United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has said Bangladesh now has an opportunity to chart a new future, with the interim government making publicly clear its commitment to a peaceful and inclusive process grounded in human rights and the rule of law, UNB reports.   

“My office is supporting the authorities, including by conducting an independent fact-finding mission into recent alleged human rights violations, and on accountability, processes of reconciliation and healing, and other essential, long-delayed reforms,” he said in a statement on Monday.    

While giving a global update to the UN Human Rights Council, he said his office will continue to work tirelessly in support of victims everywhere.

“I urge you all to make use of this institution to the fullest, because a strong UN Human Rights Office and a healthy, well-resourced human rights ecosystem are of global interest and benefit. And represent an extraordinary return on investment at a tiny fraction of the resources so readily devoted elsewhere,” said the UN rights chief.

Collectively, he said, they should make the choice of rejecting the ‘new normal’ and the dystopian future it would present.

“Let us embrace and trust the full power of human rights as the path to the world we want-more peaceful, just, fair, and sustainable,” Turk said. 

Earlier, Turk received an official invitation from Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus to conduct an impartial and independent fact-finding mission into human rights violations committed from July 1 to August 15.

bd-pratidin/GR