11 hours Ago
Having emerged from years of authoritarian rule, Bangladesh stands at a crossroads at present. Addressing past human rights violations and restoring public trust in governance requires a structured, transparent, and inclusive approach. A proposed truth, justice and harmony commission (TJHC) offers a vital mechanism to reckon with the past, ensure accountability, and promote national healing.
Without such an initiative, the country risks repeating the cycle of impunity and division. For over a decade and a half, Bangladesh has faced systemic human rights abuses, enforced disappearances, torture, and killings. The Sheikh Hasina regime brutally suppressed dissent, including those by the political opposition and student-led movements against entrenched corruption and inequality.
According to a report by the UN human rights office, security forces, acting under direct orders from top officials, engaged in extrajudicial killings, mass arbitrary arrests, torture, and gender-based violence. An estimated 1,400 people, including children, lost their lives, with thousands more injured, shot by state forces and Hasina's street-level political muscle during the student-led mass movement in July-August 2024. The report details targeted killings, police obstruction of medical care, and systematic suppression of evidence, suggesting possible crimes against humanity.
These atrocities demand urgent accountability and institutional reform to prevent future abuses. Sheikh Hasina's departure from power presents a unique opportunity for a transitional justice mechanism that not only seeks justice, but also fosters healing and national unity. The TJHC is envisioned as a transformative platform to confront the human rights abuses by the Hasina regime, promote collective understanding, and lay the foundation for a just and harmonious society.
Historically, nations emerging from authoritarian rule or a civil conflict have established truth commissions to address past injustices and facilitate healing. South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Rwanda's Gacaca courts, and Argentina's National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons have provided models for transitional justice. While each country's approach was unique to its historical context, they shared a common goal: acknowledging past crimes to prevent their recurrence.
Bangladesh must learn from these examples and tailor the TJHC to its specific needs and historical experiences. The proposed truth, justice and harmony commission is designed to fulfil several crucial tasks, including comprehensive investigations into human rights abuses from 2009 to 2024, creating an official historical record of past atrocities, allowing victims to share their narratives, identifying perpetrators, and ensuring legal action. At the same time, fairness through public transparency will be maintained while encouraging dialogue between affected communities, integrating community-based initiatives for collective well-being, addressing systemic inequities contributing to violence, and supporting those affected by past injustices.
Beyond documenting past injustices, the TJHC must focus on institutional reforms to prevent future human rights violations. Strengthening judicial independence, reinforcing public oversight of law enforcement agencies, and ensuring free and fair elections are critical components of this reform agenda. Without systemic change, transitional justice risks being a symbolic exercise rather than a transformative process.
The success of the TJHC depends on broad-based support and participation. The legal community, civil society organisations, affected communities, and the international community must actively engage in shaping and monitoring the commission. International human rights organisations and multilateral institutions should provide technical expertise and oversight to ensure the commission's credibility.
Furthermore, the government must commit to providing the commission with the legal authority and resources needed to conduct its work effectively. This includes enacting legislation to formalise the TJHC, protecting witnesses, and ensuring that findings lead to meaningful policy and judicial actions. Bangladesh has a historic opportunity to break the cycle of impunity and lay the groundwork for a society rooted in justice, accountability, and collective healing.
Establishing the TJHC must not be delayed or diluted; it must be an urgent priority that will take our country towards healing and rebuilding trust in governance. The time for justice is now. The victims and the nation deserve nothing less than a comprehensive, transparent, and effective process of truth-seeking and national unity.
Bangladesh must seize this moment to ensure that history does not repeat itself and that its citizens can move forward with renewed hope, dignity, and a shared vision for a harmonious future. Dr Shamaruh Mirza is a senior scientist based in Australia. Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
Follow The Daily Star Opinion on Facebook for the latest opinions, commentaries, and analyses by experts and professionals. To contribute your article or letter to The Daily Star Opinion, see our guidelines for submission . Having emerged from years of authoritarian rule, Bangladesh stands at a crossroads at present.
Addressing past human rights violations and restoring public trust in governance requires a structured, transparent, and inclusive approach. A proposed truth, justice and harmony commission (TJHC) offers a vital mechanism to reckon with the past, ensure accountability, and promote national healing. Without such an initiative, the country risks repeating the cycle of impunity and division.
For over a decade and a half, Bangladesh has faced systemic human rights abuses, enforced disappearances, torture, and killings. The Sheikh Hasina regime brutally suppressed dissent, including those by the political opposition and student-led movements against entrenched corruption and inequality. According to a report by the UN human rights office, security forces, acting under direct orders from top officials, engaged in extrajudicial killings, mass arbitrary arrests, torture, and gender-based violence.
An estimated 1,400 people, including children, lost their lives, with thousands more injured, shot by state forces and Hasina's street-level political muscle during the student-led mass movement in July-August 2024. The report details targeted killings, police obstruction of medical care, and systematic suppression of evidence, suggesting possible crimes against humanity. These atrocities demand urgent accountability and institutional reform to prevent future abuses.
Sheikh Hasina's departure from power presents a unique opportunity for a transitional justice mechanism that not only seeks justice, but also fosters healing and national unity. The TJHC is envisioned as a transformative platform to confront the human rights abuses by the Hasina regime, promote collective understanding, and lay the foundation for a just and harmonious society. Historically, nations emerging from authoritarian rule or a civil conflict have established truth commissions to address past injustices and facilitate healing.
South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Rwanda's Gacaca courts, and Argentina's National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons have provided models for transitional justice. While each country's approach was unique to its historical context, they shared a common goal: acknowledging past crimes to prevent their recurrence. Bangladesh must learn from these examples and tailor the TJHC to its specific needs and historical experiences.
The proposed truth, justice and harmony commission is designed to fulfil several crucial tasks, including comprehensive investigations into human rights abuses from 2009 to 2024, creating an official historical record of past atrocities, allowing victims to share their narratives, identifying perpetrators, and ensuring legal action. At the same time, fairness through public transparency will be maintained while encouraging dialogue between affected communities, integrating community-based initiatives for collective well-being, addressing systemic inequities contributing to violence, and supporting those affected by past injustices. Beyond documenting past injustices, the TJHC must focus on institutional reforms to prevent future human rights violations.
Strengthening judicial independence, reinforcing public oversight of law enforcement agencies, and ensuring free and fair elections are critical components of this reform agenda. Without systemic change, transitional justice risks being a symbolic exercise rather than a transformative process. The success of the TJHC depends on broad-based support and participation.
The legal community, civil society organisations, affected communities, and the international community must actively engage in shaping and monitoring the commission. International human rights organisations and multilateral institutions should provide technical expertise and oversight to ensure the commission's credibility. Furthermore, the government must commit to providing the commission with the legal authority and resources needed to conduct its work effectively.
This includes enacting legislation to formalise the TJHC, protecting witnesses, and ensuring that findings lead to meaningful policy and judicial actions. Bangladesh has a historic opportunity to break the cycle of impunity and lay the groundwork for a society rooted in justice, accountability, and collective healing. Establishing the TJHC must not be delayed or diluted; it must be an urgent priority that will take our country towards healing and rebuilding trust in governance.
The time for justice is now. The victims and the nation deserve nothing less than a comprehensive, transparent, and effective process of truth-seeking and national unity. Bangladesh must seize this moment to ensure that history does not repeat itself and that its citizens can move forward with renewed hope, dignity, and a shared vision for a harmonious future.
Dr Shamaruh Mirza is a senior scientist based in Australia. Views expressed in this article are the author's own. Follow The Daily Star Opinion on Facebook for the latest opinions, commentaries, and analyses by experts and professionals.
To contribute your article or letter to The Daily Star Opinion, see our guidelines for submission ..
