Human rights experts, government officials and UN representatives have urged Bangladesh to ensure full independence and accountability in its upcoming torture-prevention mechanism, stressing that legal reforms alone will not end custodial abuse without strong political commitment.

The call was made today (9 December) at a seminar titled “Operationalisation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in Bangladesh,” jointly organised by the Embassy of Switzerland, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) Mission in Bangladesh and BRAC University’s School of Law. The event was held at the BRAC University auditorium, said a press release.

The discussion comes months after Bangladesh ratified OPCAT, which requires the creation of an independent National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) to monitor detention facilities and prevent torture.

Speaking as the chief guest, Asif Nazrul, adviser to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, said ratifying OPCAT marked “not the end but the beginning of justice.” He noted that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Ordinance 2025 has already been gazetted and that the government will soon constitute the new NPM.

Swiss Ambassador Reto Renggli praised Bangladesh for taking an important step toward strengthening torture-prevention safeguards. He added that Switzerland’s entry into the UN Human Rights Council this year, as Bangladesh completes its term, creates new scope for collaboration to turn international commitments into concrete reforms.

BRAC University Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Arshad Mahmud Chowdhury underscored that the dignity of every person must be upheld “not only in principle but in practice.”

Delivering the keynote address, Ben Buckland, senior adviser at the Geneva-based Association for the Prevention of Torture, shared regional examples demonstrating how effective preventive mechanisms reduce the risk of torture.

During the panel discussion, OHCHR Head of Mission (ad interim) Huma Khan emphasised that an independent, effective and accountable NPM is essential to combat torture.

Professor K Shamsuddin Mahmood, dean of BRAC University’s School of Law, in his opening remarks, highlighted the urgent need to strengthen human rights protections and accountability structures nationwide.

Saira Rahman Khan, professor at BRAC University and secretary of Odhikar, warned that human rights bodies will remain ineffective if they cannot operate without fear. “Without genuine political will to prevent torture, no mechanism will work,” she said.

Representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Md Abdul Wadud Akanda, director of the UN Wing, reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to meeting its international human rights obligations.

Sazzad Hussain, member of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, pointed out that victims of enforced disappearance often suffer torture as well, and urged that OPCAT be implemented “in its full essence.”

The programme also featured a video message from Victor Zaharia, member of the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture. The panel was moderated by Md Mostafa Hosain, assistant professor at BRAC University’s School of Law, followed by a Q&A session. Alberto Giovanetti, counsellor at the Embassy of Switzerland, served as master of ceremonies.

Highlights:

• Measure included in defense bill expected to pass within weeks
• Lawmakers have demanded more information on Venezuela campaign Trump says campaign stops ‘narcoterrorists’ killing Americans

US lawmakers may withhold a quarter of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget if he does not provide unedited videos of military strikes on boats in the southern Caribbean and eastern Pacific, the latest effort to obtain more information about President Donald Trump’s campaign against Venezuela.

The Senate and House of Representatives Armed Services committees included the travel budget provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a massive defense policy bill released on 8 December and likely to become law by the end of the year.

The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the provision.

Members of Congress, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, have been demanding more information for weeks about the administration’s plans for Venezuela.

Since early September, the US has massed naval power near the South American nation and carried out at least 22 strikes against vessels in the southern Caribbean and Pacific. The Trump administration has said this is a campaign against “narcoterrorists” and would stem the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.

The strikes have killed 87 people and raised concerns that Trump is conducting a prolonged military operation without congressional authorization, despite the US Constitution’s stipulation that only Congress, not the president, can declare war.

Legal experts also have said that killing dozens of people without providing proof that they were a threat may violate international law. Such concerns increased after it was revealed that the military fired multiple times on 2 September on the first boat hit in the campaign, killing survivors rather than rescuing them.

Hegseth defended that action in remarks on Saturday. He also said then that he had not yet decided whether to make the full video of the incident public, saying it was under review.

The NDAA provision says that only 75% of Hegseth’s travel budget can be available until the Pentagon submits to congressional defense committees any overdue quarterly reports regarding “execute orders” of the Department of Defense.

It also requires that the department provide the armed services committees unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in the area of responsibility of the US Southern Command, which includes the waters around Venezuela.

Trump administration officials briefed lawmakers on the 2 September strikes late last week. Senior Democrats who observed the briefing said they were troubled by the killing of survivors in distress, though some Republicans defended the strikes as legal.

A new alliance of 18 parties has been formed ahead of the 13th National Parliament election, bringing together those parties and factions of the Jatiya Party that took part in the highly controversial and one-sided 2024 polls. The alliance has been named the National Democratic Front (NDF).

Led by a faction of the Jatiya Party (JaPa) and the Jatiya Party (JP), this alliance has been named the National Democratic Front (NDF). A total of 18 parties are in this alliance, including the two factions led by Anisul Islam Mahmud and Anwar Hossain Manju of the Jatiya Party.

The alliance was announced today (8 December) at a press conference at a convention hall in Gulshan, attended by leaders of both Jatiya Party factions and representatives of the other member parties.

Anwar Hossain Manju has been appointed chief adviser of the alliance, while ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader, secretary general of one Jatiya Party faction, will serve as spokesperson.

Golam Sarwar Milon, acting chairman of Janata Party Bangladesh, has been made secretary general of the NDF.

Alongside JaPa and JP, the other member parties are Trinamool BNP, BNM, Bangladesh Sanskritic Muktijot, Janata Party Bangladesh, Bangladesh Muslim League, Jatiya Islamic Mahajote, Jatiya Sangskar Jote, Bangladesh Labour Party, Jatiya Shwadhinata Party, Bangladesh Manbadhikar Party, Bangladesh Sarbajanin Dal, Bangladesh Janakalyan Party, Applied Democratic Party, Bangladesh Ganatantrik Andolon, Democratic Party, and Bangladesh Jatiya League.

At the press conference, Anisul Islam said, “We have decided to form this political alliance to ensure meaningful democratic transformation, build national consensus to overcome the ongoing political crisis, uphold the spirit of the Liberation War, and respond to the aspirations of the July 2024 mass movement.”

He said the alliance aims to advance state reforms, strengthen Bangladeshi nationalism, promote centrist liberal democratic politics, preserve Islamic values and interfaith harmony, establish an independent judiciary, end authoritarianism, and amplify public demands for good governance.

He added that alliance members would retain their own ideology and identity while engaging in elections and political activities based on shared principles and agreed agendas.

Officials from the embassies of India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brunei in Dhaka were present at the launch event.

Speaking as the chief guest, Anwar Hossain Manju praised the initiative but noted that, in his experience, many such political fronts struggle to survive.

He said that although Bangladesh has seen infrastructural development over 54 years, basic rights and a sense of safety for citizens remain uncertain. Successive governments, he said, have ruled through intimidation, and the core spirit of independence remains unfulfilled. “True independence,” he said, “is the ability to speak and live without fear — something that is still not guaranteed.