It also urges govt to end harassment of HR activists
The US Senate has adopted a resolution on Bangladesh emphasising the ‘critical need for political dialogue’ among political parties towards credible elections.
The Senate also condemned the political violence in Bangladesh and urged political leaders to engage ‘directly and substantively’ in a dialogue towards free, fair, and credible elections.
It urged political leaders to take immediate steps to rein in and to condemn the violence as well as to provide space for peaceful political protests.
The US Senate also urged the government of Bangladesh to ensure judicial independence, end harassment of human rights activists, and restore the independence of Grameen Bank.
It supported the ongoing efforts by United Nations Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco to foster political dialogue between political factions in Bangladesh.
Senators Richard Durbin and Michael B Enzi and Christopher S Murphy submitted the resolution (Res-318) on December 11 which was referred to the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
The resolution, cleared by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on December 18, was agreed in Senate with only an amendment to the title and with a preamble by unanimous consent on January 7. There were no roll call votes for this bill.
Originally, the title of the resolution was ‘Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the critical need for political reform in Bangladesh, and for other purposes’.
However, the Senate amended it inserting ‘critical need for political dialogue’ instead of critical need for political reform’ in Bangladesh.
Source: UNB Connect
