Staff Reporter :
The United States has condemned the use of live ammunition targeting unarmed students protesting for quota reforms in government jobs across Bangladesh.
The United Nations has also expressed concern over the excessive use of force by the Bangladeshi government against protesters exercising their right to peaceful assembly.
“We’ve condemned the use of live fire ammunition that we’ve seen in Bangladesh.
Governments, whether in Bangladesh or anywhere else, need to be protecting the rights of people to protest peacefully and need to be protecting the right of journalists to do their job in a free and unfettered manner,” said Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, during a press briefing in Washington on Wednesday.
In response to a question about the Bangladeshi government’s request for UN assistance in any investigation, Dujarric stated, “We are always ready to assist governments anywhere who may request help with different issues, and we see how we can best do that.”
He further explained that an independent investigation would require a mandate from a legislative body of the organisation.
Before the question-and-answer session, Dujarric recounted ongoing humanitarian crises in Bangladesh despite the political situation and violence.
“Despite the political situation and the violence we have seen, it is important to remind everyone that there are humanitarian crises ongoing in Bangladesh and we and our partners continue to provide support to the people impacted by a number of emergencies – including Cyclone Remal – which has impacted 13 million people across Bangladesh this year,” he said.
“Our partners continue their work despite operational challenges – which include internet outages, bank closures, and curfews,” he added.
He also noted that, “Last month, we and our partners launched the $80 million Humanitarian Response Plan to support 1.2 million people.
The appeal is currently only 18 per cent funded. On 5 June, $7.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund was made available to support the response to the cyclone, while an additional $6.2 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund was released on 4 July, to allow for cash payments to communities in the Jamuna Basin.
And of course, there is also a massive humanitarian operation in Cox’s Bazar for refugees from Myanmar and to support the host communities.”