Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus led Bangladesh’s interim government in signing the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on Thursday. Yunus, holding the position of Chief Advisor of the Government of Bangladesh, shared the Instrument of Accession for the Convention on his X (formerly Twitter) account, stating that the government was “demonstrating its commitment to investigate each and every case of enforced disappearances.”
Smriti Singh, Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, welcomed the step taken by the Bangladesh interim government. She added: “Moving forward, the interim government must proactively work towards the full implementation of the Convention by ratifying it and enacting strong domestic legislation that recognizes the continuous nature of the crime and considers incidents of enforced disappearances that have already occurred prior to its enactment. It must also allow for the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to ‘receive and consider communications’ on behalf of victims, as per Article 31 of the UN Convention.”
According to data shared by Bangladeshi rights organization Odhikar, there have been 709 enforced disappearances from 2009 to June 2024. The Rapid Action Battalion, an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh police, is reported to be responsible for 206 of these disappearances. The Detective Branch of the Bangladesh Police is reported to be responsible for 240 disappearances, while the Bangladesh police are reportedly responsible for 104 on their own.
The Convention, a UN treaty, aims at preventing enforced disappearances and ensuring justice and reparations for victims. It defines “enforced disappearance” as the arrest, detention, or abduction by state agents or those acting with state support followed by a refusal to acknowledge the act. The Convention emphasizes that no exceptional circumstances can justify enforced disappearances and obliges states to investigate and prosecute such acts.
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