UN team in Dhaka to probe rights violations during recent violence

A team from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights arrived in Dhaka on Thursday (22 August) to discuss support and procedures for investigating human rights violations related to recent violence.

Upon arrival, the team leader, Rory Mungoven, chief of the Asia Pacific region at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, held a meeting with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen at the ministry.

After the meeting, Rory told reporters, "My visit this week is not an investigation, it is really an exploratory visit to discuss with the interim government, with the advisors, with some of the ministries, with the civil society, with the broad section of Bangladesh societies to hear your priorities, your need going forward, and explore some areas where the office of the high commissioner could assist including the area of fact-finding investigation."

He said, "This is something we will have to discuss the modalities, the way we could work, how we could support the national process going forward.

"So, it is really too early to conclude the help that will be done. I think our mission will hope very much in terms of exploring the way we could support Bangladesh at this time."

The team is visiting Dhaka from 22 to 29 August to discuss ways to support the procedures for investigating human rights violations in the context of recent violence and unrest, according to a media advisory sent by the Communication Team of the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office in Bangladesh.

It said the purpose of the visit is to understand their priorities for assistance in promoting human rights.

Referring to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, UN team leader Rory Mungoven said, "Türk is really inspired by the courage, commitment to democracy and human rights of the Bangladesh people, especially students and particularly youth. And he [Türk] sees that it is a historic opportunity for the country in restoring democracy, renewing institutions, and advancing human rights.

"And he [Türk] wants the office to support the interim government, civil society, and the people of Bangladesh in any way that we can."

Mungoven further said, "The high commissioner, I know the international community really supports the people of Bangladesh in achieving human rights, and the rule of democracy to this very historic time."

Meanwhile, after meeting with the foreign ministry top officials, UN resident coordinator in Dhaka Gwyn Lewis told reporters, "This week we have some colleagues here who will be looking at the issues that government want to focuses on, the timeline that will be looked at, and next team that will do the fact-finding and investigations."

Regarding their activities, she said, "Think about what should be inside the investigation, what the timeline will be, listen to all of the stakeholders to make sure we understand what everybody's expectations are and they can now prepare for the next phase."

Gwyn Lewis mentioned that a UN fact-finding team will come to investigate after the visiting group returns.

The move was announced by UN human rights Chief Volker Türk during a recent call with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.