Dhaka: The prolonged single-party rule had steadily politicised Bangladesh’s state institutions that permeated the country’s entire security sector as well, since authorities preferred recruitment and promotion there to be based on perceived political loyalty instead of professionalism, the UN rights office report said.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a fact-finding report indicating that fifteen years of rule by a single political party coincided with a steadily increasing politicization of state institutions within Bangladesh. This politicization extended to the security sector, where recruitment and promotion were often based on perceived loyalty to the Awami League and the ruling government it supported, rather than on professionalism, integrity, and merit.
The UN rights office, in its report on human rights violations during the July-August 2024 uprising in Bangladesh, highlighted the involvement of the Directorate of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), National Security Intelligence (NSI), and the police’s Special Branch in vetting candidates for mid-level and higher positions. These vetting processes were influenced by the political affiliations of the candidates and their relatives.
The report noted that the then prime minister personally approved appointments to positions of Deputy Inspector-General or higher, strategically placing Awami League loyalists in control of important units such as the Detective Branch within metropolitan police forces. The OHCHR emphasized that the relevance of political party affiliation in police appointments predates the former government and is attributed to the absence of an independent body to manage police appointments and promotions.
Despite the Bangladesh Army’s historical involvement in politics through coups and attempted coups, it is regarded as less politicized than other security forces. However, the report mentioned that party politics had permeated the military, especially at senior levels, influencing promotions and placements based on perceived political loyalties.
The OHCHR report highlighted a negative symbiotic relationship between the ruling party and the security sector. In exchange for suppressing challenges to the ruling party and ignoring crimes by its members, security personnel could expect impunity for serious violations and corruption. Since 2009, Bangladeshi civil society groups have documented 2,597 alleged extrajudicial killings and 708 enforced disappearances, with the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) implicated in over 800 alleged killings and 220 disappearances.
The report pointed out that despite allegations against DGFI officials in more than 170 enforced disappearances, no DGFI officer has been prosecuted. The United Nations Committee against Torture expressed concerns about the widespread use of torture by law enforcement to obtain confessions or extort bribes.
The OHCHR noted that Bangladesh enacted the Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition) Act in 2013, but since then, at least 103 detainees have reportedly been tortured to death. The government has reported only 24 cases filed under the Act, with only one case resulting in convictions for police officers who tortured a detainee to death. The report concluded that these patterns of impunity have become institutionalized and entrenched in law.