The Council of Advisers at a meeting on Thursday approved a proposal for Bangladesh’s accession to the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OP-CAT).
The protocol was adopted in 2002 by Bangladesh, with the aim of strengthening protection against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
In international law, the process of joining a treaty typically involves three key steps: adoption, approval, and ratification.
Adoption refers to the formal agreement on the final text of the treaty by participating states. Approval is the major step where a country’s legislative or executive body consents to the treaty. Ratification is then the final act by which a country formally confirms its commitment to be legally bound by the treaty under international law, usually through the submission of an official instrument to the relevant authority.
With this, one more step is left for the optional protocol to be legally tied with Bangladesh.
Notably, Bangladesh became a state party to the original convention in 1998.