7 November 2025
1. Chairperson and members of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), Geneva (ohchr-scasecretariat@un.org)
2. Chairperson and members of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA), GANHRI, Geneva (ohchr-scasecretariat@un.org)
Re: GANHRI’s failure to suspend the NHRC of Bangladesh despite its non-existence since 7 November 2024
Excellencies
The Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) is writing to express its deep disappointment with the Global Alliance of the National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and members of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the GANHRI because of its failure to take action regarding non-existent National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Bangladesh following the dismissal of all members on 7 November 2024 by the Interim Government headed by Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus. The RRAG had filed a complaint on 8 November 2024 with the GANHRI but no action has been taken as on date despite the failure of the Interim Government of Bangladesh to appoint new members of the NHRC.
We have reason to believe that the GANHRI is protecting the Interim Government of Bangladesh out of political motivation to protect the image of the Chief Advisor of the Interim Government Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus. Therefore, we are constrained to bring these facts before other stakeholders.
The detailed facts are given below:
One year ago on 7 November 2024, the Interim Government of Bangladesh dismissed all members of its NHRC including Chairman Kamal Uddin Ahmed and five other members i.e. Md Salim Reza, Aminul Islam, Kongjari Chowdhury, Biswajit Chanda, and Tania Haque. Their crime was to highlight a rise in crimes such as mob beatings, rapes, and other offences as well as political harassment, assaults on political leaders, and other violent acts in its monthly report for October 2024.
As Bangladesh had no members of the NHRC and the action of the Interim Government of Bangladesh to create an absolutely untenable situation wherein all members of the NHRC were forced to resign, on 8 November 2024, the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) filed a complaint with the Global Alliance of the NHRIs (GANHRI) to suspend the NHRC of Bangladesh. The RRAG urged that under similar circumstances, the GANHRI Bureau had suspended the membership of the Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan in July 2022 and Myanmar Human Rights Commission, Niger Human Rights Commission and the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation in July 2023.
The SCA Secretariat of the GANHRI acknowledged the complaint filed by the RRAG on 8th November 2024. However, the scheduled meeting with the SCA-Secretariat on 4th March 2025 during the visit of the RRAG Director to Geneva could not take place simply because SCA Secretariat of the GANHRI did not provide the venue of the meeting and the person to be met.
Be that as it may, more than a year has passed. The Interim Government of Bangladesh has not appointed any member of the NHRC and there has been outcry against the same at national level. Executive Director of the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Reforms Commission Dr. Iftekharuzzaman in a press statement on 23 July 2025 had stated, “..Nearly a year into their tenure, the interim government has not demonstrated any visible or effective initiative to reconstitute either of the commissions (NHRC and Information Commission). No clear explanation has been provided for the prolonged period during which the commissions remain unconstituted. Regardless of how ineffective these institutions may have been in the past, leaving them without leadership for almost a year has not only set an embarrassing precedent, but also reflects a concerning indifference to the government’s promise of ensuring free flow of information and protection of human rights.”
In the last one year, gross human rights violations were committed in Bangladesh as highlighted in the report of the RRAG, “One Year Reign of Dr Mohammad Yunus: Bangladesh Turned Into The Land of Anarchy”. The report highlighted that at least 637 persons, including 41 police officers, were reportedly lynched to death under the interim government from August 2024 to July 2025 against 51 lynching death under Sheikh Hasina government during 2023 i.e. increase of 1,250%. The formal justice system has been destroyed with removal of 21 Supreme Court and High Court judges and removal of all members of the NHRC. Further, criminal cases were filed against a total of 5,16,327 persons including 79,491 persons named and 4,36,836 persons unnamed in about 1,567 cases; a total of 878 journalists were targeted; 51 cases were filed while 39 persons were arrested under the Cyber Security Act of 2023 while a total of 2,485 incidents of violence against religious and ethnic minorities were reported. Furthermore, there is no right to freedom of association and assembly for the Awami League and its affiliate organizations, indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and the Hindu minorities. While the Chhatra League and the Awami League are banned, indigenous peoples were attacked by the illegal plain settlers and Bangladesh Army at Dighinala, Khagrachari Sadar and Rangamati Sadar on 19-20 September, for organising the ‘March For Identity’ on 18 September 2024. Hindu priest Chinmoy Das has been charged with sedition and subsequently for murder for organizing a peaceful protest of the Hindus at the Lal Dighi ground, Chittagong on 25 October 2024 has been in jail from 25 November 2024.
Gross human rights violations continue unabated. On 19 October 2025, CIVICUS, Committee to Protect Journalists, Fortify Rights Human Rights Watch, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Tech Global Institute in a joint letter urged Chief Advisor Dr Yunus who had met human rights CSO UNGA 2025, inter alia, to reform the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in line with the Paris Principles, repeal or amend in line with international standards the Cyber Security Ordinance 2025 and abusive laws that have been used to restrict freedom of expression and other fundamental rights including the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Special Powers Act, the Official Secrets Act, and criminal defamation under the Penal Code, ensure press freedom and protect journalists from arbitrary arrests and detention, regardless of perceived political affiliation, prevent arbitrary arrests and detentions and facilitate the dismissal or withdrawal of all cases that are politically motivated or infringe on freedom of expression or other fundamental rights, end the broad ban on Awami League activities under the Anti-Terrorism Act which excessively restricts freedom of association, assembly, and expression, lift restrictions on civil society funding and operations and reform the NGO Affairs Bureau.
It is in times like this that a National Human Rights Institution has to exist but there has not been any NHRI in Bangladesh for the last one year. Yet, the GANHRI continues to provide “B Status” to the NHRC of Bangladesh despite filing of a specific complaint on 8th November 2024.
As the GANHRI continues to treat a non-existent NHRC of Bangladesh as one of its members with B Status, its entire accreditation process regarding compliance with the Paris Principles is suspect and does not meet the test of impartiality and objectivity. The case of the NHRC of Bangladesh exposes the duplicity and hypocrisy of the GANHRI.
The RRAG once again fervently calls upon the GANHRI to take emergency measures to suspend the NHRC of Bangladesh with immediate effect.
With kind regards,
Suhas Chakma
Director, RRAG
