At Human Rights Council, CSI calls on Bangladesh to protect rights of religious minorities

MEDIA RELEASE

Religious minorities in Bangladesh are facing increased violence and persecution under the interim government, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) warned on March 17 at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

In an oral statement delivered on the floor during the 58^th Session, CSI’s Dr. Joel Veldkamp recalled that the right of every person to choose and practice their religion is enshrined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). “But this right is increasingly threatened, often in countries undergoing political transitions,” he pointed out.

“One worrying example of this is in Bangladesh, where violence against Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists has increased dramatically following the resignation and flight of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last August,” CSI’s Director of Public Advocacy stated.

Many of the attacks have been attributed to Islamist groups Jamaat-e-Islami and Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Veldkamp said that according to CSI sources in Bangladesh, the new authorities have in recent months filed spurious charges against hundreds of leaders of religious minority groups, including the general secretary and president of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council. Some of these individuals have already been arrested and are being selectively denied bail.

“The pattern of these charges and arrests strongly indicates an effort to suppress the ability of religious minority groups to organize and advocate for their own interests,” Veldkamp said.

“Christian Solidarity International calls on the interim government of Bangladesh to dismiss the charges against these Christian, Buddhist and Hindu leaders immediately, and to make good on their pledges to build a free, democratic and pluralistic state, which will protect the human rights of all Bangladeshis, regardless of religious affiliation,” he concluded.