Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday urged UN human rights experts to lead independent investigations into enforced disappearances by security officers in Bangladesh.

HRW’s report, “‘Where No Sun Can Enter’: A Decade of Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh,” urged top UN officials, donors, and trade partners, to step up measures to hold senior Bangladesh security forces members accountable, to stop enforced disappearance and to prevent future abuses. The report cites evidence showing that the Bangladesh security forces occasionally enforced disappearances. The report further showed that the ruling Awami League has ignored all the calls by donor governments, the UN, human rights organizations and civil society to address impunity within their borders.

HRW created a webpage for tracking and profiling the cases of 86 victims of enforced disappearance in Bangladesh. The Asian director of HRW, Brian Adams, criticized the Bangladesh authorities and Awami League leadership for mocking victims and routinely obstructing investigations.

The comprehensive report was based on the interviews conducted with the victims, witnesses to enforced disappearances and family members. The report highlighted that the Bangladesh authorities consistently refused to investigate enforced disappearances and hold those responsible accountable. HRW also reported that the authorities use enforced disappearance and the threat of enforced disappearance as a tool to silence people who may try to criticize the government.