Play store
The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs has taken an initiative to establish a new directorate for people who have been victims of enforced disappearances, killings, torture and extrajudicial killings, along with their families.
The proposed directorate will work to ensure the welfare of affected families, access to medical treatment, legal protection and rehabilitation, according to a ministry press release.
The matter was discussed in detail at an inter-ministerial meeting held at the ministry on Sunday, chaired by Liberation War Affairs Minister Ahmed Azam Khan. State Minister Ishrak Hossain and ministry Secretary Md Ashraful Islam were also present.
Speaking at the meeting, Ahmed Azam Khan said the state had formally recognised those affected by the July mass uprising and established the July Mass Uprising Directorate for them. He said the government now wanted to similarly recognise those who had made sacrifices during prolonged movements and struggles for the restoration of democracy.
He said the proposed initiative would cover people who were allegedly subjected to enforced disappearance, brutal killings or extrajudicial killings, as well as those who lost their eyesight, became disabled or spent years in jail after being implicated in what he described as numerous false cases.
The minister said the move was intended not only to recognise their sacrifices but also to establish lasting safeguards so that no future authoritarian force could deprive people of their democratic rights or leave families to suffer the loss of loved ones.
State Minister Ishrak Hossain said the core ideals of the 1971 Liberation War included the right to live freely, protection of human rights, an end to state violence and the establishment of a democratic system based on universal voting rights.
He alleged that these principles had been undermined since 2009 through the deprivation of voting rights, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings allegedly carried out with state backing.
The meeting discussed three key proposals:
Establishing a new directorate under the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs.
Enacting a new law to ensure the rights and compensation of victims and their families.
Amending the Rules of Business, 1996, to formally bring these responsibilities under the ministry.
Officials also discussed ensuring the welfare and rights of victims and their families in line with the UN’s Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation and the Constitution of Bangladesh.
Senior officials and representatives from the Cabinet Division, ministries of Foreign Affairs, Public Administration, Home Affairs, Finance, Law and Justice, Social Welfare, Health Services, Youth and Sports, Labour and Employment, Secondary and Higher Education, Disaster Management and Relief, and Women and Children’s Affairs attended the inter-ministerial meeting.