Three laws approved by Bangladesh’s parliament in September have weakened human rights protections and reversed reforms introduced by the country’s interim government, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.
The rights group said the legislation could reduce safeguards against abuses such as enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, which were widespread under the previous Awami League government.
The interim government, which ruled Bangladesh from August 2024 to February 2026, had introduced measures to strengthen the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), including powers to investigate enforced disappearances and seek accountability.
However, after Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government took office following elections earlier this year, parliament allowed one of the key ordinances strengthening the NHRC to lapse.
A new law passed on September 6 does not allow the NHRC to directly investigate alleged rights violations by security forces. Instead, it can request a report from the agency involved, although HRW said a vaguely worded provision could allow the commission to conduct an inquiry if the agency fails to respond or provides an unsatisfactory report.
The law also restores greater government control over the appointment of NHRC commissioners and reduces the commission’s budgetary and administrative independence, according to HRW.
The rights group said the changes do not appear to meet the Paris Principles, which establish minimum international standards for national human rights institutions.
Enforced Disappearance Law
Parliament also passed the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Act on September 6, replacing safeguards contained in an ordinance introduced by the interim government.
Under the new law, allegations of enforced disappearance are to be investigated by a security agency other than the agency accused of involvement. The NHRC has also lost powers to monitor, inspect and investigate detention facilities, including suspected secret detention sites.
HRW said the law also changes the standard for command responsibility. Under the previous framework, commanders could be held responsible for violations they knew or should have known about and failed to prevent. The new law requires evidence that a commander directly ordered the detention.
RAB Renamed As SRB
On September 10, parliament passed the Special Response Battalion Act, effectively renaming the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) as the Special Response Battalion (SRB).
HRW said the new force has inherited RAB’s personnel, powers, property and records. The SRB began operating on September 16, while its logo reportedly remains largely unchanged apart from replacing the letters RAB with SRB.
RAB has faced allegations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture and has been under US sanctions over serious human rights abuses. Several former RAB officers have also faced proceedings at Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal.
HRW said the new law lacks adequate provisions on safeguards, training, oversight and accountability.
The rights group urged Bangladesh’s international partners to press the government to introduce strong human rights safeguards in rules governing the SRB, including personnel vetting, independent oversight, safeguards on arrest and detention, and preservation of RAB records and evidence.
It also called on the United States to maintain sanctions on the renamed entity until adequate accountability measures are in place.
HRW Criticises Government
HRW Asia director Elaine Pearson said Bangladesh needs genuine security-sector reform and an independent human rights body capable of investigating allegations of abuse.
The rights group also urged the European Union and the United Kingdom to raise concerns with Bangladesh’s government over its human rights policies.
Under the Awami League government of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, which ruled from 2009 to 2024, law enforcement agencies were accused by rights groups of widespread abuses, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and excessive use of force against protesters.
HRW said such abuses have declined sharply but alleged that the current government is still holding hundreds of perceived political opponents in arbitrary detention.
Pearson said the new government had come to power promising reforms following protests that led to the end of the previous government, but argued that the latest legislation raises concerns about the direction of those reforms.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
