Human rights groups urge UN to ban 'abusive' Bangladesh's RAB from peacekeeping operations

As many as twelve human rights organisations have urged the United Nations to terminate Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion's (RAB) peace operations, citing abuses committed by the "notorious" paramilitary troops. In a letter to Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, made public on Thursday, the rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and more voiced concerns over the credible evidence of "extrajudicial killings, torture and enforced disappearances by members of the unit since its creation in 2004." As per reports, the letter was addressed to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations about two months ago on November 8, 2021, and is yet to receive a formal response.

"Secretary-general Guterres about any human rights abuses by UN peacekeepers, he will ensure that units with proven records of abuse like the Rapid Action Battalion are excluded from deployment," said Kerry Kennedy, President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, which is one of the signatories in the letter.

In the letter, the human rights groups opposed the deployment of former RAB service members on UN missions, despite credible documents proving their involvement in promoting and conducting abuses on civilians. "The evidence is clear; now it is time for the UN to draw the line, Kerry added.

It is to mention that in December 2021, the US government listed RAB as a "foreign entity responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in serious human rights abuse," as per the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The US also sanctioned seven current and former officials of the RAB, including Bangladesh Police Chief Benazir Ahmed. The Bangladesh government had vehemently denied such allegations with denials and repressive measures against families of human rights defenders families. The victims are forced to sign false statements and repeatedly threatened and intentionally misled by state police, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported.

The signatories in the joint letter also called on for a transparent screening process of the RAB officials, who are mostly senior military personnel reporting to the Bangladesh Home Ministry. Currently, RAB conducts a "systematic screen applied only at higher ranks" by Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). "The NHRC cannot be objective unfactual in the execution of their role in the screening process considering ongoing reports of its politicisation," the joint letter wrote.

Allegations of human rights abuses 'long-standing concern': UNHCR

It is to mention that RAB was created in 2004 to combat extremism and serious crimes in Bangladesh. However, the rapid action force has been accused of human rights violations on multiple occasions, including involvement in a gunfight to execute alleged criminals. Since 2018, national NGOs have alleged that RAB was responsible for nearly 600 killings. However, members of the RAB are eligible to participate in UN peacekeeping operations "without any previous investigation" into alleged accusations of violence. In 2020, Bangladesh remained the highest contributor to UN mission, deploying 6,731 uniformed personnel.

In March 2021, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet raised concern over the "torture and ill-treatment by the RAB" that has been a "long-standing concern."

(Image: AP)