Six human rights organizations write to Yunus government with 12 recommendations, including lifting of Awami League ban

Special Correspondent

Six international human rights organizations have jointly issued an open letter to the interim government’s chief advisor, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, calling for the implementation of 12 recommendations, including the lifting of the ban imposed on the Awami League.

The 12 priority issues requested by the government to be implemented in this letter, published on the Human Rights Watch website, are:

Ensuring accountability and justice, security sector reform, strengthening the Commission for the Identification and Investigation of Crimes of Disappearances, restructuring the National Human Rights Commission, reforming laws to protect individual freedoms, protecting personal data and limiting surveillance, withdrawing politically motivated cases, lifting the ban on the Awami League, ensuring the independence of civil society and NGOs, protecting Rohingya refugees, and cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The letter was signed by six international organizations—Civicus, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Fortify Rights, Human Rights Watch, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and Tech Global Institute.

The letter calls for more effective steps to protect human rights ahead of the 2026 national elections. It states,

“In this short interim period before the elections, we call on you to further expand human rights protections and build strong institutions in Bangladesh that will ensure free and fair elections and prevent the risk of future authoritarian rule.”

The organizations expressed concern that structural reforms in the security sector have not yet been implemented and that many members of the law enforcement agencies are not fully cooperating with the accountability and reform process.

The letter further states,

“The ongoing arbitrary arrests and detentions, especially in cases involving the Awami League that lack proper evidence or appear to be politically motivated, must be stopped immediately.”

The organizations also expressed concern over the Rohingya issue. The letter quoted the statement made by the Chief Adviser at the UN Conference on Rohingya, saying:

“You said that the only solution to the Rohingya crisis is repatriation and that the newly arrived refugees should be ‘allowed to return’ as an ‘immediate step’. The Rohingya have long expressed their desire to return to their homeland. But there is currently no safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation environment in Myanmar for anyone, including the nearly 150,000 Rohingya who have arrived since late 2023.”

The final part of the letter calls for the implementation of the 12-point recommendations mentioned above to protect the rights, security and freedom of all citizens living in Bangladesh.

 

12-point proposal to protect human rights

The 12-point recommendations put forward by international human rights organizations to the interim government of Bangladesh emphasize accountability, human rights protection, legal reform, and political freedom.

1. Accountability and ensuring justice:
The International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) has already taken a significant step by indicting and issuing arrest warrants against military and intelligence officials. The military must fully cooperate in this process and respect the Tribunal’s jurisdiction as a civilian court. The ICT’s independence, legal framework and resources should also be strengthened, and a moratorium on executions should be granted.

2. Security sector reform:
The organizations believe that it is necessary to abolish the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and limit the powers of the military intelligence agency DGFI. According to them, the past activities of RAB—especially allegations of torture, killings, and disappearances—have led this force beyond reform. Therefore, all military personnel should be withdrawn from the civilian law enforcement forces and the activities of DGFI should be limited to military intelligence activities only.

3. Strengthen the Commission for the Criminalization and Investigation of Disappearances:
Disappearances should be clearly declared a crime in accordance with international standards and the ‘Disappearance Prevention and Remedy Ordinance’ should be passed immediately—but without the death penalty and in line with international human rights treaties. The established commission should be given adequate time, budget, and full independence to investigate.

4. Reform of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC):
The NHRC should be made fully independent, free from political influence and effective in line with the Paris Principles. It should be ensured that the Commission can exercise full powers to investigate complaints against state institutions, including security forces.

5. Legal reforms to protect individual freedoms:
All repressive laws, including the Cybersecurity Ordinance of 2025—such as the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Special Powers Act, the Official Secrets Act, and defamation provisions in the Criminal Code—must be amended or repealed in accordance with international human rights standards. According to organizations, although the 2023 law has been repealed, the new ordinance still contains some vague provisions that could encourage abuse of power.

6. Personal data protection and limiting surveillance:
The draft ‘Personal Data Protection’ and ‘National Data Management’ ordinances should be revised in line with international standards, so that citizens’ privacy is protected and excessive powers of state authorities are limited.

7. Freedom of expression and protection of journalists:
Journalists must be protected from harassment, arrest, or attacks on charges of political bias. In addition, the recommendations of the Media Reform Commission must be implemented to ensure press freedom.

8. Withdrawal of politically motivated cases:
A review and cancellation of all politically motivated cases filed before and after August 2024 has been demanded. Cases where there is no credible evidence have been called for immediate withdrawal.

9. Lift the ban on Awami League:
The organizations have called for the immediate lifting of the blanket ban imposed on Awami League under the Anti-Terrorism Act. According to them, it is a major obstacle to democracy and multi-party politics. Citing a February 2025 report by the United Nations, it said, “In the interest of democratic restoration, banning any political party should be avoided.”

10. Civil Society and NGO Freedom:
The NGO Affairs Bureau should be reformed to ensure that it does not become a tool to harass civil society organizations or block foreign funding. The Foreign Donation Control Act also needs to be reviewed.

11. Protection of Rohingya refugees:
Stop the forced return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. Ease restrictions on movement, livelihoods, and education in the camps, so that their dignity and self-reliance are maintained.

12. Cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC):
Full cooperation must be ensured in the ongoing investigation by the ICC into the Bangladesh-Myanmar issue. Anyone accused in a warrant issued by the court and found in Bangladesh must be extradited.