Human Rights Situation: As dismal as 2018

"Political and civil society space continues to be curtailed. Security forces continue to enjoy impunity in cases of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests," said the report that was sent to media yesterday.

The report was prepared on the rights situation from January to December last year based on data collected from national dailies and fact-finding reports prepared by country-wide representatives.

The report will soon be published.

The rising incidents of rape, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance, violent attacks, public lynching and border killings reveal a very gloomy scenario of the overall human rights situation in Bangladesh, observed the report.

It said human rights violation has become the norm in Bangladesh notwithstanding the country's constitutional commitment to safeguarding fundamental rights and its ratification of numerous international treaties and conventions.

"The situation has become so grave that common people feel insecure, whether they are in their bedrooms or on the streets," said the report.

According to the report, at least 396 people were killed extra-judicially in 2019. Of them, 357 people were killed in the name of "crossfire/gunfights", 16 were tortured to death, one was shot to death while 22 died in the custody. The deaths occurred during raids and operations conducted by the law enforcement agencies, the report added.

In 2019, according to the report, a total of 23 persons were "disappeared" by the law enforcement agencies in different incidents.

The report said 45 people were arrested and 49 cases filed under digital security act 2018 last year. Besides, a Journalist was killed, 51 injured, 33 were threatened, 17 were arrested and 7 were assaulted. Violence against women, in particular, gang rape and child rape are on the rise, said the report that found a total of 1,429 females were raped in 2019, and of them, 595 were adult while alarmingly 834 were children under the age of 16.

"It's a rising concern in the incidence of raping crime that among victims at least 195 have been gang-raped," the HRSS report observed.

Among the victims, at least 58 were brutally killed after being raped. The report further said 241 girls and women fell victims to sexual harassment and 27 females were injured in acid violence during the period. It is also alarming that in a total of 112 violent incidents against children in 2019, 56 lost their lives and 157 were critically injured. According to the report, in different attacks on minorities, 11 people were injured. Four people fell victim to land grabbing and 38 temples were attacked.

Moreover, at least 49 people were killed and 2863 injured in political violence while around 73 people were killed in public lynchings.

The report further said last year, 42 Bangladeshi citizens were killed by the Indian Border Security Force and two others were killed by Myanmar Border Guard Police in a total of 78 incidents.

"Due to the silence of the Government combined with its submissive foreign policy, border killings have increased," the report observed.

HRSS is deeply concerned about the degradation of the human rights condition in the country. It urges all human rights organisations as well as common citizens to raise their voice to protect and promote human rights in Bangladesh.