GENEVA — The United Nations human rights office released a report on Wednesday that estimates as many as 1,400 fatalities occurred in Bangladesh during a student-led protest crackdown last summer. The three-week period of unrest took place primarily from July 15 to August 5, coinciding with the departure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India amid the escalating tensions.
According to the Geneva-based report, security and intelligence agencies systematically perpetrated human rights violations that could potentially qualify as crimes against humanity, warranting additional investigation. The rights office based its estimates on various credible sources, indicating that thousands more were injured during the protests, most of them shot by Bangladeshi security forces.
Furthermore, over 11,700 individuals were reportedly detained during this period, as cited by the same report, which also noted that about 12 to 13% of those estimated to have died—approximately 180 individuals—were children. The report detailed instances where security forces allegedly conducted summary executions by firing upon unarmed demonstrators at very close range.
U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk pointed out rising evidence of extrajudicial killings, widespread arbitrary arrests, and torture being carried out with the knowledge and support of political leaders and senior security officials, aimed at quelling the protests. A U.N. fact-finding team was invited to Bangladesh by interim leader Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, to investigate the uprising and the violent repression surrounding it.
The investigators disclosed that the interim government has made approximately 100 arrests related to assaults on religious and indigenous communities. However, the report highlighted that many of those responsible for acts of violence and retribution seem to enjoy a state of impunity.
The human rights situation in Bangladesh remains alarming, according to the U.N. office. Despite governmental changes, the existing system appears to persist largely unchanged. Rory Mungoven, the head of the rights office’s Asia-Pacific division, emphasized that many officials and individuals previously appointed under the former regime continue to operate in their roles.
Mungoven noted that this continuity fosters a potential conflict of interest, which could hinder meaningful reforms and accountability. In light of these issues, the investigators presented numerous recommendations to the government, including initiatives aimed at improving the justice system and launching a witness protection program. They also suggested a ban on the deployment of lethal firearms by security personnel unless faced with imminent threats of severe injury or death.
The protests, which initially began as peaceful student demonstrations against a government job quota system, evolved into a substantial uprising against Hasina and her ruling Awami League party. The reinstatement of the quota system by a High Court ruling in early June served as an immediate catalyst for the protests, which were further fueled by longstanding grievances concerning economic disparity and a lack of fundamental rights.
