Staff Reporter :
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recommended that banning any political party in Bangladesh would undermine the foundation of multiparty democracy and disenfranchise a significant portion of the electorate.
The recommendation came up in the report titled ‘Human Rights Violations and Abuses related to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh’.
The report urges the Interim Government to refrain from imposing political party bans, emphasising the importance of genuine multiparty democracy.
“Refrain from political party bans that would undermine a return to a genuine multiparty democracy and effectively disenfranchise a large part of the Bangladeshi electorate,” the report stated.
The OHCHR also recommended ensuring a safe and enabling environment for free and fair elections by respecting fundamental freedoms.
It called for special measures, especially during the pre-election period, to create a level playing field for all political parties and candidates.
“Ensure a safe and enabling environment for free and genuine elections, including by respecting fundamental freedoms.
Entrench the reintroduction of appropriate special measures, especially for the period prior to elections, to ensure a level playing field for all participating political parties and candidates. Strengthen oversight institutions that balance the influence of political parties on governance,” it said.
It has also recommended strengthening democratic participation through citizen-led mechanisms, enhancing oversight institutions to balance political influence in governance, and consulting with political parties to ensure internal management aligns with human rights principles.
Additionally, the report emphasized the need to implement laws promoting gender equality in political and public life, suggesting temporary special measures where necessary to achieve substantive equality between men and women.
“Initiate a broad consultation with political parties towards ensuring that the internal management of parties respects human rights principles,” it said.
The report also stated that many protesters interviewed by OHCHR, including victims of serious injuries, emphasized that they had laid their lives and futures on the line to achieve real change in their country and regain lives of freedom, equality and fair opportunity for all persons in Bangladesh.
The magnitude and seriousness of the violations and their deep-seated root causes require urgent measures as well as profound reforms so that similar patterns of serious violations do not occur again.
In this process, victims and communities that have been deeply affected by serious human rights violations and abuses, not only in the context of the 2024 protests but also in prior cycles of political violence, should be given a platform to voice their grievances, receive some measure of justice and redress, and help shape the future of the country.
