The United Nations fact-finding team has called for the submission of information to investigate allegations of human rights violations committed in Bangladesh between July 1 and August 15.
The organization called for this in a statement on Monday (September 16). The UN Human Rights Office, at the invitation of the Interim Government of Bangladesh, is conducting an independent and impartial investigation into human rights violations arising out of the recent protests from July 1 to August 15, 2024, the statement said.
The fact-finding team is tasked with uncovering the truth, identifying responsibility, analyzing the root causes of human rights violations and making specific recommendations for Bangladesh to prevent past human rights violations and their recurrence.
All individuals, groups and organizations are invited to provide primary information on human rights abuses and abuse of power in the context of the protests between July 1-August 15. The team is requesting information that is not currently available on social media and has not been published or disseminated. OHCHR-FFTB-Submissions@un.org - Submit information to this email.
The investigation team also plans to interview victims, law enforcement officials, medical professionals and eyewitnesses.
A fact-finding investigation is neither a criminal investigation nor a legal investigation. It operates independently of any national criminal justice process.
This information search process is strictly confidential. During the investigation, members of the investigation team will not give interviews to any media. They humbly request everyone to respect the confidentiality of the information seeking process.
Following on-site inspections and data analysis, the UN Human Rights Office will issue a detailed human rights report with the main findings, conclusions and recommendations of the investigation.
For more information, please contact the spokesperson of the United Nations Office for Human Rights in Geneva by email - OHCHR-media@un.org.
It may be noted that a UN delegation met with student leaders last week to learn about the latest protests in Bangladesh. The UN special team also held meetings with people detained or injured in the movement, advisers to the interim government, chief justice, senior officers of the police and armed forces, lawyers, journalists and human rights activists, representatives of political parties and minority and indigenous communities. In these meetings, the UN team discussed procedures for investigating human rights abuses and abuse of power in the context of recent violence and unrest, as requested by the interim government.