Three people. Three questions. One reckoning

June 26 marked the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Before discussing laws or institutions, consider three people.

Their names have been changed. Their stories have not.

Fatema's husband was taken from their home at two in the morning by seven men during the autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina. They wore no uniforms and produced no warrant. A member of the then-opposition party, he has been missing for five years. Fatema cannot remarry because there is no death certificate. 

She cannot access his bank accounts because the law has no category for someone who is neither dead nor alive. She sold her jewellery, then her furniture. Her eldest daughter left school. "I am not grieving," she said. "Grief has an end. Every morning I wonder whether today they will bring him back or tell me he is gone."

Rahim was 18 when he joined the July marches in 2024. He was walking when a bullet tore through his chest. He survived but suffered permanent lung damage. His family, small farmers from outside Dhaka, borrowed heavily for treatment. 

Their debt now exceeds his father's annual income. Rahim cannot work, cannot complete his HSC and continues to relive the violence. His family was promised government support for July victims. They are still waiting.

Bedona has spent more than a decade seeking justice after his brother, Shurma, died in custody following a security raid at a wedding. The family has faced threats and financial ruin. Despite gathering evidence and pursuing every legal avenue, justice never came. His case reflects not an isolated failure but a systemic one.

Three people. Three different experiences. One common reality: the state caused harm, and none found an effective path to justice or rehabilitation.

Bangladesh's interim government has pledged to strengthen human rights. The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances had made important progress, and legal reforms were underway. 

But commitment alone is not a remedy. Besides, the new government of BNP has apparently backtracked from the interim government’s prepared plan with the promise of a new one. 

But the real fact is that the gap between promises [of any government] and survivors' lived experience remains wide because institutions have yet to deliver justice, rehabilitation and accountability.

At the National Dialogue on the Right to Reparation and Rehabilitation, organised by Maayer Daak and the Human Rights Development Centre on June 26 this year, we presented three practical proposals.

First, establish a Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights. Bangladesh lacks a dedicated parliamentary body to oversee torture prevention, monitor reparation commitments and scrutinise laws affecting fundamental rights. 

Such a committee should include equal representation from government and opposition, maintain a permanent secretariat, hold public hearings with survivors and continue beyond electoral cycles. Fatema's case should be a matter of parliamentary oversight, not merely a court file.

Second, adopt a National Survivor Charter. As a party to the UN Convention Against Torture, Bangladesh is obliged under Article 14 to guarantee redress, compensation and rehabilitation for torture victims. 

A Survivor Charter should translate that obligation into enforceable guarantees: comprehensive medical, psychological, legal and livelihood support; timely reparations; trauma-informed referral services; survivor participation in policymaking; protection from stigma and retaliation; sustainable funding; and institutional accountability. 

Rahim's medical treatment and financial recovery should be recognised as legal rights, not discretionary assistance. Survivors themselves must help shape the Charter.

Third, create genuinely independent oversight. Bedona's experience illustrates the consequences of weak accountability. Bangladesh needs an independent National Preventive Mechanism, consistent with OPCAT, empowered to conduct unannounced inspections of all detention facilities, privately interview detainees and publicly report its findings. 

The National Human Rights Commission must also be fully independent, adequately resourced and compliant with the Paris Principles, with the authority to investigate abuses and hold institutions accountable.

These are not novel demands. Parliamentary human rights committees operate across democratic systems. Survivor charters have guided transitional justice efforts from Colombia to South Africa. Independent preventive mechanisms are an established international standard. 

Bangladesh does not need to invent new models; it needs to implement proven ones.

The question is whether the political will exists. Transitional governments face constraints, but they also have a rare opportunity to redesign institutions. Decisions taken now will shape Bangladesh's human rights framework for decades.

Fatema is still waiting. Rahim is still burdened by debt. Bedona is still fighting for justice.

They cannot wait for another international day, another dialogue or another promise.

Three people. Three questions. One reckoning.

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Dr Muhammad Asadullah is a Visiting Professor & Director, Daffodil Legal Research Centre (DLRC), Daffodil International University and Associate Professor of Criminology, University of Regina, Canada

Md Mahbul Haque is the Secretary General & CEO, Human Rights Development Centre (HRDC)