[Bangladesh Protest | Photo Credit to Pexels]

As of February 12, 2025, the United Nations Human Rights office has released a report detailing the harsh realities of the 2024 summer protests in Bangladesh that led to the death of 1,400 people. 

The release of this report has sparked global outrage. 

During the summer of 2024, specifically July 15th to August 5th, a student-led protest erupted in Bangladesh after the High Court reinstated a widely unpopular quota system in public service jobs. 

Campaigners argued that this system was discriminatory and called for its reform. 

What began as a student movement quickly grew into a massive wave of anti-government demonstrations. 

Dr. Samina Luthfa, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Dhaka, observed, “It’s not just students anymore—people from all walks of life have joined the movement.”

Bangladeshis from all sectors of society, including women and children participated in the protest, regardless of socioeconomic status or professional and religious backgrounds that had long separated these people. 

As the former administration slowly lost control, they started to use violent and militarized means to systematically suppress the uprising.

Eventually, the mass movement forced the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down after 15 years in power and flee to India. 

The United Nations Human Rights probe mission commenced their work in Bangladesh on the 16th of September 2024, with a team that included a forensic physician, a weapons expert, a gender expert and an open-source analyst. 

The investigators visited protest hotspots such as universities and hospitals to conduct these investigations into the protests. 

In the 2025 report, the United Nations has described the events of the protest as a crime against humanity, stating that thousands had been injured due to actions by the Bangladesh security forces. 

The U.N’s fact-finding team’s 103-page report relied on more than 230 interviews, including testimony from protest leaders as well as former and current police and security officials. 

Regarding the release of this report, Volker Türk, the U.N human rights chief has stated, “the testimonies and evidence we gathered paint a disturbing picture of rampant state violence and targeted killings that are amongst the most serious violations of human rights, and which may also constitute international crimes.” 

The report indicates that the violations detailed could constitute international crimes that have the potential to be heard by the International Criminal Court(ICC), meaning that the security and intelligence services “systematically engaged” in human rights violations.

The findings reveal that the top echelons of the former regime had been aware of the abuses that occurred, which include torture, ill-treatement of children, and sexual violence against women. 

The Bangladeshi media and activists have long blamed police intervention for the fatal deaths of many as well as for the occurrence of these crimes. 

According to the report, the security forces deliberately shot unarmed participants and made extensive arbitrary arrests and detentions which included torture. 

According to witnesses, the police used an anti-riot vehicle to brutally run over civilians while firing at them. 

The former government, however, maintained their position that officers only opened fire out of self defense to protect state property. 

Currently, the UN fact-finding team has been deployed to Bangladesh at the invitation of the country’s interim leader, Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus to investigate the violent conflict.

Since then, the team of investigators said the interim government has made more than 100 arrests.

Although these changes have been implemented, the human rights violations in Bangladesh continue to raise concerns. 

Even with the new leadership, the old system remains, and many officials and people who served under the previous regime continue to work with the new government as well.

In order to prevent further casualties in the future, the investigators have issued recommendations to the government, encompassing ideas such as steps to improve the justice system and setting up a witness protection program. 

Other proposals included banning the use of lethal firearms by security forces unless they are faced with the imminent threat of death or serious injury.