Dhaka hosts discussion on human rights violations, impunity in Chittagong Hill Tracts

Speakers at a discussion in Dhaka have expressed grave concern over the continued human rights violations and entrenched culture of impunity in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), calling for full implementation of the CHT Peace Accord and accountability for decades of atrocities.

The event, titled “Human Rights Violations and the Culture of Impunity in the Chittagong Hill Tracts,” was organised by the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord Implementation Movement at the Shafiqul Kabir Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity. It was chaired by joint coordinator Zakir Hossain and moderated by Dipayan Khisa.

Prominent speakers included Professor Khairul Islam Chowdhury, joint coordinator of the movement and a Dhaka University teacher; Shirin Haque, chairperson of the National Women’s Rights Reform Commission; Dr Iftikharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh; Shamsul Huda, executive director of ALRD; and poet and journalist Sohrab Hassan.

???? Decades of Killings and Displacement

Professor Khairul Islam Chowdhury cited data showing at least 16 major massacres took place in the CHT before 1997, leaving tens of thousands displaced to India’s Tripura state. He said over 9,000 people have faced political and civil-rights violations in the region since 1998, including 513 cases of violence against women and children and widespread land grabbing.

He demanded full enforcement of the 1997 Peace Accord, reactivation of the Land Commission, and formation of an independent human-rights investigation commission to end the ongoing cycle of violence.

???? ‘Impunity Has Become Structural’

ALRD executive director Shamsul Huda said the denial of social, cultural, and economic rights of indigenous peoples had begun during the Pakistan period and still persists. He called for an international investigation commission into killings, land grabs, and communal attacks in the Hill Tracts over the past five decades.

Poet Sohrab Hassan criticised the state for failing to protect its citizens equally, saying lack of political will—rather than opposition from locals—has blocked peace accord implementation.

Women’s rights activist Shirin Haque argued that labelling communities as “minorities” undermines constitutional equality. She urged proper documentation of disappearances, rapes, and killings in the CHT, stressing that militarisation has eroded the people’s dignity.

???? ‘Army Can Keep Peace Abroad, Why Not at Home?’

Dr Iftikharuzzaman of Transparency International Bangladesh said majoritarianism and lack of reform threaten Bangladesh’s moral foundation. “The army has participated in 40 UN peacekeeping missions worldwide — why can’t it ensure peace in the Hill Tracts if it truly wishes to?” he asked.

???? Call for Inclusion and Justice

Closing the discussion, Zakir Hossain urged the government to incorporate indigenous perspectives into all treaty reforms and human-rights policies. “Ensuring justice for the Hill Tracts is not only a humanitarian duty — it is a test of our state’s legal legitimacy,” he said.