UNB, Dhaka :
Government officials in Bangladesh, including police, were sometimes slow to protect individuals, including members of minority religious groups, from violence and often reluctant to investigate violent incidents, according to a new US report.
The report titled ‘The 2014 International Religious Freedom Report’ was released in Washington on Wednesday. US Secretary of State John Kerry submitted the 2014 International Religious Freedom Report to the United States Congress.
Now in its 17th year, this congressionally-mandated report comprises almost 200 distinct reports on countries and territories worldwide and continues to reflect the United States’ commitment to, and advancement of, the right of every person to freedom of religion.
The report in its Bangladesh part executive summery said minority groups, especially Hindus, were victims to attacks and looting of religious sites and private homes, particularly in the period surrounding the January national election.
Quoting the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the report said the government failed to prevent attacks on Hindus after the January-5 election, and the High Court ruled that law enforcement agencies had “seriously fail[ed]” to protect members of vulnerable groups, including religious minority communities, from post-election violence.
The government took steps to assist victims and restore religious and private property damaged in the violence, it said.
In May, police reportedly refused to investigate the case of a 12-year-old Hindu girl who was forcibly converted to Islam. Government officials stated that resource and capacity constraints sometimes limited their ability to take proactive efforts to extend greater religious freedom protections or to counter societal actors, the report mentioned.
Government officials in Bangladesh, including police, were sometimes slow to protect individuals, including members of minority religious groups, from violence and often reluctant to investigate violent incidents, according to a new US report.
The report titled ‘The 2014 International Religious Freedom Report’ was released in Washington on Wednesday. US Secretary of State John Kerry submitted the 2014 International Religious Freedom Report to the United States Congress.
Now in its 17th year, this congressionally-mandated report comprises almost 200 distinct reports on countries and territories worldwide and continues to reflect the United States’ commitment to, and advancement of, the right of every person to freedom of religion.
The report in its Bangladesh part executive summery said minority groups, especially Hindus, were victims to attacks and looting of religious sites and private homes, particularly in the period surrounding the January national election.
Quoting the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the report said the government failed to prevent attacks on Hindus after the January-5 election, and the High Court ruled that law enforcement agencies had “seriously fail[ed]” to protect members of vulnerable groups, including religious minority communities, from post-election violence.
The government took steps to assist victims and restore religious and private property damaged in the violence, it said.
In May, police reportedly refused to investigate the case of a 12-year-old Hindu girl who was forcibly converted to Islam. Government officials stated that resource and capacity constraints sometimes limited their ability to take proactive efforts to extend greater religious freedom protections or to counter societal actors, the report mentioned.
