UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Wednesday said their fact-finding mission is investigating allegations of attacks against minorities between 5 and 15 August. “It is vital that the authorities respond quickly to any incidents reported, by conducting thorough investigations and holding perpetrators accountable,” he said at a press conference. Türk said this will help build trust with minority communities, especially in light of troubling campaigns of misinformation and disinformation as well as hate campaigns on social media. He said transitions are always fraught with risk – and this is all the more pronounced for vulnerable groups. “I commend the efforts made by students and others to protect minorities.” The UN human rights chief said an inclusive approach, where every voice is heard and valued irrespective of class, gender, race, political ideology, identity or religion, will be key – reflecting the aspirations and diversity of the movement that sparked this transition. “Women are at the heart of social justice movements, including the protests in July. And I pay tribute to them,” he said, adding that they must be at the forefront during the transition and beyond. “Any killing needs to be investigated”: UN Rights Chief “Women need to be visible, particularly in leadership and decision-making positions,” Türk said.  The participation of ethnic and religious minorities in the reform structures, as well as of “indigenous peoples”, is also crucial, he said. Türk said the interim government has inherited massive challenges on all fronts, including economic, development, social, political and the rule of law. “Transitions are always complex. And expectations are high. Time is of the essence, but longstanding issues take time to resolve,” he said.  In his discussions with the interim authorities, Türk also expressed support and solidarity for Bangladesh in hosting Rohingya refugees. “The situation in Rakhine State, which I’m sure all of you are following, is only growing worse, and I was told there are new arrivals to Bangladesh.” He said. It is important to take a flexible and humanitarian approach, and to ensure non-refoulement and the protection of new arrivals, the rights body chief said. He mentioned that it is critical to ensure security in the camps, as well as access to livelihoods and education. “I am doing everything I can to galvanise the international community to focus on this issue, to support Bangladesh, and to step up the search for solutions,” Turk said.  UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani and UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis were also present.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has conveyed to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus that the independent UN fact-finding mission, which is investigating atrocities committed during the July-August mass uprising, would hopefully finalise its report by the first week of December. He called on the Chief Adviser at his office at Tejgaon in Dhaka on Wednesday and briefed him (Chief Adviser) about the work of the UN fact-finding mission and his meetings in Dhaka with advisers, the Chief of Army Staff, heads of Reform Commissions, students, and officials. Briefing the reporters at the Foreign Service Academy, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said the UN team is doing their work independently and they have no influence over that. Alam also said that the fact-finding mission will hand over the report to the chief adviser, and later they will also hand the report over to the relevant ministries and advisers. Deputy Press Secretaries Apurba Jahangir and Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumder also spoke at the media briefing. The UN rights chief also discussed the work of the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh that is now investigating heinous crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the revolution and Reform Commissions set up by the Interim Government to conduct meaningful reforms of the country's institutions. Volker Türk @DU: 'No repetition, no going back. You must draw a clear line in the stand' "There are so many that need to be fixed," he said, adding that he has also spoken to the members of the Inquiry Commission investigating hundreds of cases of enforced disappearances that occurred during the dictatorship.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk will visit Bangladesh from October 29 to 30 to discuss human rights issues. He will hold a number of meetings with senior officials and civil society representatives among others. During his visit, the High Commissioner is scheduled to meet Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, said the UN office in Dhaka on Monday. The UN rights chief will meet a number of advisers for different ministries, the Chief Justice, the Army Chief and the heads of several reform commissions. Türk will also make an address at the University of Dhaka, where he will meet students involved in the recent movement. Bangladesh to see several visits from UN this year; Volker Turk likely to come this month He will hold meetings with UN agencies and members of diplomatic missions in Bangladesh. The High Commissioner will hold a news conference in Dhaka at the end of his mission on Wednesday. Earlier, the UN rights chief received an official invitation from the Chief Adviser to conduct an impartial and independent fact-finding mission into human rights violations committed from July 1 to August 15. The office deployed a fact-finding team to Bangladesh, with a view to reporting on violations and abuses perpetrated during the protests, analysing root causes and making recommendations to advance justice and accountability and for longer-term reforms. Volker Türk made a phone call to Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus in August. During his recent visit to New York, Chief Adviser Prof Yunus sought support from foreign friends for Bangladesh's new journey towards a happy and prosperous future, stressing that they do not want to miss the opportunity to build a new Bangladesh. Bangladesh now has an opportunity to chart a new future: Volker Turk On September 17, 1974, Bangladesh became a full member of the United Nations. As part of an ongoing engagement with the interim government, an advance team of the UN rights body visited Bangladesh from August 22-29 and met student leaders of the recent protests, as well as a wide range of advisers in the Interim Government, the Chief Justice, senior officers of the police and armed forces, lawyers, journalists and human rights defenders, representatives of political parties, and minority and indigenous communities.  

New border enforcement measures recently announced by the US administration risk undermining the basic foundations of international human rights and refugee law, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Wednesday. “The right to seek asylum is a human right, no matter a person’s origin, immigration status, nor how they arrived at an international border,” said Türk. “These measures appear to be at variance with the prohibition of collective expulsion and the principle of non-refoulement,” the UN human rights chief said. The announced changes include increased use of expedited removals and expansion of the use of the Title 42 public health order to permit the fast-track expulsion to Mexico of some 30,000 Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans each month. Read more: US border cities strained ahead of expected migrant surge Title 42 has already been used by US immigration officials some 2.5 million times at the southern border to expel people to Mexico or their home country without an individualised assessment of all their protection needs accompanied by due process and procedural safeguards. At the same time, a “humanitarian parole” programme, which was previously extended to Venezuelans, would be expanded to include nationals of Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, allowing some 30,000 individuals per month from these four countries to come to the US for a limited period of two years with strict conditions for eligibility.  “While I welcome measures to create and expand safe and regular pathways, such initiatives should not come at the expense of fundamental human rights, including the right to seek asylum and the right to an individual assessment of protection needs. Limited access to humanitarian parole for some cannot be a replacement for upholding the rights of all to seek the protection of their human rights,” Türk said. The high commissioner also said those most in need of asylum and those in vulnerable situations are unlikely to meet the restrictive requirements to be granted humanitarian parole, including having a financial sponsor in the US. “We hear a great deal of talk about migration crises, but in reality, it is those migrating who often are the ones truly in crisis. Rather than vilifying them and stripping them of long-recognised rights, we should be seeking to govern migration humanely and safely with full respect for the human rights of every individual,” he added. Read more: Illegal border crossings to US from Mexico reach annual high

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said the government had unmasked some people including a section of civil society and their political intentions through the recent visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. “We believe in engagement. We are committed and we have enough goodwill (to look into human rights issues). We could prove it,” he told the reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noting that it is very “low and mean” as some people sought her intervention in terms of election. The State Minister said those people who are spreading misinformation and sought UN rights chief’s intervention during her visit are actually helping the anti-Awami League political platform (BNP-Jamaat). “It’s an evil effort to malign the government.” He said the BNP and Jamaat with their people at home and abroad have continuously been spreading misinformation. The state minister expressed his surprise as some people raised some issues which go beyond the UN human rights chief’s mandate and said those people do not have adequate knowledge on how the UN system operates. Shahriar said Bachelet made it clear during her meeting with a section of civil society that it is not within her mandate to address the demands related to the next national election in Bangladesh. He described such effort “objectionable” and it is not a healthy practice at all. Read:Bachelet raised no concern over country’s human rights condition: Anisul Haque Shahriar said the UN human rights chief understood where these people came from and what their intention was. He, however, said the government has a great respect for the civil society for their role in various areas while a section of it has a political intention. Shahriar said the so-called opposition parties have a big “misperception and misconception” that their many demands will be met once they raise the issues with the UN human rights chief. “They live in a fool's paradise.” The UN hss given a a list of 76 people who allegedly got disappeared.  Of them, the government traced 10 and submitted a report to the UN.  Of the remaining 66, there are many notorious criminals and such criminals generally go into hiding to evade the trial process, Shahriar said. The government will continue its efforts to trace those people, he said. The State Minister said Bachelet did not meet the opposition leaders but engaged her colleague to talk to them. The government of Bangladesh invited the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She hoped her visit would build on the government’s engagement with the UN’s human rights mechanisms and help deepen cooperation with us, furthering the promotion and protection of human rights in Bangladesh. In Dhaka, she met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ministers - foreign affairs, home affairs, law, and education - and other officials. For all the significant human rights challenges ahead – economic, climate-related, political, social and humanitarian – she was convinced that if the powerful resources within the whole society are harnessed, and policies and responses are crafted with the participation of many diverse voices, Bangladesh will continue to shine brighter in its remarkable development journey.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has urged the international community to intensify pressure on the military to stop its campaign of violence against the people of Myanmar. She also urged the international community to insist on prompt restoration of civilian rule, and accountability for violations committed by security forces. "We continue to document gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law on a daily basis, including repression against protesters and attacks  against civilians that may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes," said Bachelet during a press conference in Geneva on Thursday. Read: I can understand PM Hasina’s pains: Bachelet August 25 marked five years since more than 700,000 Rohingya women, children and men were forced to flee Myanmar for Bangladesh – and Myanmar’s human rights catastrophe continues to worsen, with the military (the Tatmadaw) maintaining military operations in Kayah and Kayin in the southeast; Chin state in the northwest; and Sagaing and Magway regions in the Bamar heartland.  The use of air power and artillery against villages and residential areas has intensified, she said.  "Recent spikes in violence in Rakhine State also seemed to indicate that the last fairly stable area of the country may not avoid a resurgence of armed conflict," said the UN rights chief.  She said Rohingya communities have frequently been caught between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army fighters or have been targeted directly in operations. 

Information Minister Hasan Mahmud on Thursday said the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) should pay attention to Palestine and Myanmar. He said it would have been better if the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet during her recent visit to Bangladesh heard from the victim families of the arson violence unleashed in 2013, 2014 and 2015 in the country. Dr Hasan, also a joint general secretary of Awami League, was addressing a discussion organised by Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) Alumni Association on the occasion of the National Mourning Day at Krishibid Institute Auditorium here. Also read: Election period in Bangladesh to be important time to maximise civic, political space: Bachelet He said when children in Palestine threw stones at Israeli soldiers, they (Palestinians) are killed by firing a hail of bullets in response. Pointing at Michelle Bachelet, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said it is not enough to appreciate Bangladesh visiting the Rohingya camp only. But she will also have to visit Myanmar and ensure their repatriation, he said. “The United Nations Human Rights Council should pay attention to these countries where human rights are grossly violated,” he added. Criticising the BNP, Dr Hasan said Zia and his party (BNP) are the biggest violators of human rights in Bangladesh. Ziaur Rahman turned the Indemnity Ordinance into law to prevent the trial of Bangabandhu murder and he also rehabilitated the killers. And in 2013, 2014 and 2015, hundreds of innocent people were burnt to death through petrol bombs in the name of strike-blockade by BNP and their ally Jamaat, he said. Also read: Bachelet didn’t express any concern over Bangladesh situation: Law Minister About the remarks of Michelle Bachelet over the Digital Security Act, Hasan said that this law was enacted to ensure digital security for every citizen of the country. “Those who raise questions about our law, I will tell them to look at the laws in Australia and Singapore where there are stricter provisions in the laws than ours,” he said adding that India and Pakistan also have similar provisions in their laws. A framework law was enacted in the European Union to provide digital security and the EU member countries have made their laws in light of the Framework law. But, no remark about these is seen, he added. "Yes, we are careful to ensure that this law is not misused, and we are working to ensure that no one is oppressed," said the Minister. Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim, AL joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, SAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Shahidur Rashid Bhuiyan the SAU alumni association secretary general and also Youth and Sports Secretary Mesbah Uddin also spoke at the discussion presided over by the association president Prof Dr Kamal Uddin Ahamed.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday said the election period will be an important time for Bangladesh to maximise civic and political space. She also mentioned that freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly of political activists, human rights defenders, opposition parties and journalists are important. "There needs to be space for more dialogue among political parties and with a wide range of civil society actors to prevent grievances from building and erupting in social unrest," Bachelet told reporters at a crowded press conference at a city hotel. She said it is also important to ensure that law enforcement forces have the necessary training to manage protests without resorting to the excessive use of force. Bachelet said the voices of women, religious minorities and indigenous peoples, and especially young people need to be heard. She thanked the government of Bangladesh for inviting her to visit the country, the first by a High Commissioner for Human Rights. "I hope my visit will build on the government’s engagement with the UN’s human rights mechanisms and help deepen cooperation with us, furthering the promotion and protection of human rights in Bangladesh," Bachelet said. During the visit she met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several ministers - foreign, home, law, and education - and other government officials. She also met with the National Human Rights Commission and representatives of civil society, as well as members of the diplomatic community and academics. Bachelet interacted with students at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies on climate change and human rights. She said civil society members are important resources that governments need to tap into. "Critical voices can help to identify the problems, to acknowledge them, to dive deep into the causes and discuss solutions," she said, adding that acknowledging the challenges is always the first step to overcoming them. "My exchanges with civil society representatives were rich and insightful – this was not surprising as Bangladesh has historically had a wealth of civil society expertise in various fields," she said. Bachelet said democratic and civic space, as well as effective checks and balances and accountability are essential as Bangladesh aims for the next levels of development.

Visiting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet will pay homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on Monday. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam will receive her at Dhanmondi-32 at 12pm, said a senior official. Bachelet, who was an elected president of Chile on two occasions (2006 – 2010 and 2014 – 2018), is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday morning. Bachelet will also join an interactive session on “New Frontiers of Human Rights: Climate Justice in Perspective” with young scholars at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies on Wednesday after her meeting with PM Hasina. Also read: Ideals of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Can Inspire the Young Generation She held meetings with the Cabinet members of the government including Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Sunday. The top executive of the UN Human Rights body will also have the opportunity to interact with the forcibly displaced Rohingya people during her trip to Cox’s Bazar, through which she would be equipped with concrete information to press hard the agenda for their repatriation to the ancestral homeland - Rakhine State of Myanmar, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also read: Nation set to observe National Mourning Day Monday Bachelet will make a statement on Wednesday at the end of her visit, said her office. She is scheduled to interact with the National Human Rights Commission, youth representatives, leaders of the civil society organizations (CSOs) and the academia during her stay in Dhaka. Bachelet arrived here on Sunday morning on a four-day visit as Bangladesh continues “constructive dialogue” with her for the promotion and protection of human rights.

Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah's killing should be a clarion call to the international community to redouble its pressure on Myanmar to recognise the Rohingya and accept their return to their homes in Rakhine State, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Friday. She also emphasised the international community's role to pursue accountability for the terrible crimes committed against them. Bachelet expressed her shock and sadness over the killing of Rohingya human rights defender Mohib Ullah and called for a prompt, thorough and effective investigation into his death. "It is heartbreaking that a person who spent his life fighting to ensure that the violations committed against the Rohingya people were known worldwide has been murdered in this way," she said. Mohib Ullah, who was chair of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), was shot dead Wednesday by unknown assailants in the Kutupalong refugee camp of Cox’s Bazar. Read: Mohib's murder: FIR lodged, probe in full swing, say police