Odhikar releases a statement on the occasion of International Human Rights Day 2020, calling for the protection of rights of all human beings without any form of discrimination. The people of Bangladesh have been facing the COVID-19 pandemic together with the state sponsored endemic violations of human rights. Freedom of peaceful assembly and association continue along with the muzzling of press freedom and the freedom of expression. The Bangladesh government uses law enforcement agencies to suppress dissidents with impunity and members of these forces are allegedly involved in serious human rights violations, including commissions of enforced disappearance, torture and extrajudicial killings, which continue to take place in the country. The large number of cases of human rights violations that go unpunished illustrates the general climate and culture of impunity in Bangladesh.
Statement_International Human Rights Day_2020_Odhikar (full text in English, PDF)
