include killings, torture, sexual violence and trafficking,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IOM
Four years of war in Ukraine: Childhood has ‘moved underground’, displacement continues – UN humanitarians
Civilian suffering shows no sign of letting up in Ukraine as the four-year-mark of Russia’s full-scale invasion nears amid attacks on energy infrastructure, blackouts and freezing temperatures, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday voiced concerns about the severe impacts on human rights of the socio-economic crisis in Cuba.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Madagascar: ‘Overwhelming’ destruction, surging needs after back-to-back cyclones – WFP
Some 10 days after tropical cyclone Fytia brought heavy rains and flooding to Madagascar, cyclone Gezani has left the island’s main port in ruins, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief urges de-escalation in Tigray amid rising tensions and violence.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , OHCHR
In Sudan, sick and starving children ‘wasting away’ – UN humanitarians
Relentless violence, famine and disease are picking off Sudan’s children while attacks on healthcare and a lack of aid access hamper efforts to help them, UN humanitarian agencies warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday gave an update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in El Fasher, Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“A series of new Israeli operations and settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risk seriously undermining the viability of a Palestinian state and the realisation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNIS
UN voices concern over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon’s Blue Line
The UN reiterated concerns on Friday at reports that Israeli forces sprayed herbicide over areas north of the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel. The development poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians living there, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefing journalists in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Five patients evacuated as Rafah reopens while ‘too many stayed behind’ – WHO
As time is running out for thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza, hope is alive for medical evacuations to increase with the reopening of the Rafah crossing in the southern part of the Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG , OHCHR
This Sunday marks five years of crisis in Myanmar. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights, and James Rodehaver, chief of the Myanmar team, today spoke on the conduct of recent military-imposed elections, deploring the failure to respect the fundamental human rights of the country’s citizens. The process served only to exacerbate violence and societal polarization.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.