Dhaka, Aug 22: A United Nations (UN) team has arrived in Bangladesh to initiate discussions on how to investigate human rights violations and abuses linked to the recent unrest that led to the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government.
The delegation, led by Rory Mungoven, head of the Asia-Pacific Section of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, began its visit on August 22. This eight-day trip aims to outline the modalities for an investigation into the violent crackdown on protesters during the “students’ revolution.”
Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, had previously informed Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on August 14 that a UN-led investigation would soon commence. The team will work on setting up the framework for this investigation and will collaborate with the interim government led by Yunus.
“The purpose of our visit is to engage with the interim government, advisors, ministries, civil society, and various sectors of Bangladeshi society to understand their priorities and needs,” Mungoven explained to reporters. The discussions will focus on how the UN can support the national process and contribute to a comprehensive inquiry into the recent human rights abuses.
During their stay, the team will meet with members of the interim government and civil society groups to gather information. The visit, from August 22 to 29, is primarily exploratory and will not involve direct investigation. Instead, it aims to finalize the process for a forthcoming fact-finding mission.
A statement from the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Bangladesh clarified that this visit is intended to facilitate the setup of the investigation rather than conduct it. A separate team of UN experts will be dispatched in the coming weeks to carry out the actual investigation into the reported violations.
The interim government has expressed its commitment to fully cooperating with the UN team to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation.