The United States wants accountability and reforms within the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) before the sanctions on the law enforcing agency and seven of its top and former officials are lifted, says US envoy to Bangladesh Peter Haas.
There will be no compromise when it comes to upholding human rights and democracy, the media reported him saying on Tuesday.
Press freedom is an integral part of US foreign policy, he added.
The ambassador was speaking at the discussion of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Bangladesh at the National Press Club.
Speaking on the current sanctions of RAB and seven of its former and current top officials, Hass said that the US wants accountability reforms within the elite police unit before the sanctions can be lifted.
According to Haas the US has always voiced its concerns for democracy and human rights publicly and privately.
“We are concerned about human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances,” Ambassador Haas said.
He reiterated they are concerned about press freedom, especially the Digital Security Act, and several draft laws and regulations that could inhibit press freedom.
Peter Haas On December 10, 2021, Human Rights Day, the United States imposed sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion and some of its officials based on what he said “credible evidence” of serious human rights abuse.
He said they are also concerned about insufficient labor rights and poor working conditions in Bangladesh.
These concerns, unfortunately, cost Bangladesh access to the US Generalized System of Preferences trade benefit, or GSP, in 2013, he mentioned, adding that they are also causing Bangladesh to miss out on the US Development Finance Corporation, a massive source of investment capital from the United States.
US to remain steadfast partner of Bangladesh
However, the US will remain a “steadfast partner” of Bangladesh in its journey towards further development, he said.
"The United States should remain the same steadfast partner to Bangladesh for the next fifty years as it has been over the past fifty years," he said, mentioning three things that he plans to report when he gets to Washington.
The ambassador is set to go on his first trip to Washington since he arrived in Bangladesh three months ago, reports UNB.
"While I am there, I plan to meet with a number of US government officials, congressional staffers, NGOs, and businesspeople to discuss my experiences and observations in this country so far," said the US envoy.
Haas mentioned that he will say in Washington that in the last 50 years, Bangladesh had had no better friend than the United States. “And that it will have no better friend over the next 50 years.”
He said both the successes of Bangladesh and the challenges it faces are real.
Haas said Bangladesh will soon graduate from Least Developed Country status, and it is steadily progressing towards becoming a middle-income country. “These accomplishments are real, tangible, and truly extraordinary.”
The envoy said Bangladesh’s geography on a low-lying river delta, with a long coastline and large floodplains, makes it extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
He said they are ready to continue to work with Bangladesh and build on the progress they have made together in food security, health, and reducing poverty – while identifying new and innovative approaches to address issues like climate change, promoting democratic principles, and sustaining Bangladesh’s impressive economic growth.