Nahid Islam, the adviser on information and broadcasting, has asked the UN for support in conducting a thorough investigation into the human rights breaches that occurred during the student-people movement.
According to a press release, he requested the help when Nahid and Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain received a joint courtesy call from a delegation of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, headed by its Asia-Pacific Region Chief Rory Mungoven, at the Youth and Sports Ministry office in the Bangladesh Secretariat here today.
“With the support of people from all walks of life, we have achieved our independence through many sacrifices,” stated Nahid, who is also an adviser for postal, telecommunications, and information technology.
This uprising has created some commitments toward the people of the country, he said, adding, “We are working for fulfilling those promises.”
Simultaneously, efforts are being made to maintain national unity by upholding the spirit of the mass uprising, Nahid said.
He said the interim government is giving priority to three key areas- reforming the state structure, providing rehabilitation and long-term benefits to the families of those injured or killed in the movement, and ensuring justice through proper investigations against those involved in the killings during the movement.
“We are grateful to the UN and human rights organizations for standing beside us throughout the time of movement. We had previously informed them about the previous government’s plan of carrying out crackdown (on the demonstrators), which was later proved,” Nahid said.
He added: “We through a proper investigation under the UN want to inform the whole world about what happened in Bangladesh during this movement. The global community should know how brutal the previous Awami League government was towards the protesting students and the people”.
During the summit, Bangladesh’s youth played a significant role in defending democracy and human rights, as noted by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief for the Asia-Pacific Region Rory Mungoven.
Mungoven noted that Bangladesh might benefit from the incident and stated that they are prepared to offer any kind of assistance in establishing justice and the truth.
Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, the young and Sports Adviser, stated during the meeting that sports are a source of interest for Bangladeshi young.
“The previous Awami League government engaged in widespread corruption in all areas of sports sector. Our government is working to free the sports arena from corruption and political influence,” he added.
Due to the worsening flood situation in the country, youth and sports adviser said, 8,500 registered youth organizations under the Department of Youth Development are continuously working to address the flood situation.
Asif, who is also the ministry’s adviser on labor and employment, stated that he had conversations with the victims of the Tazreen Fashion and Rana Plaza catastrophes after taking up the position.
He stated that although workers are the most important resource for maintaining the nation’s economy, they are deprived of their rights.“Our main objective is to protect their rights. To raise their standard of living, we require global cooperation,” Asif stated.
