The Fact-Finding Report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has found evidence of "serious human rights violations and abuses" against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, including ordering security forces to kill protesters and hide their bodies to quell protests in Bangladesh between 15 July and 5 August 2024.
The 114-page report, detailing what it called "crimes against humanity," was launched on Wednesday from Geneva. It states that the Awami League regime "and its security and intelligence apparatus, in coordination with violent elements linked to the Awami League, systematically engaged" in these violent acts.
* The report documents a coordinated campaign of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and torture during the protests.
* Testimonies allege that the former prime minister and senior security officials ordered security forces to kill protesters and conceal the bodies.
* An estimated 1,400 people were killed, with thousands injured; between 12-13% of the victims were children, and 44 police officers were also killed.
* The NSI, NTMC, DGFI, and specialised police units were implicated in the operations aimed at suppressing the protests.
* The report emphasises the necessity for a transparent process of truth, healing, and reform to redress the HRss violations and prevent future occurrences.
At the invitation of the interim government of Bangladesh, the OHCHR conducted an independent fact-finding inquiry into alleged human rights violations that occurred between 1 July and 15 August 2024.
"There are reasonable grounds to believe hundreds of extrajudicial killings, extensive arbitrary arrests and detentions, and torture were carried out with the knowledge, coordination and direction of the political leadership and senior security officials as part of a strategy to suppress the July protests in Bangladesh," said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk at a media briefing telecast live from Geneva.
The UN report states, "The intelligence services - NSI, NTMC, and the Armed Forces' DGFI - and the specialised branches of the Police - Detective Branch, Special Branch and also Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) - engaged in widespread human rights violations of their own to support the violent suppression of the protest movement."
Based on deaths reported by various credible sources, the report estimates that as many as 1,400 people may have been killed between 1 July and 15 August, and thousands were injured, the vast majority of whom were shot by Bangladesh's security forces. Of these, as many as 12-13 percent were children. Bangladesh Police reported that 44 of its officers were killed. The report finds that 66 percent of the deaths were caused by military rifles and another 12 percent by shotgun pellet injuries.
The report states that on the evening of 18 July, the then Home Affairs Minister chaired a meeting of the "Core Committee," attended by the heads of police, RAB, and BGB, and intelligence leaders. "At the meeting, the minister told the BGB commander, in front of the other senior security sector leaders, to order the use of lethal force much more readily," reads the report.
"Senior official testimony also indicated that, in a meeting held the next day, the prime minister herself told security force officials to kill protesters to quell the protests and specifically demanded to 'arrest the ringleaders of the protests, the troublemakers, kill them and hide their bodies'," adds the report.
The reinforcement of orders to use lethal force was rapidly reflected in developments on the ground. The number of reported deaths nearly tripled, according to OHCHR's estimate, from approximately 100 deaths on 18 July to nearly 300 deaths a day later on 19 July.
"The brutal response was a calculated and well-coordinated strategy by the former government to hold onto power in the face of mass opposition," said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk. "There are reasonable grounds to believe hundreds of extrajudicial killings, extensive arbitrary arrests and detentions, and torture were carried out with the knowledge, coordination, and direction of the political leadership and senior security officials as part of a strategy to suppress the protests."
"The testimonies and evidence we gathered paint a disturbing picture of rampant State violence and targeted killings, which are amongst the most serious violations of human rights and may also constitute international crimes. Accountability and justice are essential for national healing and the future of Bangladesh," Volker Turk added.
"All of them provided intelligence to guide the mass arbitrary arrest campaign in late July, including based on unlawful mass surveillance measures obtained through the NTMC." It further reads, "DGFI, NSI, and Detective Branch obstructed lifesaving medical care when they deployed to hospitals to collect information about injured protesters, arrested patients, and intimidated medical care providers."
The report states that, "Former senior officials directly involved in handling the protests and other inside sources described how the former prime minister and other senior officials directed and oversaw a series of large-scale operations in which security and intelligence forces shot and killed protesters or arbitrarily arrested and tortured them." The report found patterns of security forces deliberately and impermissibly killing or maiming protesters, including incidents where people were shot at point-blank range.
"The best way forward for Bangladesh is to face the horrific wrongs committed during this period through a comprehensive process of truth-telling, healing, and accountability, and to redress the legacy of serious human rights violations and ensure they can never happen again," said Türk while launching the report. "My Office stands ready to assist in this vital national accountability and reform process."
The fact-finding is not a criminal investigation and is conducted independently of any national criminal justice process. The fact-finding process was strictly confidential. The team did not conduct any media interviews during the investigation phase. After its on-site examination and data analysis, the UN Human Rights Office set to publish a detailed human rights report containing key findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The report and a news release will be issued before the news conference.
The fact-finding team is mandated to establish facts, identify responsibilities, analyse root causes, and make concrete recommendations for Bangladesh to address past human rights violations and prevent their recurrence.
It urged individuals, groups, and organisations to provide first-hand information concerning the period of 1 July to 15 August 2024 and human rights violations and abuses in the context of the protests during that period. It conducted interviews with victims, law enforcement officers, medical practitioners, and witnesses.
