Why UN is yet to recognise 1971 genocide in Bangladesh

The need for substantial information, international politics and a lack of UN action have been identified as key reasons behind why the UN is yet to recognise the 1971 genocide in Bangladesh, according to experts.

But 75 years after the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide came into force, it has yet to recognise the genocide in Bangladesh.

Before getting into the why, it's important to examine the current reality and the case being made.

The United Nations (UN), since its inception, has been involved in investigating and recognising several cases of genocide, including the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and the Bosnian genocide.

The global organisation – that aims to promote international cooperation, maintain international peace and security, and uphold human rights – however, is yet to officially recognise the genocide that occurred in Bangladesh back in 1971.

The then East Pakistan, on the verge of its 53rd anniversary of independence earned through a nine-month-long violent struggle, lost over three million people, mostly civilians, to the West Pakistan Army and their collaborators.

Besides, more than two lakh women were raped and tortured; thousands of houses were set ablaze and mass lootings were conducted by the Pakistani occupying forces till December 1971.

On 9 December 1948, the UN unanimously adopted a convention on genocide, identifying it as a "crime committed with the intention to destroy in whole or part of a national, ethnical, racial or religious group."

But, despite calls from various human rights organisations and the government of Bangladesh, the UN is yet to officially recognise the events of 1971 as genocide.

Some have speculated that this is due to political reasons and the influence of powerful member states on the UN Security Council.

Lack of info

Shahriar Kabir, president of Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, told The Business Standard that the UN requires substantial evidence to recognise an event as genocide.

"The United Nations needs substantial information on the atrocities of Pakistan in Bangladesh in 1971 to get all its member countries to recognise the genocide. It is a much more complicated process than getting 21 February declared as the International Mother Language Day," he said.

Due to the chaos and violence during the Bangladesh genocide in 1971, it may have been difficult to collect enough evidence to meet the organisation's standards, he added.

International politics

The UN's recognition of a genocide is often subject to political considerations. During 1971, many powerful countries, including China and the US, were pro-Pakistan.

"These countries may have used their influence to prevent the UN from formally recognising the events in Bangladesh as genocide," said Shahriar Kabir.

UN inaction

UN is often criticised for its failure to take action to prevent or stop genocides and in the case of Bangladesh, it may have been hesitant to formally recognise the events as genocide because of the perception that it had not done enough to prevent the atrocities from occurring in the first place.

In this regard, writer and historian Muntassir Mamoon said the government of Bangladesh has an important role to play to get the UN to recognise the genocide.

"The government has to come forward to get the international community to recognise the genocide in Bangladesh in 1971. We need to approach the matter more diplomatically to the United Nations. It may be a lengthy process but it can be done," he said.

The Bangladesh government has brought up the issue on numerous occasions.

While the UN has not officially recognised the Bangladesh genocide, many countries and international organisations have acknowledged the atrocities committed during that time.

Calls have been made to the UN to take action and formally recognise the events of 1971 as a genocide so that the victims and their families get justice and a form of closure.

Additionally, Bangladesh has recognised the event as genocide and has established a national holiday to commemorate the victims but it is high time that the UN and West did their part by shedding light on one of the darkest chapters of modern history.

'Genocide politics' and some of the worst so far

The term "genocide politics" has gained increasing attention in recent years in political discourse referring to the use of tactics and policies aimed at destroying or eliminating a particular ethnic, religious, or national group.

Genocide politics can take many forms, including forced displacement, mass killings, torture, and other forms of violence and can also include policies aimed at restricting the rights and freedoms of a particular group, such as denying access to education or healthcare.

The UN, since the entry of the word "genocide" into international laws over six decades ago, has promptly recognised mass slaughters as "crimes against humanity."

The ongoing Rohingya crisis is one of the most notable recent examples of genocide politics.

The government there led by Aung San Suu Kyi has been accused of a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Muslim minority group in Myanmar.

The Rohingya population, a large portion of which (over a million) currently residing in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, has been subjected to mass killings, rape, and forced displacement.

In 1985, the UN recognised the killing of hundreds of Armenians between 1915 and 1917 as genocide, as well as the mass murder of Jews by Nazis. It also recognised in June 1994 the 100-day killing of an estimated 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis by the Hutu-majority government soldiers and thugs the same year.

The other prominent recognised genocides are – The Bosnian Genocide - the killing of Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys by Serbian forces during the Bosnian War; The Darfur Genocide (2003-ongoing) - the killing of non-Arab tribes by Arab militias, supported by the Sudanese government, in Darfur region of Sudan; and The Yazidi Genocide (2014-ongoing) - the systematic killing, enslavement, and rape of Yazidi people by ISIS in Iraq.

However, it is important to note that the UN's recognition of genocide does not necessarily mean that all countries or individuals recognise it as such.