The government said on Thursday that the United States’ State Department report on the human rights situation in Bangladesh was prepared mostly based on assumptions and unsubstantiated allegations.
It said that some biases were quite evident in the reporting pattern.
‘It is to be made public yet again that contrary to what the report claims, the former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia is a convicted person with a suspended sentence under the executive authority, and is definitely not under any form of house arrest,’ foreign ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said in reaction to the US report on the human rights situation.
Reading out a written statement at the foreign ministry, she said that it was also apparent that the report mostly relied on assumptions and unsubstantiated allegations drawn from local and international non-government organisations, many of which are supported by the US government or related entities.
‘As such, some of the inherent and evident biases in the reporting pattern are quite evident,’ she said.
The government, however, appreciated the continued interest of the US administration in the human rights situation across the globe.Â
‘The government of Bangladesh takes note of the US State Department’s release of the Country Report on Human Rights Practices, 2023, and appreciates the continued interest of the US administration in human rights situations across the globe,’ said Seheli, also the director general of the public diplomacy wing of the foreign ministry, without responding to any queries.
She said that Bangladesh looked forward to remaining engaged with the UN Human Rights mechanisms, the US, and other international partners, and stakeholders towards upholding its commitment to ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by all citizens under any circumstances.
She, however, mentioned that the human rights situation was not perfect anywhere in the world.
‘Though human rights are non-hierarchical, the fulfilment of them can be incremental, as socio-economic constraints often put limits on the pace of realising those rights,’ she said.
The statement claimed that the government of Bangladesh had been doing its best to uphold the human rights of its citizens.
‘Indeed, under the leadership of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the human rights situation has significantly improved in Bangladesh,’ it said.
The Bangladesh government hopes that the US will play a leadership role in the ongoing efforts of the international community to stop serious human rights violations, the killing of innocent women and children, and crimes against humanity in Palestine.
The US human rights report published on Monday said that Bangladesh›s former prime minister and chairperson of the main opposition political party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Khaleda Zia, remained confined to her home.
The report noted that she was barred from receiving needed medical treatment abroad.
The report referred to international and domestic legal experts, noting the lack of evidence to support the conviction of the former prime minister.
The report suggested that it was a ‘political ploy’ to remove the leader of the opposition from the electoral process.
The US report has said that they found no significant changes in the overall rights situation in Bangladesh in comparison with recent years in civil and political rights, including freedom of assembly, and the electoral process.
The report stated that the 12 parliamentary elections held on January 7 were widely reported as unfair and not free from abuses and irregularities.
