Dhaka, A team of UN experts will arrive in Dhaka on Thursday to set a framework for the fact-finding mission that will probe the killings of at least 650 protesters before and after Sheikh Hasina's resignation as prime minister. this month.
"This is the main team of UN experts before the UN fact-finding mission comes and investigates (the atrocities). We hope to sign a framework agreement for the investigation," the Daily Star newspaper quoted a UN official as saying. based in Dhaka. saying Wednesday.
The UN team is expected to discuss detailed terms and conditions for investigating all human rights violations that took place between July 1 and August 15, the official said.
The delegation will remain here for at least a week and will meet with civil society groups, victims of human rights violations, students and government officials and other stakeholders, the official added.
Foreign Ministry officials also confirmed the arrival of the three-member UN team.
Bangladesh descended into chaos after the collapse of Hasina's government and she fled to India on August 5 amid violent protests over quota reforms for government jobs, while the army stepped in to fill the power vacuum on August 5. Before that, anti-government protests had killed more than 500 people since mid-July. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as senior advisor to the interim government on August 8.
According to a primary report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights published on August 16, between July 16 and August 11, about 650 people were killed in Bangladesh during the student protests and after the fall of the Awami party. League regime. Of these, nearly 400 deaths were reported between July 16 and August 4, while around 250 people died following the overthrow of the Awami League-led government on August 5 and 6.
The reported death toll is likely an underestimate as information gathering has been hampered by movement restrictions due to curfew and internet shutdowns, the OHCHR said.
The UN human rights body also says the number of reported killings in revenge attacks since August 5 is yet to be determined. Among the dead were protesters, bystanders, journalists covering the events and several members of the security forces.
Thousands of protesters and bystanders were injured and hospitals were overwhelmed by the influx of patients. Most of the deaths and injuries have been attributed to security forces and the student wing affiliated with the Awami League.
This will be the first time the UN has sent a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh since its independence in 1971 to investigate widespread human rights abuses in the country, the Senior Advisor to the Government of Bangladesh said in a post on X last week, the whose name is in charge of Yunus's office.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk last week assured his support and said an inclusive and human rights-focused approach will ensure Bangladesh's transition is successful. Turk had stressed the need for all those responsible for human rights violations and violence, including against religious minorities, in Bangladesh to be held accountable.
A complaint was also filed with the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal's investigation agency on Wednesday against Hasina and eight others, accusing them of committing genocide and crimes against humanity during the mass student movement against their government.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal has already launched an investigation against Hasina and nine others on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity that took place from July 15 to August 5 during the mass student movement against her government.
"This is the main team of UN experts before the UN fact-finding mission comes and investigates (the atrocities). We hope to sign a framework agreement for the investigation," the Daily Star newspaper quoted a UN official as saying. based in Dhaka. saying Wednesday.
The UN team is expected to discuss detailed terms and conditions for investigating all human rights violations that took place between July 1 and August 15, the official said.
The delegation will remain here for at least a week and will meet with civil society groups, victims of human rights violations, students and government officials and other stakeholders, the official added.
Foreign Ministry officials also confirmed the arrival of the three-member UN team.
Bangladesh descended into chaos after the collapse of Hasina's government and she fled to India on August 5 amid violent protests over quota reforms for government jobs, while the army stepped in to fill the power vacuum on August 5. Before that, anti-government protests had killed more than 500 people since mid-July. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as senior advisor to the interim government on August 8.
According to a primary report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights published on August 16, between July 16 and August 11, about 650 people were killed in Bangladesh during the student protests and after the fall of the Awami party. League regime. Of these, nearly 400 deaths were reported between July 16 and August 4, while around 250 people died following the overthrow of the Awami League-led government on August 5 and 6.
The reported death toll is likely an underestimate as information gathering has been hampered by movement restrictions due to curfew and internet shutdowns, the OHCHR said.
The UN human rights body also says the number of reported killings in revenge attacks since August 5 is yet to be determined. Among the dead were protesters, bystanders, journalists covering the events and several members of the security forces.
Thousands of protesters and bystanders were injured and hospitals were overwhelmed by the influx of patients. Most of the deaths and injuries have been attributed to security forces and the student wing affiliated with the Awami League.
This will be the first time the UN has sent a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh since its independence in 1971 to investigate widespread human rights abuses in the country, the Senior Advisor to the Government of Bangladesh said in a post on X last week, the whose name is in charge of Yunus's office.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk last week assured his support and said an inclusive and human rights-focused approach will ensure Bangladesh's transition is successful. Turk had stressed the need for all those responsible for human rights violations and violence, including against religious minorities, in Bangladesh to be held accountable.
A complaint was also filed with the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal's investigation agency on Wednesday against Hasina and eight others, accusing them of committing genocide and crimes against humanity during the mass student movement against their government.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal has already launched an investigation against Hasina and nine others on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity that took place from July 15 to August 5 during the mass student movement against her government.
