A Bangladesh government-appointed commission investigating hundreds of disappearances carried out by security forces under ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned on Monday that the entrenched “culture of impunity” remains intact.
The Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances is examining widespread abuses allegedly committed during Hasina’s tenure, when her administration faced repeated accusations of grave human rights violations.
These allegations include the extrajudicial killings of numerous political dissidents and the unlawful abduction and disappearance of hundreds of individuals, many of whom remain missing.
Mounting Political Pressure
The commission was established by interim leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, who is operating under significant political strain as rival parties compete for influence ahead of elections scheduled for early next year.
Bangladesh, with its turbulent political history marked by military coups, continues to witness the military exert substantial influence over governance.
In a section of its report made public by the interim government on Monday, the commission stated, “The enforced disappearances in Bangladesh were not isolated or rogue operations. Rather, they were enabled by a deeply politicised institutional framework that tolerated, encouraged, and even incentivised such grave abuses.”
The commission further warned, “Disturbingly, this entrenched culture of impunity has endured even after the change in government on August 5, 2024.”
So far, the commission has verified over 250 cases of enforced disappearances that occurred during the 15-year rule of Hasina’s Awami League party.
Enforced Disappearances
Commission chair Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, speaking earlier this month, maintained that while individual officers were “directly implicated in the enforced disappearances,” responsibility does not lie with the armed forces as a whole.
In a joint statement released earlier this month, global human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, urged Bangladesh’s security forces to provide full cooperation with the commission, including “unrestricted and continuous access to all detention facilities and complete transparency regarding individuals who have been detained or abducted.”
Sheikh Hasina remains in self-imposed exile in India, where she sought refuge after being ousted from power in August last year.
She has repeatedly defied summons to return to Dhaka to stand trial on charges that include crimes against humanity. Proceedings against her are continuing in absentia.
(With inputs from IBNS)
