UNB, Dhaka :The United Kingdom has said there was ‘no improvement’ in the human rights situation in Bangladesh in the first six months of the current year.”Looking ahead to the second half of 2016, we want Bangladesh to develop into an economically successful country that maintains its Bengali tradition of respect and tolerance for all people of all faiths and backgrounds,” said the British government in its updated report.It said, an effective justice system, vibrant civil society, free media and freedom to hold authority to account remain important as Bangladesh heads towards a middle-income status, and fully graduates from the least developed country status.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office updated its report ‘People’s Republic of Bangladesh – Human Rights Priority Country’ on July 21.The report said extremist attacks on minority groups and threats against secular bloggers continued and then Prime Minister David Cameron discussed the global increase of extremism and the spread of attacks in Bangladesh with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, when they met at the G7 meeting on May 27. It said, the UK continues to support and promote freedom of expression and protection for those who exercise it in Bangladesh, including through a new programme funded by the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy.The British High Commission is also working closely with international partners in Bangladesh to support those under threat from extremist attacks, such as providing information on help available from local, regional and international non-governmental organisations.”We continue to urge the government of Bangladesh to ensure that those carrying out extremist attacks are held to account, that life is protected and that the right to justice and free speech for all Bangladeshis is upheld,” the report read. The municipal elections, which ended in May and were held on party lines for the first time, saw significant levels of violence, the report observed.Some 116 people were reported killed, mainly as the result of intra-party clashes it said mentioning, “There were also concerns around the role of the Election Commission who, it is alleged, failed to address reports of groups and individuals breaking election rules.”In addition to extremist attacks on Christians, Buddhists and Hindus, 2016 has also seen an increase in wider intolerance towards minority religions. Incidents include the high-profile case in May of a Hindu teacher being beaten and humiliated for allegedly making derogatory comments about Islam.The UK continues to promote tolerance, inclusion, justice and diversity, for example in a statement made by the British High Commissioner to mark the 117th anniversary of the birth of Bangladesh National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, whose work championed these values.In June, a number of suspected militants and individuals accused of extremist murders were killed in alleged crossfire incidents between police and criminal gangs, said the report.”Some of those killed were reported to have been in police custody at the time of their deaths. Allegations from relatives of torture and mistreatment in police custody continue.”At the Westminster Hall Debate on Bangladesh on June 30, the then FCO Minister for Asia, Hugo Swire welcomed the government of Bangladesh’s commitment to bring those responsible for recent extremist attacks to justice. He also made clear that “it’s important that justice is delivered in a manner which fully respects the international human rights standards which, as members of the Commonwealth and the UN Human Rights Council, Bangladesh has pledged to uphold.”The report mentioned that NGOs called for the repeal of ‘vague and overly broad’ sedition laws in Bangladesh when over 50 private criminal charges, for sedition and defamation, were brought against editors of two of Bangladesh’s largest media outlets. Charges brought against newspaper editors, even if eventually dismissed by the courts, can be a form of harassment and intimidation, it read. It said, the rape and murder of university student Sohagi Jahan Tonu in Comilla on 20 March caused nationwide protests and put the spotlight on the widespread occurrence of sexual assault and on failures in the criminal justice system to investigate and prosecute such cases effectively. The report was first published in April 21.
