RAB may be renamed under new law
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Monday said the government will restructure the Rapid Action Battalion as a people-friendly, responsible and accountable force.
He made the remarks while addressing a programme at the RAB headquarters in Uttara, marking the force’s 22nd founding anniversary.
The home minister said the government has taken a series of reform initiatives to transform RAB into a professional, modern and people-oriented institution.
The initiatives include enhancing the operational capability and professional skills of RAB members, providing specialised training on minimum use of force in line with international standards, ensuring human rights compliance and using artificial intelligence in crime prevention, he said.
Salahuddin also announced that a specialised training centre for RAB would soon be established at Jungle Salimpur in Chattogram to strengthen the force’s operational capacity.
He said the government is working to adopt time-befitting strategies to address changing crime patterns, strengthen public engagement and uphold human rights, rule of law and professional ethics.
“To ensure transparency and accountability, the government has taken initiatives to formulate a specific and comprehensive law for RAB,” he said.
The minister said the elite force had been used for political purposes during the previous Awami League government, damaging its image. However, he said an entire institution should not be blamed for the unlawful activities of a few officials.
“The institutions must continue their work while upholding their own reputation and dignity. There will be no political interference from the government in this regard,” he said.
Salahuddin said the government also wants to show the world that all its institutions are accountable and committed to the rule of law.
He added that the government is considering changing RAB’s existing name.
Replying to a question, the home minister said RAB is a combined elite force comprising members from Bangladesh Police, the Armed Forces Division, Ansar, Border Guard Bangladesh and civil staff.
On the issue of US sanctions on RAB, Salahuddin said the entire institution had suffered because of the unlawful activities of a small number of officers.
He said directives had already been issued to take strict legal action against accused officers under the legal frameworks of their respective forces.
The minister expressed hope that once RAB is reformed, reorganised or renamed under the proposed law, the United States would reconsider the sanctions issue.
Explaining the need for legal reform, Salahuddin said RAB had not operated under a specific independent law for the past 20 years. Instead, it functioned on an ad hoc basis under a special provision of the Armed Police Battalion Act.
“An elite force cannot continue for such a long time under an interim structure,” he said.
To address the legal gap, the Ministry of Home Affairs has formed a high-level law formulation committee comprising experts, which is being supervised by the minister himself.
The proposed law will clearly define the force’s authority and responsibilities while ensuring strict provisions for transparency and accountability, he said.
Responding to another question about investigations and trials over enforced disappearances and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the previous government, Salahuddin said the earlier commission on enforced disappearances had no specific legal authority to take punitive measures, creating legal complications.
The government is now working to amend and strengthen the law related to the International Crimes Tribunal, he said.
Once the reforms are completed, cases related to enforced disappearances, threats of disappearance and missing persons could be tried through a specific legal process under a special tribunal, ensuring justice for victims and their families, he added.
