Imminent Human Rights concerns cast shadow as Bangladesh gears up for next National Election.

Imminent Human Rights concerns cast shadow as Bangladesh gears up for next National Election Leading experts on human rights in Bangladesh are seeing a host of challenges regarding rapid deterioration of human rights protection in the country ahead of the national elections due in early 2024.  The major challenges include compromised judiciary, biased security forces, […]

2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh

2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Bangladesh’s constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government that consolidates most power in the Office of the Prime Minister. In a December 2018 parliamentary election, Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party won a third consecutive five-year term that kept her in office as […]

Why do the Lights in Pakistan Keep Going Out

Why do the Lights in Pakistan Keep Going Out- By WILLIAM B. MILAM The question in the title of this article has landed again in our inboxes and our consciences by the power outage throughout the entirety of Pakistan on Monday, January 23. In some parts of the country, the blackout lasted into Tuesday and […]

US Shouldn’t Ignore India’s Assault On Freedoms

US Shouldn’t Ignore India’s Assault On Freedoms- By SARITA PANDEY Two unprecedented events took place in India on this Valentine’s Day. First, taxmen raided the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in New Delhi and Mumbai. And second, Air India, the state-owned airline privatized 16 months ago, ordered 220 aircraft worth $34 billion from Boeing in the […]

Pakistan’s human rights record slammed

Pakistan’s human rights record slammed By Amnesty Ahead of Pakistan’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 30 January, Rimmel Mohydin, regional campaigner at Amnesty International, said: “Pakistan’s fourth UPR arrives at a tumultuous time for human rights in Pakistan, with political upheaval, economic instability, climate crisis, and an oppressed civil society enabling the environment for […]

LU’S VISIT : OLD MESSAGE, ONLY LOUDER

Lu’s visit: Old message, only louder (Ali Riaz) US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Donald Lu’s two-day visit to Dhaka has drawn significant attention in the media in Bangladesh, which continues to reverberate even after the visit is done with. What message did Lu bring? And has the government of Bangladesh succeeded in […]

Donors Raise Concerns Over Shrinking Civic Space, Crackdown On Critics: HRW

DONORS RAISE CONCERNS OVER SHRINKING CIVIC SPACE, CRACKDOWN ON CRITICS: HRW Members of the Special Security Force “Rapid Action Battalion” (RAB) are deployed during the celebration the first day of the Bengali New Year on April 14, 2022. © 2022 Sipa via AP Images (Jakarta) – Increasing attacks against political opposition members raise concerns about violence and repression […]

US State Department 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh

US STATE DEPARTMENT 2021 COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES: BANGLADESH Bangladesh’s constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government that consolidates most power in the Office of the Prime Minister. In a December 2018 parliamentary election, Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party won a third consecutive five-year term that kept her in office […]

US Treasury Sanctions Perpetrators of Serious Human Rights Abuse on International Human Rights Day

US Treasury Sanctions Perpetrators of Serious Human Rights Abuse on International Human Rights Day Designations target those connected to human rights abuse, including technology-enabled abuse WASHINGTON — Today, on International Human Rights Day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating 15 individuals and 10 entities for their connection […]

Bangladesh’s COVID-19 stimulus: Leaving the most vulnerable behind

Bangladesh’s COVID-19 stimulus: Leaving the most vulnerable behind The Bangladeshi government’s $8 billion stimulus package, about 2.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), primarily focuses on industries, particularly export-oriented ones. In doing so, the package intended to contain and mitigate the economic fallout of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) left out the most vulnerable sections […]