For too long, the cries of Bangladesh’s minorities have echoed unheard.
Across generations, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Adivasis, and other marginalized groups have endured persecution, dispossession, and silence — not as isolated events, but as a recurring and institutionalized reality. They have watched their homes burn, their daughters violated, their lands stolen, and their faith ridiculed. While the rest of the world moved toward justice and reconciliation, Bangladesh’s minorities were forced to survive in fear — criminalized for speaking, terrorized for existing.
The time has come to change this.
The Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) envisions a future rooted in truth, justice, and dignity — a Bangladesh where victims are heard, the guilty are held accountable, and history is no longer erased. Through a robust Transitional Justice (TJ) roadmap, we seek not only to reckon with past and ongoing atrocities, but to transform the very systems that enabled them. This page presents that vision — and invites you to be part of building it.
Why Transitional Justice Is Urgently Needed
The persecution of minorities in Bangladesh is not a footnote in history — it is an ongoing crisis with deep institutional roots. It is embedded in the country’s laws, security apparatus, and social conditioning.
Laws like the Vested Property Act allowed the state to seize lands belonging to religious minorities, resulting in the loss of over 2 million acres of minority-owned property.
The Digital Security Act, Cyber Security Act, and Article 2A of the Constitution have enabled the criminalization of minority voices under the guise of protecting “religious sentiments.”
HRCBM has documented over 700 cases of sexual violence against minority women and girls between 2024 and 2025 — many of which remain uninvestigated.
Following the fall of the ruling regime in early 2024, 2,010 anti-minority incidents were recorded in just 16 days, including murders, gang rapes, temple burnings, and mob-led expulsions.
These are not simply acts of communal hatred — they reflect an architecture of persecution where fear is used as a weapon, law is used as a bludgeon, and silence is the price of survival.
Bangladesh has ratified key international human rights treaties — including the ICCPR, CEDAW, CAT, and CRC — but implementation remains absent. Institutions continue to operate with impunity, and there are no systemic guarantees of non-recurrence.
Transitional Justice is no longer optional — it is essential.
It is the only credible path toward truth, accountability, and reform — and the only hope for millions of victims still waiting to be seen, heard, and healed.
From Noakhali to Now — A Legacy of Persecution
The persecution of minorities on the soil that is now Bangladesh has a long and bloody history.
In October 1946, the Noakhali massacre unfolded in the Bengal region of British India — an atrocity marked by mass killings, forced conversions, sexual violence, and widespread displacement of Hindus. This region would become East Pakistan in 1947, and eventually independent Bangladesh in 1971 — but the pattern of violence continued.
In 1971 itself, during Bangladesh’s war for independence, thousands of Hindu women were raped, and entire villages were destroyed. Since then, periodic pogroms, arson attacks, mob lynchings, false criminal cases, and forced evictions have recurred with impunity.
In 1989, 1992, and 2001 — post-election violence targeted minorities across dozens of districts.
In 2013, 2016, and 2021, mobs destroyed temples and homes using Facebook blasphemy rumors.
In 2024, with the fall of the previous government, a fresh wave of anti-minority violence swept the country — proving yet again that the cycle remains unbroken.
The message is clear: The violence never truly ended. It merely evolved.
What began in Noakhali continues today — in a modern form, with digital tools, legal instruments, and a state apparatus that turns a blind eye or becomes complicit.
Framework for Transitional Justice
1. Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRC)
HRCBM will advocate for and co-develop an independent TRC modeled after global standards, involving survivors, historians, and legal scholars to document decades of communal violence and expose patterns of impunity.
2. Domestic & International Collaboration to Prevent Recurrence
We will foster formal partnerships with Bangladeshi authorities, UN bodies, and governments like the US and EU to stop ongoing atrocities and enforce early-warning mechanisms to deter future attacks.
3. Abolish Discriminatory Law
HRCBM will file strategic litigations and public interest cases challenging laws such as the Digital Security Act, Cyber Security Act, and Article 2A of the Constitution, while drafting proposed legal amendments to eliminate religious bias.
4. Judicial Reform
Through international legal networks and advocacy, HRCBM will press for the creation of special minority rights courts, judicial training on human rights law, and independent oversight to remove systemic bias from the judiciary.
5. Reparation & Restorative Justice
HRCBM will pilot a community-based reparations program including housing, trauma care, and livelihood restoration, while also advocating for state-sponsored financial and symbolic reparations to affected families.
6. ICTR-like Tribunal
In cases where domestic remedies fail, we will work with international human rights lawyers to establish a tribunal mechanism under universal jurisdiction modeled on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), to try perpetrators of genocide and mass violence.
7. Social Engagement
We will lead grassroots engagement campaigns across villages and districts — organizing minority youth, women, and interfaith leaders to participate in justice efforts and build a culture of civic resistance against persecution.
8. Constitutional Amendment
HRCBM will draft and promote an inclusive constitutional amendment recognizing Bangladesh as a multi-religious, pluralistic state — ensuring full equality, non-discrimination, and secular protection of minorities.
9. International Oversight
We will request UN Special Rapporteurs and international monitors to observe trials, review police conduct, and hold the government accountable to its ICCPR, CAT, and CEDAW obligations — with regular shadow reports from HRCBM.
10. Civic Education
We will roll out a nationwide civic education initiative through schools, mosques, temples, and media channels to teach constitutional rights, human dignity, and minority history — using culturally adapted, multilingual content.
Summary of Implementation Approach
| Strategy | Method |
|---|---|
| Legal Action | Strategic PILs, legal aid to victims, pro bono advocacy networks |
| Advocacy | Policy briefings, embassy engagement, UN side events |
| Documentation | Survivor story archives, atrocity mapping, OSINT tools |
| Community Engagement | Local forums, youth leadership programs, faith dialogues |
| International Partnerships | Joint campaigns with diaspora, legal institutes, and watchdog NGOs |