‘Bangladesh failed to prosecute security forces’

The Bangladesh government has failed to prosecute security forces for serious abuses including killings, disappearances, and arbitrary arrests, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2015.

The report, released on Thursday, said: “Government forces committed serious abuses both leading up to and after the January 2014 general election, while members of opposition parties engaged in violent and indiscriminate attacks to impose economic blockades and to enforce a boycott of the January polls.”

In the 656-page world report, its 25th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries.

Human Rights Watch also pointed to chronic rights issues that remain a concern in Bangladesh. Child marriage persists as a serious problem.

Conditions for the Rohingya refugee population from Myanmar remained critical with the government making dire threats about forcibly returning them. International humanitarian groups continued to report difficulty of access to the Rohingya refugee camps.

‘Security forces accountability not ensured’

In spite of well-documented evidence, the government took no steps to ensure accountability for any election-related violence or for other violations by its security forces, said the report.

The sole exception was the arrest in May of several members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) who were implicated in a high-profile contract killing of a local politician, it added.

“The arrest of a few members of RAB is a positive move, but the government must ensure that justice is not dealt out selectively, depending on family or political connections,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“The government essentially gives security forces free rein so long as it suits the government’s interests, and turns a blind eye to excesses. This has long been a trend in Bangladesh, regardless of which party is in power.”

Freedom of expression and RMG

After years of increasing restrictions on civil society, the government introduced a draft bill that would formalize restrictive practices and policies, and make access to foreign funding particularly onerous, the Human Rights Watch report noted.

The government also introduced a new media policy that imposed unacceptable limits on free expression and speech.

Although the government had amended its labour laws after the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory, workers continued to report intimidation and violence when attempting to form or join unions.

In a positive move in 2014, two groups of North American and European retailers completed their fire and safety inspections of more than 2000 factories in the ready-made garment industry following an agreement after the Rana Plaza tragedy.

Although they made their reports public and repairs have begun in some factories, inspections conducted by the government of other factories have not been made public and it remains unknown if any repairs have been undertaken.