Monday, 01 September, 2025
Bangladesh observed the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on Saturday, amid renewed calls to ensure the safety of survivors, trace those still missing, and hold accountable the perpetrators who operated with impunity during the Awami League’s 15-year rule.
“Those who have returned continue to live in fear. They are deeply traumatised, and their recovery will not be easy. The government must act urgently, providing not only medical care but also social and economic support,” said Dr Md Tawohidul Haque, a criminology lecturer at Dhaka University.
During the Awami League’s tenure, more than 3,500 people reportedly fell victim to enforced disappearances, according to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, established by the interim government in August last year. While some victims have resurfaced since the regime’s fall, many remain unaccounted for.
The commission has submitted two reports to date, with its latest, filed on 4 June, confirming the formal receipt of 1,850 disappearance cases so far.
Mayer Daak, an organisation of families of the victims of enforced disappearance, has information on 150 victims still missing.
“Over the past one and a half decades, victims of state-sponsored enforced disappearances have faced four different fates: some were killed, some branded as militants and held, some forcibly pushed across the border into India, and the luckiest were eventually released after detention,” said Commission chief Moinul Islam Chowdhury.
Rahmat Ullah, a young man from Barnalai village in Dhaka’s Dhamrai upazila, was among the crowd pushed into India. He remained missing for 16 months before finally reappearing on December 22, 2024.
With no direct political affiliation, Rahmat had been picked up from his home by members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on August 29, 2023, the victim’s family said.
He recounted to his family that after being held at an undisclosed location in Dhaka—where he could only hear planes flying overhead—he was blindfolded, placed in a microbus, and later left near the Jashore border to cross into India. He was arrested in India for illegal intrusion and released after the fall of the AL regime.
But not everyone was as fortunate as Rahmat. The families of the missing are caught in a painful limbo. Besides carrying the painful burden of having to wait for their loved one to emerge alive, albeit through a miracle, the victims’ families, without proof of death, are unable to claim inheritance rights, access bank accounts, or secure livelihoods.
Criminologist Dr Md Tawohidul Haque criticised the government’s efforts, describing them as inadequate. “Multiple state agencies were involved in these disappearances. If those responsible were held accountable, information about the missing would come to light. This is not beyond the government’s capacity. With genuine commitment, the missing could either be returned or, at the very least, families informed if they are deceased. The state cannot evade this responsibility.”
The commission’s second report highlights the direct involvement of law enforcement agencies, including RAB, DGFI and CTTC, in enforced disappearance cases. Even after the fall of the Awami League, many officials initially withheld information on secret detention facilities before disappearing themselves. Many have yet to face justice.
“For 15 years, state forces were misused in the most egregious ways. Officers were ordered to abduct and kill individuals. Unless these state-backed killings are prosecuted, enforced disappearances will persist,” said a commission member speaking on condition of anonymity.
“By employing RAB and DGFI officers for political purposes, the Awami League systematically dismantled institutional safeguards. Without structural reforms within the security forces, justice for victims will remain unattainable,” the member added.
Families of the disappeared report persistent intimidation and argue that government efforts have fallen short. Many suspect information is being deliberately suppressed.
Human rights group Mayer Daak recently organised a human chain to press an 11-point demand, including calls for impartial investigations, a national mechanism aligned with international standards, withdrawal of cases in which returned victims had been falsely implicated by the former government, and legal recognition of families’ rights over property and inheritance.
A source at the law ministry confirmed that work is underway, following the commission’s recommendations, to introduce special legal provisions to secure inheritance rights for families of those still missing.
Major political parties have pledged that enforced disappearances will not recur under any government and have promised justice for those responsible.
Bangladesh signed the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2024, formally affirming its commitment on paper.
Experts, however, caution that without genuine political will and adherence to democratic principles, mere ratification of international conventions will not be sufficient to eradicate enforced disappearances.
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Bangladesh observed the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on Saturday, amid renewed calls to ensure the safety of survivors, trace those still missing, and hold accountable the perpetrators who operated with impunity during the Awami League’s 15-year rule.
“Those who have returned continue to live in fear. They are deeply traumatised, and their recovery will not be easy. The government must act urgently, providing not only medical care but also social and economic support,” said Dr Md Tawohidul Haque, a criminology lecturer at Dhaka University.
During the Awami League’s tenure, more than 3,500 people reportedly fell victim to enforced disappearances, according to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, established by the interim government in August last year. While some victims have resurfaced since the regime’s fall, many remain unaccounted for.
The commission has submitted two reports to date, with its latest, filed on 4 June, confirming the formal receipt of 1,850 disappearance cases so far.
Mayer Daak, an organisation of families of the victims of enforced disappearance, has information on 150 victims still missing.
“Over the past one and a half decades, victims of state-sponsored enforced disappearances have faced four different fates: some were killed, some branded as militants and held, some forcibly pushed across the border into India, and the luckiest were eventually released after detention,” said Commission chief Moinul Islam Chowdhury.
Rahmat Ullah, a young man from Barnalai village in Dhaka’s Dhamrai upazila, was among the crowd pushed into India. He remained missing for 16 months before finally reappearing on December 22, 2024.
With no direct political affiliation, Rahmat had been picked up from his home by members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on August 29, 2023, the victim’s family said.
He recounted to his family that after being held at an undisclosed location in Dhaka—where he could only hear planes flying overhead—he was blindfolded, placed in a microbus, and later left near the Jashore border to cross into India. He was arrested in India for illegal intrusion and released after the fall of the AL regime.
But not everyone was as fortunate as Rahmat. The families of the missing are caught in a painful limbo. Besides carrying the painful burden of having to wait for their loved one to emerge alive, albeit through a miracle, the victims’ families, without proof of death, are unable to claim inheritance rights, access bank accounts, or secure livelihoods.
Criminologist Dr Md Tawohidul Haque criticised the government’s efforts, describing them as inadequate. “Multiple state agencies were involved in these disappearances. If those responsible were held accountable, information about the missing would come to light. This is not beyond the government’s capacity. With genuine commitment, the missing could either be returned or, at the very least, families informed if they are deceased. The state cannot evade this responsibility.”
The commission’s second report highlights the direct involvement of law enforcement agencies, including RAB, DGFI and CTTC, in enforced disappearance cases. Even after the fall of the Awami League, many officials initially withheld information on secret detention facilities before disappearing themselves. Many have yet to face justice.
“For 15 years, state forces were misused in the most egregious ways. Officers were ordered to abduct and kill individuals. Unless these state-backed killings are prosecuted, enforced disappearances will persist,” said a commission member speaking on condition of anonymity.
“By employing RAB and DGFI officers for political purposes, the Awami League systematically dismantled institutional safeguards. Without structural reforms within the security forces, justice for victims will remain unattainable,” the member added.
Families of the disappeared report persistent intimidation and argue that government efforts have fallen short. Many suspect information is being deliberately suppressed.
Human rights group Mayer Daak recently organised a human chain to press an 11-point demand, including calls for impartial investigations, a national mechanism aligned with international standards, withdrawal of cases in which returned victims had been falsely implicated by the former government, and legal recognition of families’ rights over property and inheritance.
A source at the law ministry confirmed that work is underway, following the commission’s recommendations, to introduce special legal provisions to secure inheritance rights for families of those still missing.
Major political parties have pledged that enforced disappearances will not recur under any government and have promised justice for those responsible.
Bangladesh signed the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2024, formally affirming its commitment on paper.
Experts, however, caution that without genuine political will and adherence to democratic principles, mere ratification of international conventions will not be sufficient to eradicate enforced disappearances.
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