Student movement: UN to deploy fact-finding mission to probe rights violations

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has received an official invitation from Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus to conduct an impartial and independent fact-finding mission into human rights violations committed from 1 July to 15 August.

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani confirmed it on Friday (30 August).

The office will deploy a fact-finding team to Bangladesh in the coming weeks, to report on violations and abuses perpetrated during the protests, analyse root causes, and make recommendations to advance justice and accountability and for longer-term reforms, she said.

The team received commitments from the Interim Government and security forces for full cooperation in this work.

Earlier, the International Crimes Strategy Forum (ICSF) urged the UN rights body to investigate events which took place both before and after 5 August.

The ICSF has written a letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk seeking his initiative in this regard.

"Given the UN's intention to help Bangladesh with the transition, we believe that the investigations should look into the events which took place both before and after 5 August. We learnt from media reports that the Law Advisor of the Interim Government Dr Asif Nazrul wants the UN to look into events only up to 5 August," the letter reads.

An advance team has been in Bangladesh over the last week (from 22-29 August) meeting with student leaders of the recent protests, many of whom have been detained or injured in recent weeks.

The team also had meetings with a wide range of advisors in the interim government, the chief justice, senior officers of the police and armed forces, lawyers, journalists and human rights defenders, representatives of political parties, and minority and indigenous communities.

In its meetings, the team discussed the modalities for investigating human rights violations and abuses in the context of the recent violence and unrest, as requested by the Interim Government.

It also discussed wider areas – including civic space, the need for truth, justice, healing, reparation and reconciliation, and other human rights approaches to the reform process – in which our office could provide sustained support, Shamdasani said.