TIB flags accountability gaps in approved human rights, enforced disappearance laws
TIB says the drafts still leave room for government influence, weak oversight and impunity, urging revisions before the laws are placed before parliament.
The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has criticised the Cabinet's in-principle approval of the draft National Human Rights Commission Act, 2026, and the draft Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Act, 2026, saying both laws retain provisions that could undermine accountability and allow impunity.
In a statement, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said the government appeared to have ignored key concerns raised by victims, stakeholders, and civil society despite the country's experience of enforced disappearances, killings and other serious human rights violations under the previous authoritarian regime.
Flaws identified in Human Rights Commission law
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The TIB said the proposed National Human Rights Commission Act retains several provisions from the 2009 law that had weakened the commission's independence and effectiveness.
Section 18 of the 2009 Act has been retained, requiring the commission to rely on reports from the government or heads of the respective forces when investigating allegations of human rights violations by law enforcement agencies. The TIB said this creates a fundamental conflict because law enforcement agencies themselves have been accused in many such cases.
The proposed appointment process is another major concern. The selection committee would include the Speaker, law minister, home minister, an MP from the ruling party and the Cabinet secretary. The TIB said the government would effectively control the nomination of at least two of the committee's remaining three other members, creating a risk of government dominance over the commission.
The draft also does not require any of the five commissioners to be women, nor does it guarantee women's representation on the selection committee. There is also no mandatory representation for minorities or disadvantaged groups. The TIB had proposed that at least two of the five commissioners be women and one represent a small ethnic group.
It also criticised provisions requiring prior government approval to establish offices outside Dhaka and allowing up to 30% of employees to be government officials on deputation.
More significantly, serving government employees could be appointed as commissioners on deputation, which the TIB said could effectively turn the commission into a government institution.
The TIB also criticised the removal of a provision from the earlier draft stating that acting on orders from a government or superior authority could not be accepted as an excuse for human rights violations. It further questioned why military detention centres have been excluded from the commission's mandate to conduct regular, unannounced inspections of places where people may be deprived of liberty.
In most cases, allegations of involvement in human rights violations have been made against law enforcement agencies. Yet, under the Cabinet-approved National Human Rights Commission Act, the Commission must rely on reports from the government or the heads of the respective forces in cases of human rights violations by law enforcement agencies.
Gaps cited in enforced disappearance law
The TIB said the proposed Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Act also contains provisions that could undermine accountability.
It criticised the decision to place responsibility for investigating enforced disappearances entirely with the police, excluding the Human Rights Commission. This is particularly problematic, it said, because members of law enforcement and other disciplined forces have been accused in many enforced disappearance cases.
The TIB also raised concerns over a provision under which a junior investigating officer would prepare an interim report when a senior official is accused of involvement in an enforced disappearance. If the report finds insufficient evidence against the senior official, a magistrate could order the official's discharge from the proceedings. The TIB questioned whether such a process could remain free from institutional or political influence.
The draft also fails to include elected representatives, ministers and other senior state officials in its definition of enforced disappearance, which the TIB said does not reflect Bangladesh's actual experience or relevant international standards.
Another concern is the omission of safeguards contained in the Enforced Disappearances Prevention and Redress Ordinance, 2025. These included Human Rights Commission powers to monitor detention safeguards, inspect prisons and detention centres, identify secret detention facilities and take lawful measures.
The TIB urged the government to revise both drafts before placing them before Parliament, incorporating the views of victims and stakeholders and ensuring that the laws reflect the principles of human rights, accountability and justice.
