The government on Thursday signed the Instrument of Accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus signed the instrument at the weekly meeting of the council of advisers at state guest house Jamuna, also his residence.
The accession came on the eve of UN-declared International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, to be observed today, under the convention adopted by the United Nations on December 20, 2006.
鈥業t is a historic occasion,鈥� said a release from the Chief Adviser鈥檚 Office quoting him as saying in his instant reaction at the meeting.聽聽
The development came days after the interim government formed a commission to investigate every allegation of enforced disappearance against security forces during Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 15-year authoritarian rule.
鈥業t is a milestone development for us, especially for rights activists, to be a signatory to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,鈥� interim government adviser and also spokesperson Syeda Rizwana Hasan told a press conference after the meeting.
She said that at least 700 victims of enforced disappearance still remained missing.
鈥楩irstly, victims of enforced disappearances will get protection and secondly, it will give a message to all that state agencies cannot be used against dissenting voices to cling to power anymore,鈥� she said, responding to a question.聽
Welcoming Bangladesh on being a signatory to the UN convention, United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan in a tweet said that it was an important step towards accountability and elimination of enforced disappearance and commitment to uphold human rights.
Local rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra in a press release said that by signing the international convention and forming an investigation commission, the interim government took a significant step towards overcoming the culture of impunity of agencies and environment of fear created through enforced disappearances and abductions.
On August 27, the interim government constituted a five-member commission of inquiry to investigate and identify the causes of enforced disappearances by the members of law enforcement agencies during the tenure of the Awami League government.
The commission has been asked to submit its report to the government within 45 working days and is tasked with聽 identifying the individuals subjected to enforced disappearances by law enforcement agencies 鈥� such as Bangladesh Police, Rapid Action Battalion, Border Guard Bangladesh, Criminal Investigation Department,聽 Special Branch, Detective Branch, Ansar Battalion, National Security Intelligence, Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, and Bangladesh Coast Guard鈥� between January 1, 2010聽 and August 5, 2024, the day when Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India amid a student-led mass uprising.
Addressing an event on enforced disappearance in the city on Thursday, Sanjida Islam Tulee, cofounder of the Mayer Daak, a platform for families of the voctims of enforced disappearance, said that most of the victims of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing were with different political ideologies.
鈥楳ost of the victims, who came back after secret detention, were scared to speak about their hellish experiences due to fear of the harassment again,鈥� she said, adding that the family members were also kept under all out surveillance in such cases.
Tulee, whose brother Shajedul Islam Sumon, a Bangladesh Nationalist Party activist, was still missing since his disappearance in 2013, demanded immediate return of the victims and trial of the perpetrators.
Most recently, three people were released from a secret detention cell, also known as Aynaghor after the August 5 mass uprising.
Former army brigadier general Abdullahil Aman Azmi, the second son of late Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ghulam Azam, and Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, the youngest son of executed Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali, were released on August 6.
The next day on August 7, Mikel Chakma, a leader of the Chittagong Hill Tracts-based political party the United People鈥檚 Democratic Front, was freed after five years.
Mikel Chakma was picked up by a group on the way to Dhaka from Kanchpur in Narayanganj on April 9, 2019.
He shared that he was asked about his activism for the rights of the ethnic minority people.
鈥楾hey interrogated me frequently during the early days of my detention. At many points, I thought they would kill me,鈥� he said.
Mikel, who lost his father in 2020 during the time of his disappearance, demanded that the people involved in his and other people鈥檚 secret detention to must be brought to justice.
鈥極ur daughter was two years old and I was 4-month pregnant with my son at the time of Parvez鈥檚 disappearance,鈥� said Farzana Akhter, wife of Parvez, who was picked up by some men from Shahbagh.
Araf Hossain, 10, never seen his father Parvez Hossain as he was picked up by some people on December 2 in 2013 and never came back ever since.
She said that Parvez and five friends were chatting in the area when four, including him were picked up that day.
Farzana shared her struggle for the past 11 years as Parvez did not leave any money with the family.
She demanded return of his husband immediately and answers if he was killed.
Relatives of many such missing people have been waiting like Farzana for the return of their loved ones.
ASK senior coordinator Abu Ahmed Faijul Kabir told 抖阴精品 that they did not have accurate data with them as many victims were scared of talking in front of media.
The international and local rights groups have long been demanding independent investigations into the 鈥榰nabated enforced disappearances鈥� in Bangladesh, highlighting the lack of access to justice for victims during the Awami League regime.
They argued that incidents of enforced disappearances had become widespread since the Awami League took power in 2009.
The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on several occasions urged the Bangladesh government to provide information and respond to general allegations sent after its 125th session in September 2021.
In a written statement to the WGEID鈥檚 128th session in September 2022, the Asian Human Rights Commission reported at least 623 cases of disappearances in Bangladesh between January 2009 and June 2022.
According to data collected by local rights body Odhikar, between January 2009 and June 2024, 709 people were subjected to enforced disappearance. Among them, 471 were surfaced alive and/or produced in court. Meanwhile, 83 victims were found dead, with some of them allegedly caught in 鈥榗rossfire鈥� with security forces.
A joint statement by the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, Capital Punishment Justice Project,聽 the International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances, the International Federation for Human Rights, Maayer Daak, Odhikar, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, and the World Organisation Against Torture in commemoration of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances in 2024 said that under the deposed Sheikh Hasina administration, Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies and security forces systematically committed enforced disappearance.
Enforced disappearance was used to suppress political opposition, silence dissent, and create a climate of fear in the country. In the past decade, families of the victims of enforced disappearance were systematically denied legal redress, it alleged.
Victims of enforced disappearances mostly include academics, journalists, dissenting voices, and political activists belonging to the opposition.