DHAKA, Feb 2, 2025 (BSS) - The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stressed the need for ensuring political neutrality in Bangladesh in the process of recruitments and promotions in the public services such as the civil service, police and the judiciary.
 
"A key concern is to ensure strict political neutrality in the discharge of public duties by restricting and strictly regulating political involvement in personnel-related issues such as recruitment and promotions, including the civil service, police, and the judiciary," it said.
 
The HRW said this in its recently released 50-page report titled "After the Monsoon Revolution: A Roadmap to Lasting Security Sector Reform in Bangladesh".
 
"The appointment of judges based on political loyalty in the High Court is a major factor behind the collapse of Bangladesh's judiciary. No matter how sensitive or contentious the term 'reform' is, we have no alternative to it," the HRW in its report quoted Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul as saying.
 
The US based human rights watchdog said the interim government should also build independent oversight on the appointment of members and commissioners to all institutions such as the Election Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the National Human Rights Commission, including through civil society consultations.
 
To end entrenched impunity, the government should repeal or revise laws that undermine or preclude accountability, it said.
 
"For example, the interim government should repeal section 197(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires government approval to bring criminal charges against public officials-including police officers-if the offense is committed while the officer is acting or purporting to act in their official capacity; and section 132 of the criminal procedure code requiring prosecutors to obtain a prior government "sanction" before lodging any criminal complaint against a state official, permission that is seldom granted," the report continued.
 
The "good faith" clause in section 13 of the Armed Police Battalion (Amendment) Act 2003, which provides blanket immunity for security force abuses, should be removed, it said.
 
"The government should introduce standards on the use of force by requiring mandatory reporting and independent review of all use of force by law enforcement, not just for lethal events or cases involving the use of firearms," the HRW said.
 
The human rights organisation suggested that the police laws regarding use of force should reflect international standards, including the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.
 
"These standards require that police apply, as far as possible, nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force, that they use force only in proportion to the seriousness of the offense, and that lethal force is used only when strictly unavoidable to protect life," it added.