Chief Advisor Yunus seeks UN support for probe into enforced disappearances

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has sought assistance from the United Nations in a fair inquiry into the incidents of enforced disappearances that occurred during the Awami League’s tenure spanning over the past one and a half decades.

In a meeting on Monday with a visiting UN delegation focused on enforced disappearances in Dhaka, he said Bangladesh would welcome any such support.

He told the delegation that the term of the commission established to investigate enforced disappearances in Bangladesh is being extended until December.

The head of the interim government met with the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) Vice-Chairperson Grazyna Baranowska and member Ana Lorena Delgadillo Perez at the State Guest House Jamuna, according to a statement issued by the Chief Advisor’s Office.

Yunus said, “I wish the United Nations were associated with our ongoing inquiry. It will give the process some strength.”

The UN officials lauded the initiatives taken by the caretaker administration in addressing the issue of enforced disappearances, particularly the country’s accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED), but emphasised that there was still much to be done.

They also praised the work and commitment demonstrated by the inquiry commission on enforced disappearances.

Highlighting key aspects of the commission's inquiry into enforced disappearances, the chief advisor said: “Even though the members of the panel got threatened in many ways, the commission is doing an important job. When they submitted the last report, I told them there should be a horror museum for visitors. We need assistance and collaboration for this.

“We are pleased that you’re in Bangladesh after 13 years of waiting. We would like you to support the work of our commission and keep your association with them to provide guidance and strength.”

In response, Baranowska said that since 2013, they had been trying to work on enforced disappearance in Bangladesh and thanked the government for setting up the commission.

She added that the UN delegation would visit outside Dhaka and hold meetings with victims, civil society, and political actors.