UN to dispatch mission to Bangladesh to investigate human rights violations
On Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Office announced it will send a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh, at the request of the interim government, to investigate alleged human rights violations amid recent deadly violence, News.Az reports citing The Straits Times.
Last month's anti-government protests, which began as a student-led movement against public sector job quotas, escalated into the deadliest violence since the country's independence in 1971.The unrest left more than 1,000 people dead and prompted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India on Aug. 5. Violence continued for some days after she fled.
An interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus replaced Hasina's administration, helping quell the violence as security forces also cracked down on protests.
"The office will deploy a fact-finding team to Bangladesh in the coming weeks, with a view to reporting on violations and abuses perpetrated during the protests, analysing root causes, and making recommendations to advance justice and accountability and for longer-term reforms," Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, said in a statement.
This decision follows a visit by a UN team from Aug. 22-29, during which they engaged with various stakeholders, including members of the interim government.
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