Adviser Asif Nazrul for tougher action against enforced disappearances

Law Affairs Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul today (30 August) reaffirmed the government's commitment to establishing a stronger accountability mechanism and addressing the concerns of the families of the victims of enforced disappearances.

"As far as enforced disappearances are concerned, we need to take a tougher position. Let us make a very good beginning together from where it will be difficult for anyone to deviate," he said while speaking at a roundtable discussion in a city hotel.

The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CIED) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) jointly organised the discussion titled 'On the Road to Accountability: Commemorating the Day for the Victims of Enforced Disappearances', marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Chief Prosecutor of International Crimes Tribunal Tajul Islam, Chief of the CIED Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, family members of the victims of enforced disappearances and human rights activists were present.

Chief of Mission, OHCHR Huma Khan delivered welcome remarks while CIED member Dr Nabila Idris made a keynote presentation.

The United Nations said enforced disappearances have frequently been used as a strategy to spread terror within society. The feeling of insecurity generated by this practice is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects their communities and society as a whole.

"You had many expectations from us. We have fulfilled those expectations where we did not face any barriers," said the Law Adviser, adding that the government agreed to establish the UN human rights mission in Dhaka to make sure that no such incident happens again in Bangladesh and establish a stronger accountability mechanism.

Regarding false cases, he said they have withdrawn around 20, 000 politically motivated cases, but the stakeholders warned that militant and terrorism related cases should not be withdrawn.

The law adviser assured the Commission that if they have concrete evidence regarding a false case, that case will be withdrawn as soon as possible.

He said no mistake can be done and it requires huge scrutiny so that no militant is released.

Adviser Adilur said the commission has done a wonderful job and two reports have been submitted. "We are waiting for the third report. We don't think it ends here. There will be many more things to do from civil society."

He said Bangladesh's people always struggled. The last 15 years' struggle was too long and very terrible when many people sacrificed their lives on which current Bangladesh is standing.

Adviser Adilur said he strongly believes that the OHCHR and the commission through their joint efforts will show a path to the people who are seeking justice for the cases of enforced disappearance, torture and extrajudicial killings.

He said two tribunals are not enough to deal with the situation and the Chief Prosecutor may wonder whether there is a necessity for more tribunals.

"It is a very serious issue that the victims of the enforced disappearances are still continuing their struggle with the cases. We will look into it," Adilur said, hoping that the issue related to having access to bank accounts by the victims' families will also be resolved soon.

"Discussion at this moment is very crucial because we are nearly a year after the formation of the Commission, a year after the uprising in July and change of government," Huma Khan said.

She said there are four pillars to transitional justice - getting to know the truth, justice, reparations and the guarantee of non-recurrence.

Regarding the law, Huma Khan said the progress has been slow and there are some challenges with the drafts that they have seen. "I would like to urge the interim government to dissociate some issues from the law."

One of the issues that should be not waiting for the law is an executive order that could help victims to access their property and their bank account, she said.

"The second issue that can help many victims who have been fortunate enough to come back alive, but have court cases against them……a lot of these cases are fabricated, if there can be a special tribunal which can expedite these cases to resolve this," she mentioned.

The CIED chief said so far, they have received around 1850 complaints and they hope to submit their final report by December 2025.

Since the inception of the Commission, he said they have been working very relentlessly and diligently.

The commission chief said enforced disappearance is more terrifying than death, and noted that the judicial system failed to play a proactive role in curbing human rights abuses.

He said the judiciary is the guardian of justice and the shield of the vulnerable but regrettably, the judiciary significantly failed to protect the fundamental rights of the people during the past regime.

"You know, truth-seeking is the main job of the commission. This is one of the key elements of transitional justice. The other elements of transitional justice are prosecution of the alleged perpetrators. Reparations are to be paid to the victims and the members of the affected family," he added.

He said there must be institutional reforms by making necessary amendments in the relevant process.

The Council of Advisers, in its meeting on Thursday, approved the draft of the "Enforced Disappearance Prevention, Remedies and Protection Ordinance 2025" with a proposed provision of the death penalty as the maximum punishment for offenders.

The draft of the Ordinance has considered enforced disappearance as a crime with a definition and has made provisions for strict punishment, including the death penalty.

The proposed ordinance also includes provisions for the formation of a special tribunal for the prevention, remedy and protection of enforced disappearances, the obligation to complete the trial within 120 days of the filing of the complaint, protection of the rights of victims, informants and witnesses, compensation of the victims and guarantee of legal assistance.

In August last year, Bangladesh signed the instrument of accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, demonstrating its commitment to investigating each and every case of enforced disappearances.

The instrument was signed a day before the International Day for the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on August 30.