Asia and Oceania

Bangladesh
Last reviewed: 22 July 2009

Country information

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HUMAN RIGHTS

Bangladesh signed the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in September 2000 and was re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council in 2009. She is also a signatory to the other five core human rights instruments.

Since coming to power the Caretaker Government has made a commitment to address human rights abuses. There have been some positive developments. However, the commitment has not yet translated into a clear improvement and State of Emergency remains in force.

Extra-judicial killings:

Since 2006 an estimated 1000 persons have been killed by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the police, the armed forces or other paramilitary security forces. Although the government promised to show "zero tolerance" to extra-judicial killings and other human rights abuses during the examination of Bangladesh’s human rights record under the Universal Periodic Review process February 2009, the killings have continued and prosecutions have not followed. Many killings are excused as being in self-defence.

Violence against women:

Discrimination against women in Bangladesh is commonplace, and domestic violence, acid attacks and honour killings still take place. In March 2008, the government announced amendments to the National Women Development Policy to enhance equality for women. However, the amendments met fierce resistance from Islamist groups who rallied in protest, particularly on the issue of Islamic inheritance law. All amendments have yet to be implemented.

Chittagong Hill Tracts

There have been internal tensions since the 1960s between Bengali settlers and the tribal inhabitants of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), some 40,000 of whom were living in camps in India until the end of 1997. The Bangladesh government initiated discussions with representatives of the tribal inhabitants in December 1996 which resulted in Peace Accord being signed in December 1997. However, there are concerns by some of the tribal population who consider it flawed, and would like it to be renegotiated. There has been little progress on implementing the Peace Accord, and on settling land disputes (at the heart of many of the tensions between tribal inhabitants and Bengali settlers).

Whilst the government has reconstituted the high level national Committee for implementation of the Accord, most of the remaining provisions remain unimplemented.. Land disputes remains a substantial stumbling block, and the Land Disputes Resolution Commission is as yet inactive. The UK and international partners continue to urge the government to fully implement the Peace Accord.

Torture:

Bangladesh ratified the Convention against Torture (CAT) in 1998 and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2000. However, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 1998 that established the International Criminal Court, have not been ratified by Bangladesh.

Bangladesh constitution states that 'no person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment.' [Article 35(5)].

Death Penalty

Despite UK and EU lobbying, Bangladesh retains the death penalty. At least 185 people were sentenced to death in 2008, bringing the estimated number of prisoners on death row to at least 1,085. In December 2008, Bangladesh voted against a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions.

National Human Rights Commission

This year before the Human Rights Day the council of advisers approved the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance 2007. The cabinet approved the ordinance to set up the long-awaited National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which will function as a national human rights watchdog.

Freedom of religion

Although initially Bangladesh opted for a secular nationalist ideology as embodied in its Constitution, the principle of secularism was subsequently replaced by a commitment to the Islamic way of life through a series of constitutional amendments and government proclamations between 1977 and 1988. The Constitution establishes Islam as the state religion but provides for the right to practice--subject to law, public order, and morality--the religion of one's choice.