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🇧🇩 Bangladesh /Elections & Politics

Opposition Walks Out Over NHRC Bill, Alleging Unequal Rules for Rights Violations

From Daily Star · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Approved/passed
  • Opposition lawmakers left Bangladesh’s parliament before the National Human Rights Commission Bill 2026 was presented, saying it applies different rules to ordinary citizens and state forces.
  • Opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman said the commission could investigate citizens directly but would face additional procedural hurdles when forces were involved.
  • Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman rejected the criticism and said the government had strengthened the bill.

Bangladesh’s opposition walked out of parliament shortly before the National Human Rights Commission Bill 2026 was placed, accusing the government of writing unequal rules for human rights violations.

Opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman said the bill would allow the commission to investigate an ordinary citizen directly. When a state force was involved, however, the force would first be asked to respond. If it failed to respond, he said, the bill gave no clear instruction on what would happen. If its response was deemed unsatisfactory, the commission would have to ask again before opening an investigation.

This shows a weakness. If the force does not respond at all the first time, there is no direction in the law.

· Shafiqur RahmanThe opposition leader criticized the bill’s procedures for cases involving state forces.

“This shows a weakness. If the force does not respond at all the first time, there is no direction in the law,” Shafiqur said. He argued that state forces are government employees but also citizens, and that the same offence should not trigger different investigative procedures.

Thus, the government has failed to meet that demand. Since we had already decided that these laws were being brought back in weaker form after lapsing, we will not be part of passing this law.

· Shafiqur RahmanHe explained why opposition lawmakers would not participate in passing the bill.

He said opposition parties had already decided not to participate after earlier ordinances were allowed to lapse. “Thus, the government has failed to meet that demand. Since we had already decided that these laws were being brought back in weaker form after lapsing, we will not be part of passing this law,” he said before leaving the chamber with Jamaat and other opposition lawmakers.

Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman rejected the accusation while presenting the bill. He said the government had made the legislation stronger, including in areas the opposition had left before hearing about them. A bill aimed at preventing and providing redress for enforced disappearances was scheduled to follow the NHRC legislation.

We have indeed strengthened it. But unfortunately, in some areas where we made it stronger, the opposition did not stay to hear.

· Md AsaduzzamanThe law minister defended the government’s version of the legislation.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Star in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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