November 16, 2012 - Rights activists say the government has made no progress on
human rights in its past four years. The government Bangladesh led by the Awami League
has made no progress on improving human rights in the country during its four years
in office, Human Rights Forum (HRF) said on Thursday. The concerns were expressed
at a press briefing in Dhaka during which the HRF, an alliance of 19 rights and development
organizations, unveiled a report on human rights between 2009 and 2012. The report
was submitted to the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council last month and
will be taken up at its Universal Periodic Review meeting in Geneva next May. HRF
President Sultana Kamal said that 462 people were killed in armed incidents with law
enforcers and 156 people were forcibly disappeared during the last four years, which
she characterized as a “state of terrorism.” She said they are “seriously worried
over attacks on worship places of religious minorities who are still panicked and
feeling insecure.” Kamal observed that the country has made progress in establishing
socio-economic rights for people but that the human rights situation was worsening.
“There was no prosecution or justice for 270 Bangladeshis killed at the border by
Indian border forces and nationals. Nor was there justice for thousands of slum dwellers
evicted on short notice in Dhaka,” she alleged. Kazi Rezaul Haque of the state-sponsored
National Human Rights Commission said they are working hard to better address issues
like attacks on minorities, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.