UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan said Bangladesh is not a functioning democracy but a country in transition.
“One of the things we have to remember is, of course, Bangladesh right now is not a normal democracy. It is not a functioning democracy. It’s actually a country in transition,” Irene Khan said at a virtual panel discussion last Wednesday.
The webinar was organized by Tech Global Institute (TGI) under the title “From Laws to Rights: Defending Digital Freedoms in Bangladesh’s Democratic Transition”, with Bangladesh’s upcoming pivotal election in mind.
The session began with opening remarks by TGI’s Executive Director Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, who mentioned how Bangladesh has undergone a number of reforms since the Monsoon Revolution happened last July.
“We’ve seen some notable investigations, commissions, and processes being set up for things like enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. But at the same time we’ve also seen arbitrary arrests happening.”
Special Rapporteur Irene explained the nuances of Bangladesh’s current government situation and issues in the security sector, saying: “We have an interim government in place which has limited authorities. We have a security sector and that is the only sector that has been untouched by the upheaval and the changes. So, [in these] kinds of situations, what is it that we can do to ensure reforms in the security sector? The security sector is the one that has to help [the present government] make that transition. And yet, it has all this [surveillance] equipment and therefore it has an advantage over everyone else in determining who should lead the next government. That is [when] we need to look [into] processes rather than answers.”
The discussion touched on digital governance issues and concerns, including existing and new cyber laws, freedom of speech, internet shutdowns, and surveillance. One recent report by TGI found that, over the last 15 years, the Bangladeshi state spent more than $190 million on the procurement of surveillance equipment.
During the discussion, Sabhanaz Rashid Diya pointed out: “In the last couple of months, there have been efforts to revise the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Act, and in our analysis in the past, we have engaged significantly on the [Act] being one of the biggest enablers of surveillance in Bangladesh, and also being a significant impediment to freedom of expression.”
According to her, the BTRA allows law enforcement to install surveillance devices at the network level, making licensing for tech providers contingent upon certain kinds of permissions and access—and this is deeply troubling.
“In recent months, we have seen that there has been a move to amend that particular law, although it's very unclear to us who is in charge, because it falls under the BTRC, but then we're hearing it's now with the ICT. So that creates a lot of questions about the rules of business under Bangladesh's constitution. Second, if BTRC is drafting their own regulatory mechanism, it's almost like self-regulation, so that, of course, in itself is very problematic.”
In this regard, Dinah van der Geest, a Programme Officer at ARTICLE 19, said: “I think surveillance is not in itself illegitimate. States everywhere have the responsibility to safeguard public safety, to investigate crime, [and] protect citizens. But when surveillance becomes pervasive, opaque, and unchecked, it crosses a dangerous line.”
In discussing what the current government can do in order to safeguard digital freedoms ahead of the next national election, Special Rapporteur Irene said: “Think digital. I don’t think the government does. But everyone else is thinking digital. So, the government needs to think digital and about how they’re going to work in the digital spheres; bring the [internet] companies in, talk to them, get people to understand how important the digital sphere is—political parties as well.”
As Bangladesh approaches its next national election, conversations around digital freedoms—freedom of expression, access to information and online civic participation—have become more urgent than ever. Against this backdrop, TGI’s webinar discussed both the challenges posed by cyber laws and practices (including risks around surveillance and censorship) and the opportunities for reform that can strengthen democracy and protect people’s rights in the digital sphere. The webinar was the first one of a series by TGI which will discuss human rights in the digital space of Bangladesh over the coming weeks.
