The government of Bangladesh made a mockery of the recent general election, which was neither legitimate nor participatory, said the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
The organization said this on March 25 in a statement during the 55th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council for the adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Bangladesh.
FIDH expressed grave concern about the Bangladesh government’s continued refusal to address serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, torture, the death penalty, and impunity for law enforcement agencies, as well as gender-based violence. It urged UN member states to press the government to address these long-standing human rights violations.
The statement said, “FIDH is extremely concerned about the Bangladeshi government’s blanket dismissal of the legitimate concerns expressed by many UN member states over serious human rights violations in the country.”
The government’s backward behavior is unbecoming of a UN Human Rights Council member and signals that another UPR cycle will be marked by repression of human rights and civil society, read the statement.
“The government once again denied the existence of enforced disappearances and refused to accept all recommendations on the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances and the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. In addition, the government did not accept all the recommendations it received on the death penalty, which it shockingly described as “a valid form of punishment and deterrence,”” said the statement.
Terming the January 7 general election in Bangladesh as “neither legitimate nor participatory,” the statement said, “Ironically, the government accepted recommendations calling for free, fair, and transparent elections after it made a mockery of the recent general election, which was neither legitimate nor participatory. The lead-up to the 7 January polls was marred by the government’s escalation of repression of the political opposition and ongoing attacks on civil society.”
“It’s also ironic that the government accepted recommendations calling for the protection of civil society activists, lawyers, and journalists from arbitrary arrest and detention, despite its ongoing use of the judicial system to silence all forms of dissent, the criminalization of human rights defenders at home, and the intimidation and targeting of dissidents in exile,” the statement added.
The statement further said, “We urge UN member states to press the government of Bangladesh to address long-standing human rights violations, end impunity, ensure accountability, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence of human rights abuses, and deliver justice to the victims.”
