Executive Summary

Human Rights Defenders, that is, those who gather and report human rights abuses, endeavor to stop such abuses, and ensure that everyone has access to their universal rights, are facing a perilous situation in Bangladesh. In the past decade, along with the overall deterioration of the human rights situation in the country, Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) are being subjected to threats, harassment, intimidation, and persecution from state and non-state actors. Legal and extra-legal measures are being used by the government and state agencies to deter the Defenders from their efforts to uphold the inalienable rights of the people. The United Nations, since the adoption of the resolution in the General Assembly in 1998, has been underscoring the need for the protection of the HRDs and reminded the states through the 2015 resolution to refrain from, and ensure adequate protection from, any act of intimidation or reprisal against human rights defenders. Although Bangladesh voted in favor of both resolutions, it has yet to put in any legal safeguard measures for the HRDs. On the contrary, the actions of the government, the ruling party, its supporters, and state agencies, have created an adverse situation for both HRDs and Human Rights Organizations. Laws inimical to the independence of the HROs and HRDs have been legislated and used. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a constitutionally mandated entity, has not lived up to expectations in protecting the rights of the victims and the HRDs.

The National Human

Its structure and composition do not incorporate the voices of human

Rights Commission

rights activists, nor allow it to act as a powerful independent body. The

(NHRC), a

judiciary’s role in protecting the victims of Human Rights violations,

constitutionally

HROs, and HRDs has been limited, at its best. This study explored the

mandated entity,

challenges faced by the HRDs through interviews of leaders of national

has not lived up to

HROs, and the head of the NHRC, and conducting a survey of 50

expectations in

grassroots Human Rights defenders from 36 districts of the country.

protecting the rights of the victims and the HRDs.

Major Findings

Representatives of the national HROs and grassroots HRDs have painted a poor state of the human rights situation and identified the following challenges:

• The overwhelming majority, that is 86%, of the Human Rights Defenders at the grassroots level, have said that they face various obstacles in their work as a defender.
• The Human Rights situation in the country is poor and worsening, making Human Rights Defenders and Human Rights Organizations’ work perilous; more than 46% of the survey respondents have rated the situation worst or near worst on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the worst). 62% of the respondents rated the overall environment for their work as ‘very unsafe and unsafe’.
• The obstacles/threats/intimidation/persecution the HRDs face come from sources connected to the state, such as law enforcement agencies, state intelligence agencies, government officials. These three sources have been identified as sources by 42.3% of respondents. Ruling party activists are identified as the source by 23.7% of respondents.
• Existing laws, such as the Digital Security Act 2018, are widely used to intimidate and persecute the HRDs, according to the leaders of the National Human Rights Organizations.
• Family members of the HRDs, in more than 10% of instances, face intimidation and threats according to the responses of the grassroots HRDs
• Threats/ harassment/ intimidation/persecution severely impact the life and work of the Human Rights Defenders forcing a significant

The Human Rights

number of them to scale down their work (28.6%) or leave their areas

situation in the

(10.7%).

country is poor and

• Reporting to the authorities about the threats and harassment by

worsening, making Human Rights

the victims, including the HRDs, is low (36% do not report) due to a

Defenders and

lack of trust in the legal system (20.5%), fear of retribution from the

Human Rights

perpetrators (20.5%), absence of proper investigations (17.8%) and

Organizations’ work

confidence in investigative entities (15.1%).

• Involvements of state actors, relations between perpetrators and the

perilous.

government, and the authority’s bias towards perpetrators are also cited as reasons for underreporting.

• Although Human Rights Organizations are the primary source of support to the HRDs, their support, and assistance are considered inadequate by 36% of the grassroots HRDs.

Recommendations

Drawing on the available studies, interviews of the leaders of the various HROs, and the survey of grassroots HRDs, the following recommendations are made to improve the Human Rights situation and defend the Human Rights Defenders in Bangladesh.

• The government must explicitly express the political will and uphold the promise to improve the human rights situation in the country, and the adversarial attitude of the government toward Human Rights Defenders should be shunned.
• The government must stop all forms of harassment of HROs and HRDs using various state agencies.
• The government should, in consultation with the HROs, legislate laws to protect the HRDs based on the UN resolutions of 1998 and 2015.
• The government must create mechanisms, especially at the local levels involving local administration, which will help the HRDs work with the victims of human rights violations and allows the HRDs to report the hindrances and adversities they face including maligning them with spurious allegations.
• The Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act 2016 must be amended and vague terms such as ‘anti-state activities’ and ‘inimical’ or ‘derogatory’ comments about the Constitution and constitutional institutions of Bangladesh should be deleted or clarified to stop using the law against NGOs, particularly the HROs.
• The National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) structure and composition should be reformed to act as an independent body, represent the voices of the HRDs, and have the power to investigate and act on incidents of all human rights violations, including those perpetrated by law enforcement agencies and other state actors.
• Independence of the judiciary must be established, and the judiciary’s impartiality should be ensured.
• Draconian laws such as the Digital Security Act 2018 (DSA) must be The government repealed immediately.
• Existing laws that protect citizens’ rights and punish the perpetrators, must stop all forms of harassment of irrespective of their political identity and affiliations with the state, HROs and HRDs must be enforced.using various state
• Law enforcement agencies should be provided with training about agencies. Human Rights including laws protecting the rights of citizens, and they should be subjected to independent investigation in case of allegations of Human Rights violations.
• Efforts must be made to create awareness among the public about Human Rights, including incorporating lessons about the fundamental rights of citizens in the educational curriculum.
• HROs should enhance their support mechanism for the HRDs, document incidents of violations, and make this information available to the public.