Bangladesh stands at a critical institutional crossroads today. Many of the country’s current political leaders, including the Prime Minister, Cabinet members, and both Treasury and Opposition Members of Parliament, were themselves victims of repression, intimidation, arbitrary detention, and political exclusion during the long tenure of the Awami League government between 2009 and 2024. Their personal experiences with state excess should lead to a shared commitment to ensure such abuses never happen again. Yet recent indications that the Government may dilute or allow to lapse key human rights ordinances passed during the interim transition period risk undermining that promise.

There are a few legacies of the interim Government that will matter more than its reform of key institutions aimed at accountability for rights violations. Two ordinances established frameworks to help ensure that past abuses cannot be repeated: the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance and the Enforced Disappearance (Protection and Restitution of Rights) Ordinance, 2008.

Taken together, these ordinances were attempts to institutionalize guarantees, making egregious violations of fundamental rights structurally impossible. The amendments and ordinances were drafted after widespread consultation with civil society in Bangladesh and with multilateral partners, including a range of international legal experts and human rights organizations committed to the UN mandate.

Ensuring the independence and efficacy of the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh was a key piece of that structural reform. For years, opponents of credible oversight decried vague mandates, weak investigative powers, and toothless reporting requirements. This ordinance attempted to address those gaps by increasing transparency, clarifying the scope of its investigation, and strengthening follow-up procedures.

The enforced disappearance ordinance responded to a tragedy that has become all too common in Bangladesh’s political landscape. Countless families remain in pain, wondering what happened to their loved ones. Rolling back or abandoning institutional remedies would mock their suffering.

We are concerned that proposals are being considered to gut these ordinances or allow them to lapse. Weakening these ordinances would undermine the moral authority Bangladesh gained through its recent peaceful transition of power. It would also further weaken trust between citizens and the state, just as trust needs to be rebuilt.

We understand why politicians who could be affected by improved oversight might want weaker institutions. History is full of examples of human rights commissions and similar bodies being undermined when they become effective. What we don’t understand is why the BNP Government, which rose to power by opposing autocratic tendencies, would want to roll back protections.

This Government was forged in the fires of oppression. It has been elected by popular mandate and therefore entrusted with upholding human rights. With that trust comes responsibility.

Elections should not measure democracy in Bangladesh, but by sustainable systems that allow citizens to live free from oppression. Institutional continuity plays a critical role in safeguarding those systems. The pursuit and protection of human rights should never become politicized. Bangladesh cannot allow another decade of “faceless” justice, “political” arrests, and enforced disappearances.

Allowing these ordinances to stand is one of the most powerful ways you can demonstrate to Bangladeshis, to victims’ families, and to the international community that Bangladesh is committed to the rule of law. Letting them lapse would suggest you don't care.

Now is the Government’s chance to prove that Bangladesh has not forgotten the lessons of the last fifteen years. Please stand on the side of justice.