US sanctions on RAB: Relations won’t be affected

Sanctions on Rapid Action Battalion and its top officials do not mean that the US does not want to build on its relationship with Bangladesh, which is based on shared values of human rights, democracy, security and development, said an embassy official.

There is a feeling that the sanctions have clouded the overall relationship, said Sean J McIntosh, US Embassy Public Affairs counsellor, at a discussion yesterday.

"We are so able to move forward on our mutual values of interests. I think we will do that," he said at the discussion jointly organised by the Central Foundation for International and Strategic Studies (CFISS) and Dhaka Tribune.

US President Biden has made it very clear that the issue of human rights is at the centre of his foreign policy and imposing sanctions against Rab and seven of its current and former officials on December 10 last year for gross human rights violation was meant to promote accountability and to make the message loud and clear, McIntosh said.

About US not inviting Bangladesh for its Democracy Summit last year, he said that there were some arguments over it.

"From this moment, there will be an opportunity for Bangladesh to demonstrate improving democracy and human rights," he said, adding that there will be a second summit on democracy this year, where Bangladesh can get invited.

The comments come ahead of US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue to be held in Dhaka on March 20.