Reform promise must be kept

We agree with Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) observations about three laws—National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Act , 2026, Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Act, 2026, and the Special Response Battalion (SRB) Act, 2026—passed by the BNP government earlier this month, that they “have reversed human rights protections” in the country. Only six months after coming to power on the promise of reform, BNP’s approval of these laws without proper consultation and ignoring concerns raised by rights bodies and victims is deeply troubling.

Ironically, BNP members themselves had been victims of weak human rights safeguards during the 15 and a half years of Awami League rule under Sheikh Hasina: a weak, toothless NHRC and widespread enforced disappearances carried out by law enforcement agencies, including Rab, which the BNP has now rebranded as the SRB. And yet, the party repealed and/or allowed the lapse of ordinances related to the NHRC and enforced disappearances that the interim government had passed. Under these ordinances, the NHRC had independence, including the greater power to investigate and seek accountability for rights violations by law enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, the enforced disappearance-related ordinances gave the NHRC power to investigate these cases and allowed prosecution of officers, following the international standard of command responsibility, under which they can be held responsible for abuses they should have known about and prevented. But the laws passed on September 6, amid an opposition walkout, had all these provisions removed.

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New rights laws: Those who control evidence eventually control accountability

Four days later, the BNP-majority parliament passed the Special Response Battalion (SRB) Act, 2026, rebranding Rab while retaining its structure and modus operandi intact. In other words, it is a “textbook repackaging” of an agency notorious for human rights violations carried out with impunity. However, this does not seem to be the last nail in the coffin of human rights safeguards in Bangladesh. The BNP is now moving hastily to approve the draft amendments to the cyber protection law without opposition input and without substantive debate. Rights bodies have warned that enacting the draft “would revive repressive provisions of the DSA and undermine media freedom.”

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Draft laws on NHRC and enforced disappearances fall short

We, therefore, urge the government to not only revise the draft cyber law but also review and amend the three laws that have raised human rights organisations’ concern. An absolute majority does not give the BNP the right to back away from its reform promises.