HORRIFYING details of enforced disappearances and custodial torture in secret detention centres that the deposed Awami League government had for long denied have been substantiated in the second report of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances set up in August 2024. The commission in the report submitted on June 4 said that more than 300 victims of enforced disappearances are still unaccounted for. It has so far received 1,850 complaints of enforced disappearances; 1,350 have been verified; it is estimated that the final number could exceed 3,500. The report shows graphic details of inhuman torture that victims of enforced disappearancess endured in detention centres, also referred to as aynaghar. In December 2024, the commission in its preliminary report confirmed that it had found prima facie evidence of the involvement of a number of ranking law enforcement officials in enforced disappearances. The interim government has condemned the systematic violation of human rights at the hands of law enforcers, but much more needs to be done to ensure that such heinous crimes are never repeated.
It is promising that the interim government has already taken a number of initiatives to end enforced disappearances. In August 2024, Bangladesh signed the instrument of accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. The government has shared the draft Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Ordinance 2025 with stakeholders, including the victims. The draft, if approved, would be foundational to recognising state-sponsored enforced disappearances and trying perpetrators in courts. Families of the enforced disappearance victims have even found it difficult to lodge complaints as the police, who control the complaint mechanism, have often outright refused to register complaints about enforced disappearances while the Awami League government denied the existence of the secret detention centres and ignored calls of local and international organisations for independent and impartial investigation of the enforced disappearances. Recognising crimes is an important step in securing justice, but equally important is to ensure a judicious trial. For such a trial, the government must ensure that the perpetrators should in no way influence or hinder the investigation or trial. In October 2024, the commission reported that changes were made to the secret detention centres apparently to destroy evidence, which is concerning.
The government must bring all parties, including errant law enforcement and intelligence agency personnel, responsible to justice and reform the operation of law enforcement and intelligence units.