The United Nations has reaffirmed its confidence in the findings of its fact-finding mission on Bangladesh’s July 2024 mass uprising, dismissing a question over the credibility of the UN report on rights abuses.
Responding to a question at the regular UN briefing on Monday at its headquarters in New York, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that the organisation had no reason to doubt the report prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The questioner referred to claims by Bangladesh’s ousted Awami League regime that the UN fact-finding report, which estimated that around 1,400 people were killed during the July uprising that ousted the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, was inaccurate.
The questioner also mentioned reports in Indian media alleging that convicted deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina had sent a letter to the United Nations challenging what she described as misinformation in the report.
In response, Dujarric said, ‘The report was issued by our colleagues in the Human Rights Office, and we have no reason to question it.’
The brief remark indicates that the United Nations continues to stand by the findings of the fact-finding mission despite criticism from figures associated with the ousted Awami League regime.
The UN Human Rights Office published its report following an investigation into the violence surrounding the mass uprising that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime.
The report documented widespread human rights violations and estimated that approximately 1,400 people were killed during the unrest.
The findings have been strongly contested by supporters of the Awami League regime, who argue that the casualty figures and some of the report’s conclusions are inaccurate.
Responding to a question regarding stolen money taken out of Bangladesh, the UN spokesperson said that the issue of illicit gains having flown out of various member states was a very important one.
‘It’s one that impedes development, and we encourage international cooperation to ensure that monies that belong to peoples are returned to those countries,’ he remarked.
