The most significant human rights problems in Bangladesh last year were extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, some restrictions on online speech and the press, and poor working conditions and labor rights, according to the ‘Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014’ released by the United States State Department on Thursday.
Other human rights problems included security force torture and other abuse, widespread official corruption, arbitrary arrests and detentions, weak judicial capacity and independence, and lengthy pretrial detentions, said the report that covered the period between January 1 and December 31, 2014.
The report also mentioned other human rights problems including infringement of authorities on citizens’ privacy rights, politically motivated and intra-party violence, continued legal and informal restrictions faced by some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and unequal treatment suffered by women including early and forced marriage.
Many children were compelled to work, primarily in the informal sector, due either to economic necessity or in some instances trafficking, while
discrimination against persons with disabilities was a problem, especially for children seeking admittance to public school, it said.
Instances of societal violence against religious and ethnic minorities persisted, although many government and civil society leaders claimed these acts had political or economic motivations and should not be attributed wholly to religious beliefs or affiliations. Discrimination against persons based on their sexual orientation continued,it added.
The report also said, “Weak regard for the rule of law not only enabled individuals, including government officials, to commit human rights violations with impunity but also prevented citizens from claiming their rights.”
“The government took limited measures to investigate and prosecute cases of security force abuse and killings,”
it said.
Describing Bangladesh as a secular, pluralistic parliamentary democracy with a vibrant civil society, the report said, “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League (AL) retained power in the January 5 parliamentary elections, which were preceded by months of political turmoil and violence perpetrated by several political parties.”
“After the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies boycotted the election and engaged in a series of violent strikes in a dispute over the composition of the government that oversaw the elections, the ruling party won the elections, with more than half of all seats uncontested,” it said.