Diplomatic Correspondent :
The United Nations (UN) report on Bangladesh’s July uprising has revealed that over 1,400 individuals were killed, with thousands more injured, many as a result of gunfire from security forces between 1 July and 15 August.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) further indicated that 12-13 percent of the victims were children. Reports suggest that security forces targeted children, subjecting them to excessive force, arbitrary arrest, inhumane detention conditions, and other forms of mistreatment.
Thousands more suffered severe, often life-altering injuries. According to data provided to the OHCHR by the police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), more than 11,700 individuals were arrested and detained during this period.
Forensic medical information from the Dhaka Medical College Forensic Medicine Department, based on an examination of 130 deaths, suggests that more than three-quarters (78 percent) of fatalities – amounting to well over a thousand in OHCHR’s overall estimate – resulted from firearms commonly used by state security forces and not typically accessible to civilians in Bangladesh.
The report concludes that Bangladesh’s former government, along with security and intelligence agencies, and certain elements affiliated with the Awami League, were systematically involved in serious human rights violations during last year’s student-led protests.
The 114-page report, titled Human Rights Violations and Abuses Related to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh, was published on Wednesday. Its cover features a sketch depicting the body of Nafiz on a rickshaw footboard, symbolising the brutality of the events.
According to testimony from a senior official, the then-Prime Minister directed security forces to take extreme measures against protesters, instructing them to “arrest the ringleaders of the protests, the troublemakers, kill them and hide their bodies,” the report states.
Meanwhile, the Interim Government, led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, has welcomed the report and expressed gratitude to the OHCHR for conducting an independent investigation.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, speaking at the report’s launch in Geneva, Switzerland, confirmed that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was directly implicated in multiple human rights violations. When questioned about Hasina’s role, he stated: “It is evident from the report that my office has found that the highest levels of the former government were aware of these violations and were, in fact, directly involved in various human rights abuses, such as enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and the violent suppression of protests.”
“The political leadership was aware of these human rights violations, and they occurred under their coordination and directives. Senior officials and political figures were directly responsible for these actions, which were aimed at suppressing protests. We have strong grounds to believe that crimes against humanity were committed against protesters and their supporters,” he added.
Addressing the scale of these violations, he stated: “We have learned that 1,400 people have died, and the actual number could be even higher. Of these, 78% were killed by gunfire, shot with military rifles and shotguns loaded with pellets. Our report calls for a ban on the use of pellet shotguns.”
The report details how, in its efforts to contain public dissent and retain power, the former government systematically sought to suppress protests through increasingly violent means.
Findings indicate that there are credible reasons to believe that the former government, its security and intelligence apparatus, and certain elements linked to the Awami League (AL) were engaged in widespread human rights violations, including hundreds of extrajudicial killings, excessive use of force leading to serious injuries, mass arbitrary arrests, and incidents of torture and mistreatment.
The nature and scale of these violations raise concerns under international criminal law, necessitating further criminal investigations to determine whether they constitute crimes against humanity, standalone offences of torture under international law, and serious crimes under domestic legislation.
Based on direct testimony from senior officials and other sources, the OHCHR report outlines a coordinated and systematic effort involving police, paramilitary forces, military personnel, intelligence agencies, and Awami League-affiliated groups in committing serious violations, all under the knowledge and direction of the political leadership.
Women and girls who played a significant role in the early protests were also targeted. Security forces and Awami League supporters subjected them to gender-based violence, including physical assault, threats of rape, and, in some documented cases, sexual violence.
Children were among those killed or seriously injured in Dhaka and other districts. Many were also arbitrarily arrested and detained in police stations, at Detective Branch headquarters, and in prisons, often alongside adult detainees.
The OHCHR has outlined several recommendations, including security and judicial sector reforms, the repeal of restrictive laws, amendments to align legal frameworks with international human rights standards, and broader institutional and governance reforms.
The report also calls for political and economic measures to address inequality, promote inclusivity, and uphold the human rights of all Bangladeshis.
Among its key recommendations, the UN urges the disbanding of the Rapid Action Battalion, with unaffected personnel reassigned to their original units. It further calls for limiting the Border Guards Bangladesh to border control duties, restricting the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) to military intelligence operations, and ending the law enforcement role of Ansar and the Village Defence Party (VDP).
Additionally, it proposes an independent human rights screening mechanism to ensure that individuals with credible allegations of human rights violations are not deployed to peacekeeping missions.
The report recommends replacing the current Police Oversight Unit with an independent police commission, separate from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Bangladesh Police chain of command.
Finally, it stresses the need for safeguards to ensure that journalists, Awami League supporters, minority community leaders, human rights defenders, and other individuals expressing political dissent are not subjected to arbitrary arrest, false criminal charges, or intimidation.
