Introduction
With this human rights charter, Amnesty International urges all political parties contesting the upcoming
election in Bangladesh to ensure that the protection and promotion of human rights is a core part of
their plans for the country. With this brief ten-point agenda, listed with no order of priority, Amnesty
International highlights Bangladesh’s human rights obligations in accordance with the rights guaranteed
by the country’s commitment to international treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESR), as well as by the constitution of Bangladesh.
1. Respect and protect Freedom of Expression and media freedom
Freedom of expression in Bangladesh has seen a rapid deterioration with the introduction of laws such
as the Cyber Security Act (CSA) of 2023, now repealed Digital Security Act (DSA) of 2018 as well as the
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Act of 2006. Though the Digital Security Act and
controversial sections of the ICT Act have recently been repealed, there are cases filed under said laws
that are still active in courts. There are misuses of laws as well, as seen in the case of Rozina Islam
where she was charged under the Official Secrets Act for writing about how the government procured
Covid-19 vaccines.
Recommendations:
• Immediately and unconditionally release and drop all charges against all those charged
under the Cyber Security Act, Digital Security Act, and ICT Act solely for exercising their
right to freedom of expression.
• Amend the Cyber Security Act in accordance with international human rights law and
standards. Remove sections 21, 25 and 28 of the CSA which criminalize legitimate
expression of opinions or thoughts and have been used to stifle peaceful dissent under
the now repealed DSA.
• Decriminalize defamation and end subjecting it to criminal sanctions such as fines or
imprisonment. Defamation should exclusively remain a matter of civil law and civil
litigation.
• Introduce legislation to provide access to justice and effective remedies including
adequate compensation for human rights violations, such as the rights to freedom of
expression, privacy, and liberty and security of the person.
• End the misuse of laws to harass and intimidate journalists.
2. Protect the Protest
Large groups of Bangladeshis took to the streets in Dhaka in December 2022 to protest against the
government. These protests were led by the political opposition, demanding a caretaker government to
be established ahead of the elections in 2024. The protests were also linked to the rising cost of living
crisis. This wave of protests, which were largely peaceful continued throughout 2023, and was met with
unlawful use of force by the law enforcement authorities firing live bullets, rubber bullets, tear gas and
water cannons indiscriminately at the protesters. Amnesty International verified evidence of unlawful use
of force by the law enforcement authorities at a mass protest held on July 29, analysing and geolocating photographs and video footages from the protests and collaborating with eyewitness accounts,
which includes firing tear gas near hospitals, assaulting unarmed protesters, people clad in civilian
clothing attacking protesters side by side the police.
Recommendations:
• End the unnecessary and excessive use of force when responding to public demonstrations.
• Fulfil Bangladesh’s obligations to protect and facilitate peaceful assembly and ensure that any
responses (including restrictions) are lawful, necessary, proportionate, and in line with
international standards.
• Ensure that all arrests are carried out in line with due process safeguards and in accordance
with international human rights law and standards, including but not limited to the right to a
free and fair trial, the right to be informed of the reason for arrest and the place of detention,
and the right to be brought promptly before a judge, and ensure access to legal counsel and
family
3. Sustainable solutions to the Rohingya crisis
Nearly three-quarters of a million Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh to escape a widespread and
systematic assault on their villages launched by the Myanmar security forces and constituted grave
crimes under international law in 2017. Both the government of Bangladesh and the international
community have failed to address the long-standing issues faced by the Rohingya while they remain
forcibly displaced. The UN Special Rapporteur in June 2023 expressed concerns over Bangladeshi
authorities using coercive measures to get consent of the refugees for a pilot repatriation project.
Attempts to relocate Rohingya people out of the camps to Bhasan Char, a remote island in the Bay of
Bengal, has been a concern as the unstable, silt-deposit island with unreliable water sources,
vulnerability to flooding, food shortages and restricted freedom of movement, was generally not
considered safe for settlement. Added to these is the dwindling funding to support food and
humanitarian responses for people living in the camps, as 2023 saw significant reductions in the
funding available to the World Food Programme and the UN for Rohingya camps in Bangladesh that
has made already overcrowded camps even worse for the refugees to live in, with reduced supply of
food, medicines and other basic necessities.
According to the UNHRC, more than half the refugees in the camps are under the age of 18. According
to UNHCR, women and children who make up more than 75 percent of the refugee population in the
camps are at a higher risk of abuse, exploitation, and gender-based violence according to periodic
factsheets issued by the UNHCR. Education for Rohingya children needs to be streamlined, as most of
the children – around 300,000 out of the 400,000 school aged children – are enrolled in informal
learning systems. According to UNICEF, the Myanmar Curriculum Pilot targets 10,000 children from
grades six to nine.
Recommendations:
• Protect the rights of refugees as per international human rights law and investigate allegations
of abuses by security forces and hold those responsible to account.
• Ensure that journalists, representatives of the UN, civil society organizations, including donor
and humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations, have unfettered access to
Bhashan Char island, to independently assess conditions.
• Ensure Rohingya children have access to appropriate and quality, formal education in a timely
manner.
• Respect the principle of non-refoulement by ensuring that Rohingya refugees are not
transferred to any place, including their country of origin, where they may be at real risk of
serious human rights abuses or violations.
• Involve and consult the members of Rohingya refugee community, including women, people
with disabilities, and other marginalized groups, on decisions related to their relocation,
repatriation, relief, and development.
• Engage with neighbouring countries, regional organizations, and global stakeholders to find a
comprehensive, inclusive and collaborative solution to the Rohingya crisis.
4. End impunity for Enforced Disappearances and Extrajudicial Executions
Bangladesh has a long, dark history of enforced disappearances, and it has become an institutional tool
of repression in the country. Bangladesh is yet to ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons
from Enforced Disappearance (CED) and enforced disappearance is not yet recognized as a crime in
the domestic legal system. Human Rights Watch reported that from 2009-2023, there have been
around 600 cases of enforced disappearances out of which, some people have been later released,
produced in court or died in custody. However, around 100 out of them are still missing.
Especially since the law enforcement authorities refuse to register complaints of enforced
disappearances, the families find little to no avenues for redress.
According to the local human rights organization Odhikar, at least 12 people were killed in extrajudicial
executions and 32 people became victims of enforced disappearances in the first nine months of 2023.
The Rapid Action Battalion, the Detective Branch as well as other branches of law enforcement
agencies have been repeatedly called out by the civil society organizations for carrying out these human
rights violations. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has a reputation of not only carrying out extrajudicial
executions and enforced disappearances, but also threatening, intimidating and harassing human rights
defenders and relatives of the forcibly disappeared who are demanding justice for their loved ones.
Recommendations:
• Ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance without
reservations and incorporate it into the domestic legal system criminalizing enforced
disappearances.
• Accept the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances’ request to conduct
an official visit to Bangladesh.
• Ensure victims and families of disappeared people are given full and effective reparations to
address any hardships they have endured, including compensation, restitution, rehabilitation,
satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition.
• Launch effective, independent and impartial investigations into the conduct of the Rapid
Action Battalion, Detective Branch and other departments of law enforcement, particularly in
relation to allegations of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings perpetrated by its
agents.
5. Protect Women’s Rights
Despite legal age for marriage in Bangladesh is 18, child marriages are prevalent in Bangladesh,
according to Plan International. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reported that over 70 percent of
married women, and girls have faced some form of intimate partner violence, about half of whom say
their partners physically assaulted them, while majority of women never reported the abuses and only 3
percent took legal action. Bangladeshi human rights group Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) reported that at
least 158 women were murdered by their husband or his family in just the first nine months of 2022.
According to another Bangladesh human rights group, Odhikar, between January 2001 and December
2019, over 3,300 women and girls were murdered over dowry disputes. These numbers, however, are
based on media reports and are likely only a fraction of the true levels of such violence.
According to data from the government’s One Stop Crisis Centre, between 2001 and July 2020, only
3.56 percent of cases filed under the Prevention of Oppression Against Women and Children Act 2000
Act have resulted in a court judgment and only 0.37 percent of cases have ended with convictions.
Amnesty International has also documented violence against women and girls from indigenous
communities in the submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) in 2016. The Kapaeeng Foundation, a local non-governmental organization
working on Indigenous issues in Bangladesh, reported that between 2007 and 2015, 434 Indigenous
women and girls were subjected to gender-based violence, including sexual violence.
Recommendations:
• Ensure effective implementation of the existing laws to hold perpetrators of violence against
women accountable and provide timely and adequate access to justice and reparation for
victims and survivors.
• Ensure effective access by women to judicial and legal services, including legal aid; provide
adequate training for law enforcement officials to effectively interpret and enforce gender
equality rights; and allow equal representation of women in the judiciary and law enforcement
agencies.
• Ensure that the victims and survivors of gender-based violence can access timely and
adequate compensation, and set up a compensation fund for them.
• Open more shelters and safe houses across the country, effectively disseminate information,
and remove any restrictions that limit accessibility for women and children, such as requiring a
police report or a court order to be admitted to a shelter/safe house.
6. Protect the rights of religious minorities and Indigenous Peoples
Religious minority communities, mainly Hindus, have faced violence and discrimination in Bangladesh
for decades. Ain o Salish Kendra reported that as many as 3,679 attacks on the Hindu community took
place between January 2013 and September 2021. The attacks included vandalism of and setting fire
to 559 houses and 442 shops and businesses of the Hindu community. At least 1,678 cases of
vandalism and arson attacks on Hindu temples, idols and places of worship were also reported in the
same period.
Bangladesh’s constitution also guarantees special provisions in favour of advancement of historically
disadvantaged groups. The Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord is one example, signed by the Bangladeshi
government & the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti – a political party representing the
Indigenous Peoples of Chittagong Hill Tracts. The Accord recognizes the need to protect land rights,
self-government and the culture and identities of the peoples of the region and work towards overall
development. Amnesty International commented on the Accord is being violated by the state by
deploying new units of the Armed Force Battalion to replace vacant army camps, without the consent of
Indigenous Peoples, calling the authorities to fully enact the human rights reforms that the Peace
Accord called for. Additionally, custodial deaths of indigenous rights activists have been reported, while
they were in military custody.
Recommendations:
• Enact the long-anticipated Anti-Discrimination Bill, introduced in parliament in April 2022, to
outlaw discrimination on various grounds, such as gender, religion, ethnicity, and introduce a
complaints mechanism for victims of discrimination to seek remedies.
• Fully enact the human rights reforms that the Peace Accord called for, including protections of
the rights of the Indigenous Peoples to their traditional lands.
• Adopt special measures, including reinstating quotas in jobs and higher education
scholarships, for the Indigenous Peoples to achieve effective equality and to secure their full
and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
• Ensure constitutional guarantee for equality for minority communities and hold perpetrators of
violence against minorities accountable.
7. Abolish the death penalty
Bangladesh retains death penalty in law. The Bangladesh government has not ratified the Second
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), aiming at the
abolition of the death penalty; and it has not made any commitment to abolish this punishment or
establish an official moratorium on executions as a first step towards this goal.
Between January 2018 and December 2022, Amnesty International recorded at least thirteen
executions, with 912 death sentences imposed. As of December 2021, at least 2,000 individuals were
believed to be under the sentence of death. The death penalty continues to be imposed in violation of
international law and standards. While most individuals are sentenced to death for murder, there is a
notable trend of death penalty being imposed for non-fatal offences such as rape and drug possession.
Additionally, the controversial International Crimes Tribunal, continues to sentence individuals to death,
even in absentia, despite concerns about lack of due process.
Death penalty must be restricted to the ‘most serious crimes’ and the government must establish an
official moratorium on executions as first steps towards full abolition of the punishment.
Recommendations:
• Abolish death penalty. Meanwhile, introduce an official moratorium on executions with a view
to abolishing the death penalty
• Pending full abolition, bring national law in line with restrictions to the use of the death penalty
set out under international law and standards, including narrowing the scope of the death
penalty to the “most serious crimes”, interpreted by the UN Human Rights Committee as
referring to offences involving intentional killing; and ensuring that proceedings in all capital
cases meet international standards for a fair trial;
• Raise awareness around studies showing that there is no conclusive evidence that the death
penalty acts as a unique deterrent on crime, and the human rights violations associated with
the use of this punishment.
8. Inclusive, sustainable responses to climate crisis
Bangladesh ranks seventh on the list of countries most vulnerable to climate devastation, according to
Germanwatch’s 2021 Global Climate Risk Index (CRI). Climate change has hit poor and vulnerable
people the hardest. Average tropical cyclones cost Bangladesh about USD1 billion annually. By 2050, a
third of agricultural GDP could be lost and 13 million people could become internal climate migrants. In
case of severe flooding, GDP could fall by as much as 9 percent. It has been estimated that by 2050,
one in every seven people in Bangladesh will be displaced by climate change. Specifically, with a
projected 19.6 inch (50 cm) rise in sea level, Bangladesh may lose approximately 11 percent of its land
by then, and up to 18 million people may have to migrate because of sea-level rise alone.
Recommendations:
• Initiate and implement a suitable action plan for the implementation of a special programme
regarding climate change and ensuring sustainable development.
• Make necessary action plans for capacity building for the people or groups of people of the
affected and risky areas resulting from climate change, to upgrade their lives and mitigate
short term and long term risks.
• Prioritize the climate impacts in Bangladesh in bilateral and multilateral discussions with
countries with high Co2 emissions.
9. End impunity for custodial deaths and torture
Allegations of custodial torture and death remain prevalent in Bangladesh, with NGOs such as Odhikar
and Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) estimating that there were 94 alleged deaths in custody in the first nine
months of 2023. Several people Amnesty International spoke to in 2019 for the report titled Killed in
“Crossfire”, reiterate that the law enforcement authorities demanded money in return to sparing them
from torture or death.
Recommendations:
• Conduct thorough, impartial and transparent investigations into custodial deaths and torture
and hold perpetrators accountable, without recourse to the death penalty.
• Provide prompt reparations for the victims, from the state including financial compensation
medical care and rehabilitation.
• Ratify the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and issue a declaration under Article 22 of the
Convention Against Torture so individuals facing violations of human rights guaranteed by
these treaties can send complaints directly to the Human Rights Committee and Committee
Against Torture.
10. Uphold corporate accountability and labour rights
Workers in Bangladesh face multiple barriers in their ability to exercise their rights to freedom of
expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association and collective bargaining. In October,
at least three workers were killed during protests in the run up to the Minimum Wage Board’s decision
on the national minimum wage for readymade garment (RMG) workers. RMG workers called for their
monthly wage to be increased from the current 8,000 BDT (74 USD) to at least 23,000 BDT (212
USD). On 7 November, it was announced that the minimum wage for the garment sector would only
increase from the current minimum wage of 8,000Tk to 12, 500Tk. Workers’ rights groups also
demanded the withdrawal of the Essential Services Bill tabled in Parliament which would render
industrial actions by such workers such as protests unlawful in any sector deemed ‘essential’ by the
government.
Workers across the country are killed or injured daily in preventable occupational ‘accidents’, fuelled by
a lack of corporate accountability. Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 sets arbitrary limits on the amount of
compensation payable to victims and their families for occupational injuries and deaths: 200,000 BDT
(1817 USD) for deaths and 250,000 BDT (2271 USD) for permanent disablement. Research has shown
that in practice, the average time taken for a court to order an award of compensation from the date of
application is 630 days, which is more than ten times longer than the statutorily prescribed time limit of
60 days.
Meanwhile, according to a survey published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2022”, there are
39.96 million children in the country, aged five to 17 years and 4.4 percent among them(1,776,097)
are engaged in child labour, and 60.14 percent of whom are engaged in hazardous child labour. Under
the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, child labour remains legal for children aged above 14, on the basis of
a distinction between children and adolescents, in contradiction of the definition of a child in the
Children Act 2013 which gives effect to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by
Bangladesh.
Recommendations:
• Amend the definition of a child in the Bangladesh Labour Act to align it with the UN
Convention of the Rights of the Child and Children Act 2013 and hold corporations
accountable for employing child labour.
• End violent repression of workers’ protests and conduct impartial investigations into the deaths
of unionists and other protesters and hold perpetrators accountable.
• Ensure that workers can exercise their right to freedom of association and collective bargaining
by being able to form and join trade unions at the factory level, engage in genuine social
dialogue with government authorities and factory owners, and enjoy the right to freedom of
peaceful assembly and to strike.
• Ensure that garment factory workers earn an adequate living wage according to ILO standards.
• Amend the Fifth Schedule to the Bangladesh Labour Act, so the existing statutorily capped
lump sum amounts (i.e., 200,000 BDT for occupational deaths and 250,000 BDT for
permanent disablement) are treated as the minimum and not maximum amount of
compensation payable in the event of death or permanent disablement.
• Introduce a provision in Chapter XII of the BLA that obliges Labour Courts to follow basic
principles of damages assessment in tort law (e.g. factoring in the age and loss of earnings of
the worker, number of dependents etc.) when adjudicating compensation cases under the
BLA.
• Introduce a national repository on workplace deaths and injuries to ensure transparency and
fill the gap in official data. The repository should list the total number of workplace injuries and
deaths in any given year alongside the total number of compensation claims filed in all Labour
Courts.