Joint Statement on Bangladesh
General Debate, Item 2
10 September 2024
Mr. President
I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of a group of countries, including my own country Switzerland.*
We thank the High Commissioner for his various reports and statements on Bangladesh, in particular the Preliminary Analysis of Recent Protests and Unrest in Bangladesh of 16 August 2024. We share his deep concerns over the violence recently observed in Bangladesh resulting in hundreds of people believed to have been killed and thousands injured. We express our sincere condolences to the victims and their families.
We warmly welcome the interim government of Bangladesh’s commitment to pursue accountability for recent acts of violence and its official invitation to the OHCHR to conduct an impartial and independent fact-finding mission into human rights violations committed from 1 July to 15 August and the establishment of a five-member national commission of inquiry to determine the whereabouts of forcibly disappeared persons, allegedly by law enforcement agencies and in this regard note its signature of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
We applaud the active role taken by the High Commissioner in offering support to Bangladesh and welcome the visit of an advance team to Bangladesh from 22 to 29 August 2024. We strongly support close cooperation between Bangladesh and the OHCHR with a view to advance justice and accountability and for longer-term reforms and would welcome an update by the High Commissioner on this cooperation to the Human Rights Council.
In conclusion, we fully share the High Commissioner’s statement that “the transition ahead presents an historic opportunity to reform and revitalize the country’s institutions, to restore fundamental freedoms and civic space, and to give all in Bangladesh a part in building the future” and encourage the interim government of Bangladesh to seize this exceptional opportunity.
I thank you.
* List of co-sponsors: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America.