Bangladesh slams US human rights report for 'systematic use of unfounded allegations'

Bangladesh has said the recently released US State Department's 2023 Human Rights Report "fails to appreciate" and "rather undermines" several valued state institutions, including the independent judiciary and certain statutory bodies.

Criticising the report, the Bangladesh foreign ministry says this is detrimental to the morale and functioning of such institutions.

"Regrettably, many of the improvements and achievements of the government have not been acknowledged in the report. On the other hand, isolated and unfounded allegations continue to be flagged as part of a systematic trend," Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Seheli Sabrin told reporters on Thursday (25 April).

According to the Human Rights Report, unveiled by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on 23 April, there were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Bangladesh last year.

Seheli Sabrin said a thorough reading of the report would make it evident that it is replete with references to individually reported or alleged incidents that were used to draw broad, generalised inferences.

She said it is also apparent that the report mostly relies on assumptions and unsubstantiated allegations drawn from local and international non-government organisations (including anonymous sources), many of which are supported by the US government or related entities.

"As such, some of the inherent biases in the reporting pattern are quite evident," she said.

"No matter how much we aspire, the human rights situation is not perfect anywhere in the world. Though human rights are non-hierarchical, fulfilment of them can be incremental as socio-economic constraints often put limits to the pace of realising those rights," said the spokesperson.

She said the government of Bangladesh has been doing its best to uphold the human rights of its citizens. 

While the report alleges the law enforcement's use of excessive force in some cases, it fails to reflect the violence and vandalism perpetrated by BNP and its political allies, which often disrupted the lives of general people and resulted in damage to public and private property,  Soheli said.

"It is ironic that when the State [the government] was engaged in protecting public life, order and property against such orchestrated campaign, it has been held responsible in the report for even taking recourse to some lawful actions and remedies," She said.

The spokesperson said it must be registered that while tackling any law-and-order situation, the law enforcement agencies of Bangladesh exercised utmost restraints and dealt with full professionalism.

In general, the government of Bangladesh takes note of the overall report and looks forward to remaining engaged with the UN Human Rights mechanisms, the US and other international partners, and stakeholders towards upholding its commitment to ensuring the full enjoyment of human rights by all citizens under any circumstances.