Human rights ordinance scrapped, new bill passed amid opposition objections
The National Human Rights Commission (Repeal and Reinstatement) Bill, 2026 has been passed in Parliament amid objections from the opposition.
Today, Thursday, in the Jatiya Sangsad, Law Minister Asaduzzaman placed the bill to repeal the ordinance issued by the interim government and to reinstate the 2009 law in order to strengthen the Human Rights Commission. It was passed accordingly.
The parliamentary session began at 10:30 am under the chairmanship of Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.
Earlier, an objection raised by Md Abul Hasnat (Hasnat Abdullah), a member of the National Citizen Party (NCP) elected from the Cumilla-4 constituency, was rejected by voice vote. With the passage of the bill, the ordinance issued during the interim government period will be repealed, and the National Human Rights Act of 2009, enacted during the ousted Awami League government, will be reinstated.
Expressing anger over the introduction of the bill, Hasnat Abdullah said that those now sitting on the treasury benches would have opposed such a bill before July 2024. He expressed concern that lapsing the ordinance could turn the Human Rights Commission into a tool for political repression.
He firmly stated, “We do not learn from history. Whether we pass it this year or next year, it may be lapsed using the excuse of majority, but the National Human Rights Commission will inevitably be passed in this Parliament.”
Hasnat Abdullah said, “Today we are standing on a platform in this Parliament—the Parliament, the Leader of the House, the Leader of the Opposition, and all those present on the treasury benches—each has gone through a critical phase to reach here. I am raising an objection regarding the law behind this entire journey. Two minutes is insufficient to discuss this.”
At this point, when the Speaker turned off his microphone, Hasnat said that while time is spent on praise and other matters in Parliament, such an important national issue deserves more time for discussion, and he requested the Speaker to extend the time.
After being granted additional time, Hasnat said, “The law that is being proposed today will restore the 2009 Human Rights Commission. We have seen how that law has been implemented over the past 17 years. The National Human Rights Commission has been used as a ‘commission for suppressing opposition parties and opinions.’ It has produced legitimacy for suppressing the BNP.”
He added, “We have heard the Commission say that shooting Jamaat activists is legitimate in order to uphold human rights. If we return to the 2009 framework and lapse the 2025 ordinance, the nation will move backward from the forward trajectory it was on. This will remain a textbook example of regression.”
Hasnat Abdullah further said that the 2009 Human Rights Commission was not truly a law but effectively created another government office. He pointed out that the ‘selection committee’ formed under the Speaker includes the Home Minister, the Law Minister, ruling party MPs, and a secretary—five out of six members are from the ruling party.
Referring to a statement by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam, Hasnat said, “Our LGRD Minister (Mirza Fakhrul Islam) had said that it functions as a ‘commission to suppress the opposition.’ When the Human Rights Commission operates in this way, we see that most human rights violations have actually been committed by state agencies. We have seen direct involvement of forces such as BDR and RAB.”
The MP said under the 2009 law, if any investigation is to be conducted against a force, prior approval from that force and the government is required. If the government itself violates human rights, how transparent can such an investigation be? Every member of this Parliament knows the answer.
After Hasnat’s allotted four minutes ended, Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman took the floor, stating that the issue is closely tied to transparent politics and public safety, and therefore more time should be allocated for discussion. In response, the Speaker said, “We have seen six parliaments in the past.”
The Speaker then granted Hasnat an additional two minutes.
Hasnat said, “If this were May 2024 and this bill were presented, there would not be a single member in this Parliament who would oppose it. Everyone would welcome it. Times have changed. In 2008 and 2018, you were on this side; now you are on the other side, in government, with a majority, and you oppose this bill. During the fascist period—any month of 2024—if the 2025 ordinance had been placed in this Parliament, everyone would have wanted it passed.”
He added, “Times have changed, seasons have changed, chairs have changed, directions have changed. Today we are opposing the National Human Rights Commission. This stance will stand as a textbook example of morality.”
The opposition MP said that this law is not only related to the Human Rights Commission but also linked to two other ordinances—the Enforced Disappearance Ordinance and the July Mass Uprising Indemnity Ordinance. By lapsing the 2025 Human Rights Commission ordinance, the other two ordinances will effectively become ornamental.
Hasnat Abdullah expressed concern, saying, “There is no guarantee that the government will not use this ordinance as a tool of political repression in the future. We do not learn from history. Whether we pass it this year or next, it may be lapsed using the excuse of majority—but the National Human Rights Commission will inevitably be passed in this Parliament.”