A/HRC/WGEID/125/1 [English and Spanish only] Annex II General allegation Bangladesh 1. The Working Group received information from sources concerning alleged violations and obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in Bangladesh 2. This general allegation must be read in addition to those already transmitted to the Government of Bangladesh respectively on 4 May 2011, 9 March 2016, 22 February 2017 and 22 May 2019, to which no reply has been provided. The lack of responses from the government – including on the request to carry out a visit to the country, which remains unanswered since 12 March 2013 – is all the more troubling, bearing in mind that the all allegations received refer to the frequent and ongoing use of enforced disappearance as a tool by law enforcement agencies, security and intelligence forces, especially to target political opponents or other dissidents. 3. On this occasion, the sources recall that nearly 600 people have been forcibly disappeared by security forces since 2009. The majority were either released or eventually formally produced in court as arrests, but dozens were found dead. The sources refer to 86 documented cases in which the victims’ fate and whereabouts remain unknown. 4. The sources confirm that, besides the Bangladesh police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) – a counterterror paramilitary unit, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, also actively involved in the “war on drugs”, launched in May 2018 – would be admittedly involved in the majority of cases, by routinely picking up people, extra-judicially killing them and disposing the bodies. The Working Group was also informed that members of the RAB would be eligible to participate in UN peacekeeping operations, without any previous investigation into their alleged involvement in the commission of human rights abuses or a thorough vetting process. Similarly, there are allegations that officers involved in the commission of human rights violations or willing to oversee such abuses appear to be promoted and rewarded within the Bangladesh security and law enforcement forces. 5. Pursuant to the information received by the Working Group, enforced disappearance is used as a tool to curb any criticism against the government or form of political opposition. Accordingly, gross human rights violations, including enforced disappearance, dramatically increased ahead of the 2014 election and in the lead-up of the 2018 election. In this context, tactics of mass arrest of opposition leaders and activists, accused in fabricated cases, have allegedly been deployed. 6. The sources reported how surveillance (in the form of physical surveillance, as well as interception of telecommunications and tracking social media, through international mobile subscriber identity-catchers, location-based social network monitoring system software, and Wi-Fi interceptors) is used in the commission of enforced disappearances, as part of the mentioned crackdown on opposition. These surveillance tactics have allegedly been expanded in the context of the pandemic, targeting those who appear to be critical of the State’s response to COVID-19. 7. The Working Group was also informed that relatives of forcibly disappeared persons are threatened not to pursue investigations. Instances of extortion against families, with false promises of releasing their loved ones or providing medical care, have also been reported. 8. The sources referred that police officers would allegedly refuse to register complaints concerning enforced disappearances or only accept them upon removal of any allegations of law enforced involvement. When complaints are registered, there seemingly is no investigation and closure reports are filed, including in cases where courts ordered an 30