Marking the anniversary of the July 2024 protests in Bangladesh, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has called for accountability for the violations and crimes committed during the unrest.
"That accountability needs to be in line with fair trial guarantees, rooted in international human rights law. It must not repeat past cycles of retributive justice, including the use of the death penalty," he said in a video message.
The United Nations Human Rights Mission in Dhaka organised an event on Tuesday that brought together senior political leaders, civil society members, youth representatives and international partners.
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus spoke as the chief guest. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman and Senior Human Rights Adviser Huma Khan, among others, also spoke at the event.
Turk said a comprehensive approach to transitional justice is needed, including truth seeking and reparations for the abuses of the past.
This begins with a national dialogue involving victims, families and ordinary citizens, he said.
The UN human rights chief said Bangladesh needs legal and institutional reforms, including to the security sector, so that this can never happen again.
Volker Türk to present UN fact-finding report on Bangladesh in Geneva on March 5
He said the repressive laws and institutions that enabled these violations must either be dismantled, or completely overhauled.
"As we remember the protestors who paid the ultimate price for their dream of a different future for the country, it is a moment to recommit to fundamental change," Turk said, adding that his office is fully prepared and ready to support the government and people of Bangladesh to achieve that vision.
He recalled the courage and resilience of the people of Bangladesh, who courageously took to the streets one year ago to protest against discrimination, injustice and repression, and to demand their fundamental human rights.
Many of the protestors were students and young people, and Turk had a chance to meet them when he visited Bangladesh last year.
"I honour the memory of those who were killed, and the thousands more who suffered life-changing injuries," Turk said.
These protests were a powerful expression of determination to move away from the spiraling inequalities and human rights violations of the past, towards a more just and inclusive society, he mentioned in his video message.
The request from the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government, Prof Muhammad Yunus, for the UN Human Rights Office to conduct an independent and impartial Fact-Finding Mission into these events, spoke to the same determination to build a better future.
The fact-finding Mission reported on ‘systematic and serious’ human rights abuses. "It found that the former government and its security and intelligence services engaged in a coordinated strategy to hold on to power at all costs," Turk said.
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And it made a detailed series of recommendations to ensure accountability and justice, which are essential in themselves, and vital to national healing, he said.
"I welcome efforts by the interim government to move those recommendations forward,' Turk said it is an important moment of reflection on how that can be achieved.