BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has expressed deep sympathy and solidarity with victims of enforced disappearances and their families worldwide on the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
In a message issued on Saturday, Rizvi paid respect to those who fell victim to enforced disappearance in Bangladesh during years of state oppression and authoritarian rule.
He said enforced disappearance is not simply making a person vanish from family and society, but a brutal assault on freedom, dignity, justice, and the right to life.
Rizvi highlighted the suffering of families who have waited years for loved ones, living with uncertainty and being denied the right to know the truth.
According to him, enforced disappearance has been used in Bangladesh’s recent history as a weapon of political repression and to silence dissent.
He said opposition leaders, activists, human rights defenders, and dissidents have been among the victims, while many families still do not know the whereabouts or condition of their loved ones, or whether they will ever return — a responsibility he described as weighing on the national conscience.
Rizvi said the BNP believes uncovering the truth behind every incident, conducting impartial and credible investigations, and bringing perpetrators to justice are indispensable for establishing justice.
“No individual or institution can be above the law,” he said, adding that victims and their families must be guaranteed the right to truth, justice, compensation, and rehabilitation.
“We want to build a Bangladesh where no state agency can ever use enforced disappearance as a weapon against citizens, where law enforcement and security forces are held accountable, and where no citizen’s life, liberty, or security is endangered due to political identity or differences of opinion,” Rizvi said.
He called for a collective commitment to ensure no more enforced disappearances and no family is forced to wait indefinitely. He demanded disclosure of the fate and whereabouts of those still missing, justice for those who have returned, and truth, recognition, and justice for families of those who will never return.
Reiterating BNP’s respect and solidarity, the BNP leader pledged the party would stand by victims and their families in the struggle to establish justice, human dignity, and democratic rights.
