The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recommended a restructuring of Bangladesh’s security and policing systems, including the disbandment of the elite anti-crime unit, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
This recommendation was part of a fact-finding report released on Wednesday regarding the violence surrounding the July-August uprising.
“Disband the Rapid Action Battalion and return personnel not involved in serious violations to their home units,” the report urged.
The OHCHR also advised the government to restrict the functions of the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) to border control and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) to military intelligence.
It further recommended limiting and defining their resources and legal powers accordingly.
Releasing the report at OHCHR headquarters in Geneva, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said that rights violations were committed with the “Knowledge, coordination, and direction of political leadership and senior security sector and intelligence officials.”
"There are reasonable grounds to believe that hundreds of extrajudicial killings, extensive arbitrary arrests, detentions, and acts of torture were carried out as part of a strategy to suppress the protests," he said.
The report alleged that intelligence agencies, including the National Security Intelligence (NSI) and DGFI, as well as specialized police units such as the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) branch and various detective units, were involved in widespread human rights violations to facilitate the violent suppression of the protest movement.
The OHCHR further recommended that until a proper “screening mechanism” is established, Bangladesh should refrain from nominating for UN peacekeeping missions any military or police personnel who have previously served in RAB, DGFI, or the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
Additionally, any BGB battalions involved in suppressing the 2024 protests or other instances of protest crackdowns using excessive force should also be excluded from UN peacekeeping deployments.
The report also called on the government to "demilitarize" the control of the para-police force, Ansar and VDP.
RAB, a special police unit comprising personnel from the army, navy, and air force, along with members of the regular police and Ansar, has previously faced accusations from human rights organizations of committing widespread abuses, including extrajudicial killings.
In December 2021, the US State and Treasury Departments imposed sanctions on RAB and seven of its current and former senior officials over allegations of serious human rights violations.
The OHCHR report also proposed amendments to bring the entire "Police Regulations of Bengal" in line with international human rights norms, particularly regarding the use of force.
It called for issuing binding directives that prohibit the use of firearms loaded with metal shot or other lethal ammunition to disperse crowds.
“Immediately cease equipping police and other security forces with metal shot ammunition for shotguns as a tool for public order management. Limit the issuance of armor-piercing ammunition to military and paramilitary forces,” the report stated.
Additionally, it recommended revising security forces’ doctrines and training on public order management, emphasizing non-lethal tactics, de-escalation strategies, and improved communication to facilitate peaceful assemblies. When necessary, less-lethal weapons and ammunition should be prioritized.
The report also urged the government to issue and enforce binding orders for police to cease mass arrests and indiscriminate charges, especially those based on unsubstantiated and overly broad suspect lists.
It called for disciplinary and criminal justice proceedings against those responsible for false accusations or arbitrary arrests.
Furthermore, the OHCHR recommended the full implementation of the Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition) Act, the establishment of an independent torture prevention and detention monitoring program, and the consideration of acceding to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.
To reform law enforcement practices, the report suggested overhauling police investigation techniques, and replacing reliance on coerced confessions with forensic methods and non-coercive interrogation techniques.
The OHCHR also emphasized the need for a fair, transparent, and merit-based system for police recruitment, promotions, transfers, and dismissals, overseen by a national police commission comprising representatives from the government, opposition, and civil society.
Additionally, the report recommended enacting legislation to ensure that members of the armed forces could only be deployed for internal security duties in exceptional circumstances and for a limited duration.
Any such deployment should be subject to parliamentary approval, with armed forces operating under civilian law enforcement authorities and in full transparency regarding their tasks and rules of engagement.
The UN rights body also called for a comprehensive and independent vetting process—conducted with input from international and civil society organizations—for all commissioned officers in the police, intelligence agencies, BGB, Ansar-VDP, and the armed forces.
Officials involved in serious human rights violations or corruption should be removed from their positions.
Finally, the OHCHR urged the establishment of an independent and effective human rights screening mechanism to ensure that no Bangladeshi personnel deployed on UN peacekeeping or international missions have credible allegations against them for human rights violations, war crimes, or instances of sexual exploitation or abuse.