Enforced Disappearances: Fortify Rights calls for accountability, reparations

On the first anniversary of Bangladesh's Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, rights group Fortify Rights urged the interim government to ensure accountability for past abuses and provide reparations to survivors and families of the disappeared.

"Enforced disappearances were a hallmark of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's despotic rule and should never be allowed to happen again in Bangladesh," said John Quinley, director at Fortify Rights, in a statement yesterday.

The independent commission, formed in August 2024, has received over 1,800 complaints so far. Its early findings said enforced disappearances were systematic and "orchestrated by a central command structure" during Hasina's regime. While some victims have returned, hundreds remain missing.

Fortify Rights highlighted the harrowing accounts of survivors and the testimonies from families still searching for loved ones.

Civil society group Maayer Daak, founded by relatives of the disappeared, has long demanded truth, justice, and reparations.

"The security forces picked up, detained, tortured, and killed the opposition members. There were many forces involved, all the way to the top," said co-founder Sanjida Islam Tulee.

Bangladesh ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2024 and has since drafted a prevention and redress ordinance.

However, Fortify Rights warned that provisions allowing the death penalty and trials in absentia undermine international standards.

The group called on the government to prioritise a victim-centred reparations programme, effective remedies, and dismantling abusive security structures.

"True accountability requires fair justice procedures, reparations, and unwavering transparency," Quinley said.