The interim government has given its final approval to an ordinance that includes a provision for capital punishment in cases of enforced disappearance.
The draft of the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Ordinance 2025 also makes it mandatory to complete trials within 120 working days of charge framing.
The approval was granted at the weekly meeting of the Council of Advisers, held at the Chief Adviser’s Office on Thursday, with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in the chair.
Once the ordinance is promulgated, the National Human Rights Commission will gain the authority to investigate human rights violations committed by law enforcement agencies, as well as acts of abuse carried out under state sponsorship or with state support.
The development comes at a time when a number of cases relating to enforced disappearances are under trial at the International Crimes Tribunal against high-ranking members of the ousted Awami League regime, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and several civil and military officials.
After the meeting, CA’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam briefed reporters at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, outlining the various decisions made during the meeting.
Describing the proposed law as a historic step towards ending the culture of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh, he said the law had been approved after extensive debate to prevent and address such incidents.
“This ordinance defines enforced disappearance as a continuing offence and includes provisions for severe punishment, including the death penalty,” he said.
After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina administration, the interim government formed the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances in August last year, headed by Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, to investigate alleged incidents of enforced disappearance during the Awami League regime.
Referring to the immediate past AL government, Alam said several thousand young men and women disappeared in Bangladesh during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure.
“The commission formed on enforced disappearances has so far received around two thousand complaints. The five members of that commission have repeatedly stated in their reports that the actual number will exceed 4,000,” he said.
“They (the previous government) had hundreds of so-called Ainaghar, known as secret detention centres, where people were kept. With the issuance of this ordinance, no more Ainaghars will ever be created in this country,” he added.
During the AL government’s rule, numerous allegations surfaced that people with opposing political views were abducted and unlawfully detained in undisclosed locations. These secret detention centres came to be symbolically known as Ainaghar.
In its first interim report to the chief adviser last December, the inquiry commission mentioned that its investigation had found evidence implicating former prime minister Sheikh Hasina as the person who gave the orders for the disappearances during the AL regime.
The press secretary said the new law would ensure that incidents of enforced disappearance never occur again in the country.
“No fascist regime will ever be able to rule the country through such acts,” he said.
Alam added that setting up or operating secret detention centres, such as those known as Ainaghar, had been declared a punishable crime.
He also said the ordinance empowers the National Human Rights Commission to receive and investigate complaints related to enforced disappearances.
“To ensure prevention and redress, the ordinance provides for the establishment of a special tribunal, which must complete trials within 120 days of charge framing. It also guarantees the protection of victims, whistleblowers, and witnesses, and includes provisions for compensation and legal assistance,” he said.
In addition, the press secretary said the ordinance includes provisions for the creation of a dedicated fund and the establishment of a national database to support efforts aimed at preventing and addressing enforced disappearances.
The meeting also gave final approval to the draft of the National Logistics Policy and approved the proposed list of 28 public holidays for the 2026 calendar year.
