Volker Turk wants independent oversight over Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies

Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has called for building a strong and independent national institution capable of overseeing Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies. He made the call while delivering a speech on the global situation at the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations office in Geneva on Monday.

Turk said, “We have been calling for building a strong and independent national institution capable of overseeing the law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has previously spoken multiple times about the need to build a strong institutional framework to ensure accountability of the law enforcement agencies and independent oversight over them.

The fact-finding report of the United Nations Human Rights Office on the July movement of 2024 had recommended independent investigation, institutional reform, civilian oversight and accountability measures in cases of serious human rights violations.

The United Nations recommendations related to Bangladesh have also spoken about further strengthening the National Human Rights Commission so that the institution can work independently and investigate allegations raised against the law enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile, there is concern among rights activists and legal experts over the recently enacted enforced disappearance-related law and the National Human Rights Commission-related law in Bangladesh. According to them, these laws do not fully meet international human rights standards in terms of independence, investigation powers and accountability.