📷 Sharif Khiam

Newsman, Dhaka

Human rights organizations and opposition lawmakers have urged Bangladesh’s president to send a newly passed anti-disappearance bill back to parliament, warning that the legislation does not meet international standards and shields law enforcement agencies accused of widespread abuses.

The Bangladesh parliament passed the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Bill, 2026, alongside the National Human Rights Commission Bill, 2026, amid an opposition walkout on September 6.

“Since we had already decided that these laws were being brought back in weaker form after lapsing, we will not be part of passing this law… and we are now walking out,” Shafiqur Rahman, leader of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami, said before leading the walkout.

The bill, proposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, aims to criminalize enforced disappearances and establish provisions for investigations, compensation, and victim assistance. However, human rights advocates say the text preserves structural loopholes and severe penalties that undermine accountability.

In an analysis released after translating the Bangla text passed by parliament, rights groups Fortify Rights and the Bangladesh-based All Victims and Veterans Network urged the president to send the legislation back to lawmakers for amendments under Article 80 of the constitution.

A central point of criticism is Section 6 of the bill, which retains the death penalty for cases where a disappeared person dies in custody or remains missing for over five years.

“The bill should remove the death penalty and ensure that penalties for enforced disappearance reflect the extreme seriousness of the crime while remaining consistent with international human rights standards,” Fortify Rights and the All Victims and Veterans Network said in a joint statement.

“Life imprisonment and other severe custodial penalties can ensure punishment commensurate with the gravity of enforced disappearance without resorting to an irreversible punishment,” the groups added.

Rights experts also raised alarms over Section 14 of the bill, which tasks the police and security forces, including the Border Guard Bangladesh and the Special Response Battalion, with investigating cases, despite those same forces frequently being accused of carrying out disappearances.

Former International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam questioned the provision’s logic during a discussion in Dhaka. “If the offender is the investigator, how can there be justice?” he said.

Barrister Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, a member of parliament and survivor of enforced disappearance, told Fortify Rights that the framework continues to protect perpetrators. “The new bill keeps the investigation of disappearances inside the security establishment and deters families from coming forward,” Quasem said.

The rights groups further criticized Section 21, which imposes up to five years of imprisonment with hard labor for making “false or harassing” complaints, warning it could intimidate victims and families when state authorities conceal evidence.

Although the bill includes provisions in Sections 23 and 30 to establish a government fund for compensation and rehabilitation, advocates stressed that victims should not have to wait for criminal convictions before receiving assistance.

A UN fact-finding mission previously documented around 1,800 cases of enforced disappearances during the rule of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose government was ousted in 2024. Rights groups note that allegations persist under the current administration, including the disappearance of fisherman Miraj Sheikh in April 2026 after he was allegedly taken into custody by the Bangladesh Coast Guard.

The bill now awaits presidential assent to become law or be returned to parliament for reconsideration.