Most recently, Bangladesh has achieved its membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council for the period of 2023–2025 with the highest vote from the Asia-Pacific region. The representatives of 160 countries supported Bangladesh in becoming a member of the Human Rights Council, which I believe is a significant achievement for the government. In the recent past, there has been a lot of discussion about the human rights situation in Bangladesh, nationally and internationally. A group continues to try to embarrass Bangladesh and its government in the international arena by spreading false information about human rights violations in the country. Based on their fabricated information, the United Nations published a report entitled "Victims of Enforced Disappearances", which the organisation later revised. A few days after the publication of that report, Michelle Bachelet, the highest official of the United Nations responsible for the global human rights situation, visited Bangladesh.
The group was very excited about her visit, thinking Bachelet might write something negative about the human rights situation in Bangladesh in her report. But their hopes were not fulfilled because Bachelet did not mention anything alarming about the human rights situation in the country in the written statement she handed over to journalists before leaving Bangladesh at the end of her scheduled visit. As she called on the government to discuss with various parties to update the Digital Security Act, she also praised the steps taken by the Bangladesh government in various fields, including the Rohingya issue. At the end of the written speech, she wished for the further development of Bangladesh. Bachelet's speech at the end of her visit to Bangladesh shocked the group. They received another big blow when Bangladesh received the most votes and became a UN Human Rights Council member.
The issue of human rights is explicitly written in the constitution of Bangladesh. Article 11 of the Constitution states that "the Republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental human rights and freedoms and respect for the dignity and worth of the human person shall be guaranteed." As a result, the state or the government does not have the power to take away the rights of any person or organisation because the government runs the state within the guidelines of the constitution. It cannot be said that there has never been any incident during the present government's tenure in which the rights of any individual or institution have been violated. Some isolated incidents may have occurred, but it is not right to promote those incidents as human rights violations. If we look closely at these isolated incidents, it will be apparent that some overenthusiastic members of the government or law enforcement have caused many of the problems that have embarrassed the government.
No such incident is happening regularly in Bangladesh that may be considered a human rights violation. The list of disappearances and murders given to various countries and institutions in the name of human rights violations by a group was flawed. About half of that list turned out to be wrong. Many of those who were said to be lost have returned. On behalf of the government, their position on this matter was clarified by the Minister of State in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He pointed out in his speech, by clear example, that the list contains the names of the accused, who may be absconding themselves. Again, several people accused of murder have been included in that list. If a murderer is accused of absconding to escape the process of murdering people, can he/she be claimed as missing? Therefore, it is impossible to reach any conclusion without investigating these claims.
Moreover, we have seen many individuals return after being lost for quite some time. Even a top BNP leader was rescued from India after missing for several days. How to explain such events?
Therefore, those who keep shouting that human rights are being violated will never succeed in proving this claim. Bangladesh's veteran human rights activist, Advocate Sultana Kamal, has spoken to the media about the UN-published "Victims of Enforced Disappearance" report. At the same time, Professor Imtiaz Ahmed, a teacher at the International Relations Department of Dhaka University, has expressed his opinion on this matter. They highlighted the flaws in the UN human rights report in front of the media. However, a top BNP leader attacked Advocate Sultana Kamal in a very nasty way for her speech. Civil society has widely criticised this matter and called for an apology from the leader. Because he spoke about a person who does not belong to any party, she is nationally and internationally recognised for her contribution to the protection of human rights and is a former advisor to the Caretaker Government.
In the political reality of Bangladesh, when a person or institution speaks for someone, they are held in the head. And when that person or institution speaks against a person or institution, they are identified as an agent of the government. If we do not come out of this mentality, the overall development of our country will never be sustainable because development is a comprehensive concept. Only roads or significant buildings will not make a country develop. People need mental development. If we continue to look for people's mistakes in all cases or criticise everything for the sake of criticism, then that culture is never desirable for sustainable development.
Those who have remained active in claiming that there are frequent human rights violations in Bangladesh and that the government is committing human rights violations, how they will react to Bangladesh's membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council is a million-dollar question. This recognition indicates that Bangladesh's human rights situation is not alarming, and the government is quite aware of ensuring human rights. This UN council takes care of human rights in all countries of the world. So, if Bangladesh's human rights state had been terrible, 160 countries would not have voted for it to join the Human Rights Council.
If work is done with bad intentions, it never succeeds—this has been proven once again. Fellow citizens and the world have witnessed the human rights situation in Bangladesh during the regime of those who have complained to various international organisations that human rights are being violated.
The people of Bangladesh still remember how minorities were tortured under state sponsorship after the 2001 elections. Were those events not human rights violations? Minorities have been tortured in some places, even in the current government. Even in some cases, Awami League leaders may have been involved in those incidents. But, those incidents should be considered isolated incidents.
Minorities have not been tortured with state support while the current government has been in power.
So we should all show the mentality of working together for the country's development without criticising just for the sake of criticism. Propagation of baseless information may bring temporary benefits, but its effects are never positive in the long run. Bangladesh's United Nations Human Rights Council membership has proved that fact. Lastly, I thank the Prime Minister and the Ministry of External Affairs for this outstanding achievement.
Pranab Kumar Panday is a Professor of Public Administration at the University of Rajshahi
