Human rights groups ask govt to keep investigating enforced disappearances

Several human rights groups have released an open letter asking the Interim Government of Bangladesh to give the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances more time—until at least December 31, 2025—to complete its work. This Commission was set up in August 2024 to investigate cases of people who were secretly taken or disappeared, especially under the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina over the past 15 years.

The Commission began its work after Bangladesh joined the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED). Since then, it has received more than 1,850 complaints and investigated about 1,350 of them. Hundreds of cases are still pending, thus cutting the Commission's work short would stop it from fully uncovering the truth and giving victims justice.

Their investigations have revealed that security forces—including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch, and military intelligence—used disappearances to silence political opponents and critics. Victims were often held in secret prisons like the infamous "House of Mirrors" inside a military building, where they were tortured or killed. Some were eventually brought to court on fake charges, while others were never seen again. Even recently, the Commission found that some detention sites were being covered up—walls removed, paint covering victim names, and tiny cells sealed up.

In a recent report, the Commission said the fate of over 300 missing people is still unknown. 

The letter also calls on the interim government to fix a proposed law meant to stop future disappearances, as they claim the draft version has serious problems and needs more public input to meet international standards.

The letter was signed by the following organisations:

• Amnesty International
• Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN)
• Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
• Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
• Capital Punishment Justice Project
• Euro-Mediterranean Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED)
• Fortify Rights
• Human Rights Watch
• International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
• International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED)
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
• International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP)
• Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared-Detainees (FEDEFAM)
• Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
• Tech Global Institute
• World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)