Has the government understood Michelle's signal?

After a four-day visit, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet returned last Wednesday. Before returning she faced the media and gave some important messages. More clearly, she gave clear instructions about what the government should do about human rights in Bangladesh. Among these, the main suggestion is, 'Formation of an independent investigation agency on disappearances, extrajudicial killings and human rights violations.' Michel said in the press conference that various committees of the United Nations Human Rights Council, including the Anti-Torture Committee, have been concerned about disappearances, extrajudicial killings and torture in Bangladesh for several years. Many of these allegations have been blamed on the Rapid Action Battalion. There is a lack of accountability in those cases of human rights violations.

The statement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is significant and of concern for Bangladesh. It can be said that this is the last warning message for the human rights situation in this country. But the question is, has the government understood this signal?

First of all, it needs to be said that the way in which the human rights situation in Bangladesh has been raised is greatly exaggerated. It can be said with data and statistics that Bangladesh's human rights situation is better than many developed democratic countries. No need to look far. The real situation can be understood if we compare the human rights situation of Bangladesh with India. Nobel-winning economist Amartya Sen has accused India of widespread human rights violations. Writer and author Arundhati Roy said that 'the right to speak is being taken away by law in India'. Human Rights Watch said in its report that, "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government is arresting, harassing and prosecuting dissident journalists, students, teachers and human rights activists. Opposition is being suppressed strictly." The less said about Pakistan's human rights the better. According to Amnesty International's report, the minimum human rights protection system has broken down in Pakistan. Gradually: Pakistan is becoming a state without human rights.

Former US President Donald Trump has given surprising information about the human rights of the United States. After an FBI raid on his Florida home, he said, ‘The United States has little respect for individual human rights.’ A Fox News poll found that 47 percent of Americans think the United States is not safe. Fox News conducted the survey in the wake of a spate of gun and terror attacks. The situation in Bangladesh is better than many countries. But for the past few years, there has been an outcry about human rights in Bangladesh. There is no reason to deny that there are some problems in Bangladesh. There are some limitations and crises. Irresponsibility and extravagance are not to be ignored. But as the general situation is shown, the way it is being lamented, is the situation as dire? Lamenting about human rights in Bangladesh started from the time of trial of war criminals. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch claims the trial of war criminals as a violation of human rights. Families of war criminals persuaded the HRC. Who owns huge wealth. Who flourished after ’75. The human rights issue is a strategy to pressure the government. Now 'human rights' has become an increasingly big headache for Bangladesh. After Joe-Biden became the US President, the US attitude towards Bangladesh has changed. The United States is now openly criticizing the human rights of Bangladesh. America never just sits back and criticizes. They also take actions. Joe Biden did not invite Bangladesh to the democracy conference. RAB has been banned. The United States has now issued warnings on issues like extrajudicial killings, disappearances, digital security laws, people's voting rights. Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights visited Bangladesh. Proposed for an impartial investigation agency. What will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs do now? The responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh is not less for the questions and debates about the human rights of Bangladesh in the international arena. This is our major diplomatic failure. What did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs do when the United States was warning about RAB one after another, asking questions about various issues? What did the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington do? As those with even the slightest knowledge of these processes know, the United States does not suddenly impose sanctions against an organization. There are many steps to be followed for this. But the embassy or the ministry did not take initiative at any stage in this process. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh did not even respond properly to all the issues that the United States had written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After the US ban on RAB, I asked Foreign Minister Dr. Abdul Momen, why didn’t you respond to the question of the US? In reply, he said, we sent a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs. But they did not answer. Traditional bureaucratic blame game! Bangladesh Embassy in Washington was also inactive. In between, war crimes groups lobbied. After the United States, now the United Nations is slowly walking on that path. The same culture of neglect here. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The program was decided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations. On the first day, the High Commissioner held a meeting with the three ministers. Held a meeting with human rights activists and organizers on August 15. There was no opportunity to respond to the complaints of human rights activists and organizers. Michelle's press conference before the departure echoes the speech of human rights activists. This is such reckless and unintelligent diplomacy.

The United Nations has called for an independent investigative body to monitor human rights allegations in Bangladesh. However, in 2009, the government established an independent human rights commission by law. The mandate of this organization was to take care of the overall human rights issues of the country. But this organization has now been made a rehabilitation center for retired bureaucrats. Not only in the international arena, but also nationally, this institution could not gain acceptance. Apart from holding a courtesy meeting, the institution played no role in Michel's visit. The responsibility of failure of an institution now rests on the entire state. The UN's advice is more like an order. Now the United Nations will see if the government takes their advice into consideration. Whether action is being taken to implement this suggestion. If Bangladesh ignores it (as it did in the case of the US) then the UN will also initiate the process one by one. The government may be shocked by a sudden and drastic ban before the elections. What will the government do then?

Has the government understood the significance of the visit of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights? International pressures on the government are becoming increasingly clear ahead of the upcoming elections. If they don't deal with the situation with skill and strategy from now on, there will a wave of unfortunate news for the government. It is not unknown to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the government that Bangladesh is the largest partner in the UN peacekeeping mission. So we have to be very careful now so that we don't bring disaster with our immature and talkative diplomacy.