U.N. rights chief in Bangladesh, to visit Rohingya camps

Bangladesh has come under fire for its own rights record under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whom United Nations rights chief Michelle Bachelet will meet during her visit

August 14, 2022 09:20 pm | Updated 09:20 pm IST - Dhaka

U.N. Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet in Dhaka, Bangladesh to discuss a full range of human rights issues. Photo: Twitter/@UNHumanRights

U.N. Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet in Dhaka, Bangladesh to discuss a full range of human rights issues. Photo: Twitter/@UNHumanRights

United Nations rights chief Michelle Bachelet arrived in Bangladesh on August 14 for a four-day visit that will include a trip to squalid camps housing nearly a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

The exodus of Rohingya was sparked by a 2017 Myanmar army offensive against the mostly Muslim minority, with the U.N.'s highest court last month giving the green light to a landmark case accusing the Buddhist-majority country of genocide.

Five years later the refugees refuse to go home in the absence of guarantees for their safety and rights from military-ruled Myanmar, making host country Bangladesh increasingly impatient.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, has come under fire for its own rights record under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whom Ms. Bachelet will meet during her visit, as well as local activists.

Nine groups including Human Rights Watch said that Ms. Bachelet should "publicly call for an immediate end to serious abuses including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances" in Bangladesh.

In December the United States imposed sanctions on a notorious elite police unit and seven top security officers, including the national police chief, over gross human rights violations.

Under Ms. Hasina, security forces have killed thousands of people in staged shootouts, while hundreds of others, most of them from the opposition, have disappeared, activists say.

The government denies the allegations, and ahead of Ms. Bachelet's visit Dhaka said in a statement that it would highlight its "sincere efforts to protect and promote human rights of the people".

"Bangladesh strongly hopes that the Chief of UN human rights mechanism would witness by herself how the country is doing miracles to keep on track their development journey; integrating human rights into it," it said.

Ms. Bachelet (70) a former Chilean president, is due to step down at the end of the month.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.