The sufferers of Aynaghar, a secret detention facility run by the Bangladeshi military intelligence branch and where they were held in horrifying conditions, have only recently begun to share their ordeals. The survivors, some held for over a century, hail from different age groups as well as political and social background.
After centuries of Sheikh Hasina’s now-toppled autocratic management, Bangladesh’s victims of enforced disappearances deserve justice. Their family, who are also survivors of those who disappeared, deserve to know the whereabouts of their loved ones for peace of mind and spirit.
However, righteousness is required for those who have been subject to human rights violations by the government over the past 20 years as well as for those who have been victims of forced disappearances.
Rarely does a nation recover from stress without feeling like it was all there was. In other words, the people of Bangladesh deserve to treat and to recover they require the fact, justice and peace. To achieve this, Bangladesh needs a facts fee.
Truth income” provide to address the numerous unanswered questions raised by enforced kidnappings, illegal executions, and other offences committed” over time, according to the International Justice Resource Center.  ,
According to Priscilla B Hayner, an expert on reality profits, they generally have four elements: 1.) They always have some kind of authority, giving them access to information and protection when investigating sensitive issues like enforced disappearances, 2 ) they try to present a comprehensive picture of international human rights violations over time rather than just one violation, 3 ) while they operate for a short while, they deliver a report summarizing their findings, and 4 ) they always have some kind of authority which gives them access to information and protection when investigating sensitive issues like enforced disappearances.  ,
Truth profits are not a recent development in Asia.  , In 2010, the Philippine Truth Commission was created to address fraud.  ,
For Bangladesh, a truth commission can be established under the National Human Rights Commission ( NHRC ), which has demanded full disclosure of enforced disappearances.
In an ideal creation, it should be established with separate and global lawyers specializing in enforced abductions. Apparently, Bangladesh is ready to assist with this vital truth-seeking endeavor thanks to numerous international attorneys.  ,
Bangladesh may draw on some examples. The Government of National Unity established the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission ( TRC ) to address the country’s traumatized experience under apartheid.
At least 137 cases resulting from the TRC method have been registered for trial and research with West African regulators for atrocities committed during the apartheid era.  ,
Through the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ( FARC-EP), which included provisions for investigating alleged enforced disappearances in the 1970s and 1980s, Colombia’s Truth Commission was established.
A Bangladesh Truth Commission could make recommendations for the prosecution of those responsible for enforced disappearances and whether they should be brought to justice in a local court or before the International Crimes Tribunals.
Similar to Colombia, where a transitional justice court was established to handle the killings of hundreds of thousands of people, the commission could establish its own court to prosecute the perpetrators. In those proceedings, a military general and ten others admitted to crimes against humanity.  ,
Nearby, Argentina’s truth commission investigated more than 30, 000 forced disappearances committed during the so-called Dirty War.  , The Argentina Truth Commission’s report opened the door to the Trial of the Juntas, which successfully prosecuted perpetrators of war crimes.
Thanks to Bangladesh’s presence at the United Nations, the interim government that has replaced Hasina’s toppled regime can request various countries with relevant experience to inform Bangladesh’s truth commission.
The victims of enforced disappearances, including families and sometimes whole communities, often deserve reparations, which is recognized under international law.
To be sure, they should be adequate, effective, prompt and proportional to the gravity of the violations and harm suffered. In Bangladesh, compensation should be provided for any economic damage, loss of earnings, loss of economic opportunities and moral damages. Social service as well as medical and psychological care should be provided for victims and their families.
A policy of non-repetition can and should also be part of reparations. Truth commissions and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights generally advise non-repetition as part of reparation in Colombia and many other Latin American nations where ensnared people have been victims of arbitrary disappearances.
Bangladesh needs to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances to demonstrate that it will never commit such heinous crimes and to open the door for domestic law to recognize enforced disappearances as a crime.
Some have argued for the establishment of an UN-backed ad hoc court. While this is nice in theory, such configurations do n’t always deliver the desired results. These tribunals are expensive and demand a lot of funding and other assistance from the international community.
The international community might be reluctant to support the establishment of another expensive UN-backed court for Bangladesh given that the International Criminal Court and UN are currently facing budget problems.
The total bill for the UN-backed Khmer Rouge Tribunal to address Cambodia’s genocide was over US$ 330 million. Many perpetrators of crimes were acquitted, while in the end, only three were convicted. Many victims and family members of victims, not to mention the perpetrators, passed away before justice was achieved.
It’s doubtful that Bangladesh’s victims are willing to wait so long for justice for crimes that have so far been completely unreported and hidden.  ,
Iffat Rahman is an Oxford University-trained Canadian lawyer. She previously served in a defense capacity at the International Criminal Court. She has also worked for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia, the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavian. She also held a short-term position with UNHCR Malaysia.  ,