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Bangladesh army was warned against violence in student protests: UN Human Rights Chief

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, also known as Students Against Discrimination (SAD), led mass protests for weeks, ultimately leading to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5 last year.

A February report by Turk’s team covered the July 1–August 15 unrest, detailing student protests, attacks on Awami League supporters, and minorities, including Hindus. It estimated up to 1,400 deaths, including many from minority communities. (Reuters photo)

During the July-August 2024 student protests, the United Nations had warned Bangladesh’s army that it would be banned from UN peacekeeping missions if it engages in violence, UN human rights chief Volker Turk has said, as per PTI.

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, also known as Students Against Discrimination (SAD), led mass protests for weeks, ultimately leading to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5 last year. Three days later, Muhammad Yunus assumed charge as the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government.

Turk talks about UN’s role in crisis intervention

Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the remarks on BBC’s HARDtalk programme on Wednesday while responding to a question about the UN’s role in resolving global crises under international law.

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“I’ll give you the example of Bangladesh last year. During July, August, you know, there were massive demonstrations of students. They had enough of the previous government under Sheikh Hasina,” Turk was quoted by PTI as saying, citing Dhaka Tribune.

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“There was massive repression happening. The big hope for them was actually our voice, was my voice, was also what we were able to do. And we put the spotlight on the situation,” Turk said, according to PTI. “And we actually gave the warning to the army that if they get involved, it means that they may not be able to be a troop-contributing country anymore. As a result, we saw changes.”

Fact-finding mission

After taking over as the Chief Adviser, Yunus immediately asked if Turk could send a fact-finding mission “to put the spotlight on the situation and to investigate what was happening, which is what we did. And it actually helped,” he said, as per PTI.

“I was in Bangladesh last year. The students were so grateful for us taking a stand and for us speaking out and for supporting them,” Turk said.

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A fact-finding report by Turk’s team, released in February, covered the period from July 1 to August 15, during the violent agitation by protesting students demanding Hasina’s ouster. The report also documented days of attacks on Awami League supporters and minorities, including Hindus.

The report estimated that as many as 1,400 people may have been killed, including scores from minority communities, between July 1 and August 5 last year, with thousands more injured, PTI reported.

(With inputs from PTI)

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