We wholeheartedly support the draft ordinance on enforced disappearances that recently got approved in principle by Bangladesh’s Council of Advisers -- one that could be the first crucial step towards addressing a deeply painful chapter in our nation’s history.
Enforced disappearances are nothing but a gross violation of human rights, and among the numerous faults of the previous Awami League regime’s decade and a half in power, among the most reprehensible was how freely it silenced hundreds of individuals and their attempts at dissent or criticism through enforced disappearances.
In the ordinance, empowering the National Human Rights Commission to receive and investigate complaints, ensuring timely trials within 120 days, protecting victims, informants, and witnesses, and providing compensation along with legal assistance are all welcome additions.
We must commend what looks like an earnest attempt by this administration to finally build justice mechanisms surrounding this issue. However, while the ordinance is certainly a step in the right direction, it must not stall and be abandoned by successive governments; it is therefore necessary that its final approval is given the priority that it warrants.
August 30 is commemorated as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, and it is a solemn reminder to us of what transpired over the decade and a half prior to the Monsoon Revolution, when enforced disappearances all but stained our human rights record. Moving forward, we must recognize this history and learn from it, along with a renewed commitment - by each and every government that follows - to human dignity and rule of law.
This draft ordinance thereby must become a pledge to build a nation where enforced disappearances no longer happen, where justice prevails, and where human rights are preserved. This fight to eradicate enforced disappearances from our country is one we must win if we are to establish a just and humane Bangladesh.
