Criticizing the 2023 human rights report released by the US State Department recently, a State Department spokesperson said it is clear that the report is based mostly on assumptions and unsubstantiated allegations.
Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said at a press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today, “There is some implicit and visible bias in the reporting pattern.”
He said the complaints were received from various local and international non-governmental organizations (including anonymous sources), many of which were supported by the US government or related agencies.
He lamented that many developments and achievements of the Bangladesh government were not recognized in the report. On the other hand, isolated and baseless allegations continue as part of a systematic trend.
He added that it would be clear from the report that numerous references to specific actual or alleged instances were used to establish broad, generalized conclusions.
The statement said, “The Government of Bangladesh has taken note of the publication of the US State Department’s ‘Country Report on Human Rights Practices, 2023’ and appreciates the US administration’s continued interest in the human rights situation around the world.”
“No matter how much we hope, the human rights situation anywhere in the world is not perfect,” Sehli said. Although human rights are not out of reach, their fulfillment may be increasing. Because socio-economic constraints often limit the speed of realization of these rights.
Bangladesh government is trying its best to uphold the human rights of its citizens. He said, in fact, the human rights situation in Bangladesh has improved significantly under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In areas where further improvement is needed, the current government, while in office since 2009, has continued to focus on realizing meaningful progress in the human rights situation.
Any astute observer will note that such efforts have resulted in women’s empowerment, gender equality, children’s rights, senior citizens’ rights, workers’ rights, grievance redressal, access to justice, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of assembly and more, the spokesperson said. Many things have improved significantly.
He said, contrary to what the report claims, former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia is a convicted person suspended under the executive power and definitely not under any kind of ‘house arrest’.
He said one of the major missing elements of the report is the systematic campaign by the anti-state and anti-government groups to create instability, violence and anarchy using various pretexts and vested interest groups before the 12th national elections last year.
While the report in some cases alleged excessive force against the law enforcement agencies, it failed to reflect the violence and vandalism by the BNP and its political allies, which often disrupted the lives of ordinary people and resulted in damage to public and private property.
He said it was deplorable that the report blamed it for resorting to few legal steps and remedies when the state was engaged in safeguarding public life, law and order and property against such orchestrated campaigns.
It must be registered that the law enforcement agencies of Bangladesh have exercised utmost restraint and dealt with any law and order situation with complete professionalism.
He noted that, coupled with the government’s sincere support and the professional conduct of the election by the Election Commission, 28 of the 44 registered parties participated in the 12th National Election, with 42 percent of people exercising their franchise despite the boycott of the BNP and some other parties.
It is unfortunate that in spite of ongoing dialogue with the US authorities on human rights and labor rights issues, the report repeatedly makes several allegations to discount the views of the state or government on the matter. For example, the Rohingya people continue to be labeled as ‘refugees’ or ‘stateless persons’, undermining their legitimate claims to be recognized as citizens or residents of Myanmar.
In another example, some ethnic minority groups continue to be labeled as ‘indigenous people’ contrary to the country’s constitutional provisions, which often amounts to attempts to incite unwarranted tension and division. Again, in some cases, the report omits or ignores basic evidence or information shared with US authorities in individual cases. For example, information about the judicial proceedings in the alleged murders of Shaheen Mia and Mohammad Raju was shared that the incidents were within the ambit of the law.
Still, he said, the judicial process adopted in Jasmine Sultana’s case was not adequately reflected in the report, especially the issue of ongoing due process. Similarly, the report mentions a number of cases regarding labor rights issues, particularly regarding trade union registration and activities, which have been discussed with relevant US officials on a number of bilateral or multilateral platforms.
As usual, the report mischaracterized the legal actions taken by law enforcement authorities in cases of unwanted obstruction or vandalism in the name of workers against factories, establishments, public property or management personnel.
The spokesperson said subsequent administrative and judicial steps taken to ensure redress and accountability often tended to highlight incidents committed by private individuals or entities as part of systematic human rights abuses without elaborating.
The report fails to assess and rather undervalues several valuable state institutions, including an independent judiciary and some statutory bodies, which is detrimental to the morale and effectiveness of such institutions.
In general, the Government of Bangladesh takes note of the overall report and looks forward to engaging with the United Nations human rights process, the United States and other international partners and actors to uphold its commitment to ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by all citizens under all circumstances.
The Government of Bangladesh took this opportunity to reiterate its concern over the continued violation of human rights in Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces and hopes that the United States will play a leading role in the international community’s ongoing efforts to stop the grave human rights violations, killings of innocent women and children, and crimes against humanity in Palestine.
AH
