Joint Letter: Requesting urgent action towards UN human rights monitoring and investigation in Bangladesh

This document is a joint open letter published by Human Rights Watch and 12 other human rights organizations on August 19, 2024, addressed to the UN Human Rights Council, urging urgent action regarding serious human rights violations in Bangladesh. The letter calls for the establishment of an independent international investigative mechanism and ongoing UN monitoring following a deadly government crackdown on student-led quota-reform protests between July 15 and August 5, 2024, which resulted in at least 440 deaths, thousands of injuries, and nearly 10,000 arrests. The letter covers several key topics, including the violent suppression of protests by Bangladeshi security forces and Awami League party supporters, the subsequent resignation and flight of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, post-resignation reprisal attacks against minorities and perceived government supporters, and Bangladesh's broader history of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture dating back to 2009. The organizations specifically request that the UN Human Rights Council establish an independent investigative mechanism, mandate comprehensive monitoring throughout the interim government's transition period, and support the new interim government led by Muhammad Yunus in strengthening its legal and judicial capacity to address accountability.

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Human Rights Watch

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Human Rights Watch

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ark:/19160/sp73zae47izat7mtoyitgyuagum

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