ARTICLE TEXT

For the first time, Bangladesh has a statute that makes enforced disappearance a specific criminal offence. On 6 September 2026 the Jatiya Sangsad passed the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Bill, 2026 by voice vote. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed moved the bill. On the same day, Parliament passed the National Human Rights Commission Bill, 2026, moved by Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman, which repeals and replaces the National Human Rights Commission Act 2009. Opposition members walked out in protest.

How We Got Here

The interim government had issued two ordinances on enforced disappearance. Under Article 93 of the Constitution, an ordinance must be laid before Parliament at its first meeting and ceases to have effect thirty days later, so it survives only if Parliament re-enacts it as an Act. On 10 April 2026, sixteen of the interim government’s 133 ordinances lapsed because they had not been introduced as bills in time, and the disappearance ordinances were among them. The Home Minister said then that the ordinance in its original form would cause injustice to victims and needed to be coordinated with other laws. Fresh bills were placed before Parliament on 27 August. The Standing Committee on the Ministry of Home Affairs approved the disappearance bill on 30 August, calling it an important step towards preventing disappearances and giving victims a remedy. Two committee members walked out.

What the Act Does

The Act defines enforced disappearance as the arrest, detention or abduction of a person by a government employee or member of a disciplined force, acting in an official capacity, followed by a refusal to acknowledge it or by concealment of the person’s fate or whereabouts. The offence is cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. Where the victim dies, or remains untraced for more than five years, the punishment is death or imprisonment for life, together with a fine of up to Tk 1 crore. Other cases carry lengthy terms of imprisonment.

Several procedural features stand out. Investigation is led by the police. If a disciplined force is accused, the case goes to a different force or an inter-force team. Investigation and trial are subject to a 120-day time limit. Courts may issue search warrants and try accused persons in absentia, and digital evidence is admissible. Witnesses are protected, and the State will pay for victims’ legal aid, medical treatment and rehabilitation. Compensation is recovered from the person convicted, and the State makes up any shortfall.

The Act also deals with the family’s legal limbo. Dependants may use the disappeared person’s property, and after five years a “certificate of disappearance” may be issued so that the heirs can inherit. A central database of cases will be maintained.

The new NHRC law provides for a chair and four commissioners, at least one of whom must be a woman and at least one from a minority or disadvantaged community. They are selected by a ten-member committee chaired by the Speaker. The Commission can make interim protective orders and will house a National Preventive Mechanism unit.

The Criticism

The opposition was fierce. Leader of the Opposition Dr Shafiqur Rahman spoke of “a clear dual application of the human rights law”, and opposition members walked out with black cloth tied over their mouths. Jamaat-e-Islami also said two days of committee scrutiny was too short.

Civil society raised concerns about substance. Transparency International Bangladesh and a former NHRC chair, Kazi Reazul Hoque, argued that the police cannot impartially investigate themselves. They pointed to the inquiry commission’s finding that police were implicated in about 23 per cent of documented cases and RAB in about 25 per cent. In a statement of 22 September, Human Rights Watch argued that the new laws reverse the interim government’s reforms. It said the NHRC loses its power to investigate the disciplined forces directly and to inspect places of detention, and must instead seek a report from the agency concerned. HRW also criticised the narrowing of command responsibility, from the Rome Statute test of a superior who “knew or should have known” to a requirement of proof of direct orders.

Related Laws

The Act should be read alongside the Special Response Battalion Act, passed on 10 September, which abolished the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and the Cyber Security (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed on 30 June, which gives the BTRC new blocking and data-request powers.

Why It Matters

For practitioners, the Act creates a new non-bailable offence, a new route to compensation and a statutory presumption for inheritance purposes. For constitutional lawyers, it raises questions under Articles 31, 32 and 33, which guarantee the protection of law, the right to life and personal liberty, and safeguards on arrest and detention. Writ challenges to the investigation model and the command responsibility standard seem likely. Much will depend on the rules made under the Act, and on whether the first cases are investigated by teams that victims’ families can trust.

Sources

1. The Daily Star, Enforced disappearance, NHRC bills passed amid opposition walkout: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/governance/parliament/news/enforced-disappearance-nhrc-bills-passed-amid-opposition-walkout-4266381
2. The Business Standard, National Human Rights Commission bill passed, opposition walks out in protest: https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/national-human-rights-commission-bill-passed-opposition-walks-out-protest-1535256
3. Human Rights Watch, Bangladesh: New Laws Reverse Rights Protections, Empower Abusers (22 September 2026): https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/09/22/bangladesh-new-laws-reverse-rights-protections-empower-abusers
4. BSS, JS session report: https://www.bssnews.net/js-session/421708
5. Dhaka Tribune, Parliamentary committee approves enforced disappearance bill: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/parliament/418695/national-parliament-committee-approves-enforced
6. Dhaka Tribune, Cyber security amendment bill, 2026 passes in parliament: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/parliament/414016/cyber-security-amendment-bill-2026-passes-in