Bangladesh now has an opportunity to chart a new future: Volker Turk

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has said Bangladesh now has an opportunity to chart a new future, with the interim government making publicly clear its commitment to a peaceful and inclusive process grounded in human rights and the rule of law.

“My office is supporting the authorities, including by conducting an independent fact-finding mission into recent alleged human rights violations, and on accountability, processes of reconciliation and healing, and other essential, long-delayed reforms,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Recently in Bangladesh, the student movement carried human rights as its torch, Turk added.

While giving a global update to the UN Human Rights Council, he said his office will continue to work tirelessly in support of victims everywhere.

“I urge you all to make use of this institution to the fullest, because a strong UN Human Rights Office and a healthy, well-resourced human rights ecosystem are of global interest and benefit. And represent an extraordinary return on investment at a tiny fraction of the resources so readily devoted elsewhere,” said the UN rights chief.

Collectively, he said, they should make the choice of rejecting the “new normal” of violence and the dystopian future it would present.

“Let us embrace and trust the full power of human rights as the path to the world we want — more peaceful, just, fair, and sustainable,” Turk said.

Earlier, Turk received an official invitation from Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus to conduct an impartial and independent fact-finding probe into human rights violations committed from 1 July to 15 August.

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 longer-term reforms, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani said.

The team received commitments from the interim government and security forces for full cooperation in this work.

An advance team visited Bangladesh during 22-29 August and met with student leaders of the recent protests, many of whom have been detained or injured in recent weeks.