Bangladesh Criticises US Human Rights Report

Bangladesh has criticised the recently released US State Department’s 2023 Human Rights Report, noting that the report “fails to appreciate, rather undermines” a number of valued State institutions, including the independent judiciary and certain statutory bodies, which is detrimental to the morale and functioning of such institutions.

“Regrettably, many of the improvements and achievements of the government have not been acknowledged in the report. On the other hand, isolated and unfounded allegations continue to be flagged as part of a systematic trend,” Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Seheli Sabrin, told reporters on Thursday.

While briefing reporters, she said a thorough reading of the report would make it evident that it is replete with references to individually reported or alleged incidents that were used to draw broad, generalised inferences.

The government of Bangladesh reiterated its concerns about the continued trampling of human rights in Gaza by the Israeli occupation force and hopes that the US will play a leadership role in the ongoing efforts of the international community to stop serious human rights violations, killing of innocent women and children, and crimes against humanity in Palestine.

One of the grossly missing items in the report is the systematic campaign launched last year by the anti-state and anti-government elements in the lead up to the 12th National Election in order to create unrest, violence and anarchy under different pretexts and using diverse interest groups, said the foreign ministry spokesperson.

Sabrin said it is also apparent that the report mostly relies on assumptions and unsubstantiated allegations drawn from local and international non-government organisations (including anonymous sources), many of which are supported by the US government or related entities.

“As such, some of the inherent biases in the reporting pattern are quite evident,” she said

The government of Bangladesh, however, appreciated the continued interest of the US administration in the Human Rights situation across the globe.

“No matter how much we aspire, the human rights situation is not perfect anywhere in the world. Though human rights are non-hierarchical, fulfillment of them can be incremental as socio-economic constraints often put limits to the pace of realising those rights,” said the spokesperson.

She said the government of Bangladesh has been doing its best to uphold human rights of its citizens. “Indeed, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the human rights situation has significantly improved in Bangladesh.”

Mindful of the areas that need further improvement, the current government, during its consecutive terms in office since 2009, continued to invest in realising meaningful advancement in the human rights situation.

“Any discerning observer would notice that such efforts resulted in significant improvement in women’s empowerment, gender parity, children’s rights, rights of elderly persons, workers’ rights, grievance redressal, access to justice, religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of assembly and so on and so forth,” the spokesperson observed.

While the report alleges the law enforcement for use of excessive force in some cases, it fails to reflect the violence and vandalism perpetrated by BNP and its political allies, which often disrupted lives of general people and resulted in damage of public and private property.

“It is ironic that when the State was engaged in protecting public life, order and property against such orchestrated campaign, it has been held responsible in the report for even taking recourse to some lawful actions and remedies,” she said.

The spokesperson said it must be registered that the law enforcement agencies of Bangladesh exercised utmost restraints and dealt with any law-and-order situation with full professionalism.

“Coupled with government’s sincere support and professional conduct of elections by the Election Commission, 28 of 44 registered parties participated in the 12th National Election with 42% people exercising their voting rights despite boycotts from BNP and some other parties,” she said.

It is unfortunate that despite having a series of dialogues with the US authorities on human rights and labour rights issues, a number of recurrent complaints or allegations have been flagged in the report discounting the state/ government perspective on those matters, Seheli Sabrin said.

For instance, she said, the Rohingya people continue to be termed as ‘refugees’ or ‘stateless persons’, thus undermining their legitimate claims to be recognised as the citizens or residents of Myanmar.

In another instance, certain ethnic minority groups continue to be labelled as ‘indigenous peoples’ contrary to the constitutional provisions of the country, which often amounts to attempts to incite unwarranted tension and divisions, she said.

Again, in certain cases, the report tends to omit or neglect substantive evidence or information shared with the US authorities on individual cases.

For instance, in the alleged killing of Messers Shaheen Miah and Mohammad Raju, information had been shared on the judicial proceedings that found the incidents to be within the purview of law.

Yet again, she said, the judicial processes undertaken in the case of Jesmin Sultana were not adequately reflected in the report, especially the issue of ongoing due process.

“Along similar lines, a number of cases have been flagged in the report concerning labour rights issues, especially on trade union registration and activities, that have been discussed with the relevant US officials on a number of bilateral or plurilateral platforms,” said the spokesperson.

As usual, she said, the report wrongfully characterises lawful actions taken by the law enforcement authorities in case of unwarranted obstructions or vandalism carried out in the name of workers against factories, establishments, public properties, or management staff.

The report continues to maintain the trend of projecting incidents committed by private individuals or entities as part of systemic abuse of human rights, without often elaborating on the subsequent administrative and judicial measures taken to ensure redress and accountability, she noted.

In general, the government of Bangladesh takes note of the overall report and looks 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._UNB