Dhaka, Sep 11 (IANS) A delegation of European Parliament members will visit Bangladesh from September 16-18 to analyse reforms and human rights situation in the country, local media reported on Thursday.
The EU’s five-member delegation includes Arkadiusz Mularczyk (ECR, PL); Urmas Paet (Renew Europe, Estonia); Mounir Satouri (Greens/EFA, FR), Human Rights Subcommittee Chair; Isabel Wiseler-Lima (EPP, Luxembourg); and Catarina Vieira (The Greens/EFA, The Netherlands), Bangladesh’s leading newspaper The Daily Star quoted from a statement issued by the EU mission in Dhaka.
During the visit, the EU delegation will engage with Bangladesh interim government’s representatives and civil society to discuss the human rights dimension of EU-Bangladesh ties. The EU members will also visit Rohingya refugee camps. The EU members will interact with non-governmental organisations representatives, labour representatives and representatives of multilateral organisations operating on the ground.
Since the collapse of Sheikh Hasina-led government, Bangladesh has witnessed massive human rights violations, especially against minorities, including Hindus, under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
Earlier this week, on the sidelines of the ongoing 60th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Rahman Khalilur Mamun, the Executive President of the International Forum for Secular Bangladesh, shed light on the situation in Bangladesh, where Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and indigenous peoples continue to suffer from communal violence.
He underlined the prevailing impunity for perpetrators and the urgent need for international support in protecting secularism, minority rights, and democratic freedoms in Bangladesh.
Another recent report titled ‘One Year of Anarchy: Human Rights Violations in Bangladesh Under the Interim Government’ drew attention to alarming human rights violations, political oppression, and national instability unfolding across Bangladesh under the unelected Yunus government.
“At least 637 individuals have been killed in mob lynching incidents. 47 individuals have been subjected to extrajudicial killings while in the custody of law enforcement agencies. 21 political detainees, affiliated with the Awami League, have died in prison custody,” the report mentioned.
Highlighting atrocities against minorities under the Yunus regime, the report confirmed 2,442 incidents of minority persecution backed by evidence.
It documented that 27 people from the minority community were killed, 20 women were raped, and 17 Churches were set on fire on Christmas in 2024.
–IANS
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