The final draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) allowing for the establishment of a mission branch of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Bangladesh was approved by the Council of Advisors on 11 July.
It was then sent to the OHCHR headquarters in Geneva for its approval.
Upon approval, the office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights mission will be set up in Dhaka for an initial term of three years, as earlier agreed.
The discussion on establishing such a mission office was initiated in October 2024 against the backdrop of the July Uprising.
"If cases of human rights violations arise in future, the OHCHR will work alongside our government to ensure accountability," said the Law Adviser, Dr Asif Nazrul.
Despite being approved by the government, critical opinions on whether the establishment of the UN human rights office in Bangladesh is a positive step right now remain.
A brief history of OHCHR
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, is the main UN department responsible for promoting and protecting human rights globally.
Established by the UN General Assembly in 1993, OHCHR works to ensure the effective access of all human rights guaranteed under international law, including those in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948.
The office operates from its headquarters in Geneva, with additional offices and numerous field presences worldwide to support implementation on the ground.
In 1993, in its earliest phase, OHCHR's field presence began with Cambodia and expanded gradually over the following years.
As of 2025, OHCHR has a presence in 43 countries through a combination of country offices, regional offices, and advisory roles. The 16 country offices of OHCHR include Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Liberia, Mauritania, Mexico, Niger, the State of Palestine, the Syrian Arab Republic (based in Beirut), Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen.
What will OHCHR do in Bangladesh?
The Office's primary works include standard-setting, monitoring, technical assistance, capacity building, field engagement, advocacy and reporting.
As per the draft, the OHCHR will work in Bangladesh for three years, and their work will potentially include monitoring and analysing human rights issues, providing technical assistance and capacity-building.
It will also support policy reforms, particularly in policing and the legal system.
Importantly, the office would focus on reforming police and legal systems, providing advice and accountability for past human rights violations.
The OHCHR personnel could have access to all places of arrest, detention, or interrogation, if required.
Notably, the OHCHR was officially invited by the interim government of Bangladesh to conduct an impartial and independent fact-finding mission on the student-led protests and subsequent violence between July and August 2024, which reportedly resulted in hundreds of deaths.
According to former diplomats, the question of whether the OHCHR should be given a mandate in Bangladesh needs to be analysed critically, as we already have a national human rights commission in existence, namely, the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh, founded in 2009 with a similar purpose and motive for national interest.
Now, whether we need a UN office to work alongside the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh remains a significant topic of debate.
Reactions to the issue
The government's approval for establishing a mission branch of OHCHR has been criticised by different political parties.
BNP's Law Affairs Secretary, Barrister Kayser Kamal, said, even any policy-level clearance of any draft for establishing a UN office in Bangladesh should be approved by an elected government and not by the interim government.
Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh has expressed strong opposition against the approval, too.
According to them, it will be an injustice to the people to allow international agencies access before ensuring justice for 16 years of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and murders.
Joint Secretary-General of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, Maulana Junaid Al Habib, said the term human rights will be largely used against religion, creating difficulties for both social and national interests.
Although most diplomats see it as a positive gesture to establish a UN human rights office in Bangladesh, many have raised concerns about perceptions of foreign interference and potential clashes between international human rights norms and local cultural or religious values.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune earlier, former ambassador Humayun Kabir said, regardless of the presence of any UN offices, Bangladesh must fulfil human rights obligations to move further forward.
"Regardless of whether we have an OHCHR office, we must fulfil our human rights obligations as we move toward [LDC] graduation. If we want to secure GSP+ status from the European Union after graduation in 2026, we need to accede to 30 to 32 human rights instruments, as they have indicated. We have limited options if we want to accept GSP+," he said.
"Compliance issues, both social and environmental, will also be significant factors. We must act responsibly, regardless of the presence of such an office," he added.
Sceptical opinions remain as to whether the violation of human rights in Bangladesh needs international interference, like other countries with country offices of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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