Two practising Supreme Court lawyers have written to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), seeking its intervention to curb the recent attacks on minority Hindus residing in Bangladesh during the Durga Puja festivities.
“More than 1,000 Hindus have been injured and till now 10 Hindus have been reported dead. Many Hindu women and girls were reportedly gangraped in Bangladesh. The victims and survivors include men, women, girls, children, old age women and men,” mentioned the letter, written by Advocates Gautam Jha and Pankaj Kumar.
Alleging that the attacks were systematic, leading to gross violation of human rights, the letter pointed out provisions under international instruments that encapsulate the human rights. It stated, “Bangladesh must uphold its human rights obligations under the ICERD, ICCPR and other international human rights law treaties “in good faith” and may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty.”
The lawyers further demanded the OHCHR to look into the matter and send a fact-finding mission of the Human Rights Council to Bangladesh.
Read the letter here:
Letter-to-Special-Rapporteur