Ask delegation to explain

Seven human rights groups have urged the United Nations to use its meetings with senior Bangladeshi military officials next week to seek explanations regarding an Al Jazeera report that alleged controversial purchase of a highly invasive spyware from Israel.

The Bangladesh government earlier termed it "nothing more than a misleading series of innuendos and insinuations in what is apparently a politically motivated 'smear campaign'".

According to a post in the New York-based Human Rights Watch website today, they also wanted the UN to discuss the alleged human rights violation record at home.   

"The UN should conduct its own inquiry into the allegations and take a fresh look at the human rights record of all Bangladesh units and individuals involved in peacekeeping missions," said Louis Charbonneau, Human Rights Watch UN director.

The Bangladesh Chief of Army Staff General Aziz Ahmed is scheduled to meet with high-level UN officials next week with the aim of increasing Bangladesh's role in UN peacekeeping.

Reacting to the Al Jazeera investigation, the Bangladesh military said that the equipment was for an "army contingent due to be deployed in the UN peacekeeping mission".

The UN on February 4 denied that it was deploying such equipment with Bangladeshi contingents in UN peacekeeping operations.

The seven rights bodies are Human Rights Watch, International Federation for Human Rights, The Asian Human Rights Commission, the World Organisation against Torture, The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, and Eleos Justice.