In an oral statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on September 25, CSI called for action to curb extremism and strengthen human rights in Bangladesh.
Scenes of destruction following attacks in Bangladesh. composite image: csi
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) is profoundly concerned over the growing threat to religious minorities in Bangladesh following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
In an oral statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on September 25, CSI called for action to curb extremism and strengthen human rights in Bangladesh.
“According to CSI’s sources, at least 47 attacks on Christian sites, including 11 churches, followed the overthrow of the country’s Awami League government on August 5,” said CSI’s Joel Veldkamp.
The New Delhi-based Rights and Risk Analysis Group reports that at least 1,090 attacks on religious minorities, including Hindus, Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and Buddhists, have taken place since the government’s overthrow, he added.
These attacks have been attributed to Islamist groups. Among them are Jamaat-e-Islami, a political party whose militias participated in mass killings of Hindus and others during the war of independence, and Hizb ut-Tahrir – a transnational revolutionary organization which is officially banned in Bangladesh, and which seeks to establish a global Caliphate.
“CSI urges Bangladesh’s interim government to take decisive actions against all forms of extremism that threaten the democratic fabric and civil liberties in the country,” said Veldkamp.
CSI also called for ongoing monitoring by international bodies, such as the United Nations Human Rights Office, which currently has a fact-finding team in Dhaka at the request of the interim government.
“We emphasize the need for continuous international scrutiny to ensure that human rights are upheld,” Veldkamp concluded.
