Opposition walks out of committee meeting, protests NHRC Bill

Opposition lawmakers on Sunday walked out of a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, protesting the entire process of reviewing, amending and passing the proposed National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Bill, 2026.

The opposition members, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami MPs Nazibur Rahman and Al Faruk Abdul Latif, and National Citizen Party (NCP) MP Akhtar Hossain, participated in discussions on the Transfer of Property (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

However, they left the meeting when discussion began on the NHRC Bill.

The walkout came after Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman placed the National Human Rights Commission Bill, 2026 and the Transfer of Property (Amendment) Bill, 2026 before Parliament on Thursday. On the same day, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed placed the Prevention and Remedies for Enforced Disappearance Bill, 2026.

The bills were subsequently referred to the relevant parliamentary standing committees for scrutiny. Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal directed the committees to submit their reports within two working days.

After leaving the meeting, the three opposition MPs submitted a written statement protesting what they described as an attempt to turn parliamentary standing committees into “rubber stamps” and push through a “weak law” without adequate scrutiny or consultation.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Nazibur Rahman said the opposition would not participate in any further discussion, scrutiny or amendment process concerning the proposed NHRC Bill.

He said the proposed legislation failed to meet the standards of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), the Paris Principles and relevant international conventions and declarations.

Nazibur also criticised the two-working-day deadline given to the committee to examine the bill and submit its report. He argued that such a limited timeframe left no meaningful scope for consultation with stakeholders or for an independent and comprehensive assessment of the proposed legislation.

In their written statement, the opposition MPs similarly said the bill was not aligned with UN-recognised standards, the Paris Principles or relevant international human rights conventions.

The three lawmakers said they would boycott all future meetings of the standing committee related to the NHRC Bill and would not participate in any parliamentary process concerning its passage.

Nazibur further said the opposition lawmakers would also not attend the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Home Affairs scheduled for 2:00pm on Sunday to discuss the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Bill, 2026.