UN group on enforced disappearance arrives after over a decade of waiting

The United Nations Human Rights Council's Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) has long been seeking to visit Dhaka to investigate cases of enforced disappearances allegedly carried out by law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh. They have made several requests to the Bangladesh government for this purpose.

However, after more than a decade, this is the first time they have been granted permission to visit. Today, Sunday, a two-member delegation from the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances arrived in Dhaka.

During their visit to Bangladesh, the delegation is scheduled to meet with law adviser Asif Nazrul, the acting foreign secretary, members of the commission on disappearances, law enforcement agencies, and families of the disappeared. They will also participate in policy-level discussions.

It has been reported that the purpose of the UN delegation's visit this time is not to conduct direct investigations but to observe the situation and make recommendations based on their findings.

For the past decade, WGEID has wanted to visit Bangladesh to investigate enforced disappearances. Their first official request was made in a letter to the government on 12 March, 2013.

Although they expressed interest in visiting Bangladesh several more times afterward, the previous government did not respond to these requests. The last formal request from WGEID to visit Bangladesh was sent on 24 April, 2020. This time, the interim government has responded positively to their request.

According to diplomatic sources, a two-member technical delegation from WGEID arrived in Dhaka today for a four-day visit. The members are Grażyna Baranowska, Vice Chair of the Working Group, and Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez. They are scheduled to leave Dhaka on 18 June.

The interim government led by chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus signed the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance after the ouster of the Awami League government through the July mass uprising.

Bangladesh signed the convention just a day before the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Prior to this, a total of 75 countries had signed the treaty, and Bangladesh became the 76th signatory. The convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2006.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have stated that Bangladesh had been under pressure for a long time to join this anti-disappearance convention.

However, since coming to power in 2009, the Awami League-led government consistently showed reluctance to join the treaty. Among South Asian countries, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have both ratified the convention, meaning they have incorporated it into their domestic law. India has only signed the convention but has not ratified it.

According to the latest data published by WGEID, 70 cases of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh remain unresolved. The UN has sought clarification on the actual status of a total of 88 disappeared individuals. Of these, five are reportedly in custody, and 10 have been released.