UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq
said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk discussed with
Bangladesh interim leader Muhammad Yunus a comprehensive range of support that the UN Human Rights Office could provide to the interim
government and the transition, including on accountability issues.
The team visiting Bangladesh will discuss with the
interim government areas of support and the modalities for an investigation of
human rights violations in the context of the recent violence and unrest, Haq
said. Turk said in a statement issued in Geneva that a comprehensive, impartial, and transparent investigation into all
human rights violations and abuses that have occurred will be a critical first
step.
A report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva said that Hindus and their temples have
been attacked in Bangladesh in the aftermath of Sheikh Hasina’s resignation as
Prime Minister last week.
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR)
was a functional commission within the overall framework of
the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United
Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of
the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and was also
assisted in its work by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights (UNOHCHR). It was
the UN’s principal mechanism and international forum concerned with the promotion
and protection of human rights.
On March 15, 2006, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to
replace UNCHR with the UN Human Rights Council.