An Awareness Article for the International Community

Over recent months, Bangladesh has witnessed a troubling rise in mob violence, organised attacks, and targeted intimidation, particularly in and around its capital city. These incidents are not isolated criminal acts. Taken together, they reveal a pattern of systemic failure to prevent violence, protect civilians, and ensure accountability—core obligations of any state governed by the rule of law.

Since 8 August 2024, when the current government assumed power, repeated episodes of mob violence have raised serious concerns about state capacity, political will, and institutional neutrality. Journalists, media institutions, cultural spaces, religious minorities, and ordinary civilians—including children—have been exposed to extreme violence, arson, and intimidation. Emergency responders have at times been obstructed, further compounding the human cost.

This pattern matters—not only for Bangladesh, but for the international community.

Why Mob Violence Is a Governance Issue, Not a Law-and-Order Accident

International human rights standards are clear: states have a due diligence obligation to prevent foreseeable violence, protect those at risk, investigate violations, and provide effective remedies. When attacks are preceded by public threats or mobilisation, failure to intervene is no longer a question of capacity alone—it raises concerns of negligence or lack of political will.

In Bangladesh’s case, the concentration of repeated incidents in the capital—where all major security institutions are headquartered—has intensified doubts about the effectiveness and independence of domestic accountability mechanisms.

Mob violence thrives where:

Impunity is normalized
Investigations are delayed or opaque
Victims lack protection
Perpetrators anticipate no consequences

Unchecked, such violence gradually replaces lawful authority with fear-driven collective punishment.

Impact on Fundamental Rights and Civic Space

The consequences extend far beyond individual incidents:

Media freedom erodes when journalists and news institutions become targets
Minority rights are endangered when identity-based violence goes unpunished
Cultural freedom collapses when artistic and civic spaces are attacked
Political rights weaken when fear dominates public life
Democratic accountability suffers when citizens lose trust in institutions

A climate of fear is fundamentally incompatible with free civic participation and credible democratic processes.

Why Domestic Remedies No Longer Inspire Confidence

Domestic investigations are the first line of accountability. However, when:

Investigations lack transparency
Accountability is selective or absent
Witnesses fear retaliation
No deterrent effect is visible

International engagement becomes not only legitimate, but necessary.

This is not a challenge to sovereignty. It is a response to the failure of domestic remedies to restore public trust.

The Case for Independent International Scrutiny

Independent international fact-finding mechanisms have played a constructive role worldwide by:

Establishing objective records of violations
Identifying patterns rather than politicising incidents
Supporting institutional reform and prevention
Helping states restore credibility

For Bangladesh, such scrutiny would serve three critical purposes:

Truth-finding: What happened, why, and how violence was enabled
Accountability: Identifying perpetrators and institutional failures
Prevention: Recommending safeguards against recurrence

This approach strengthens institutions—it does not weaken them.

Why the Timing Matters

With national elections approaching, the stakes are particularly high. Elections held in an environment of fear, intimidation, and unchecked violence risk losing both domestic legitimacy and international confidence.

Early international engagement can help:

De-escalate violence
Protect vulnerable groups
Preserve civic space
Prevent election-related unrest

Silence or delay, by contrast, may embolden violent actors and deepen instability.

A Call for Responsible International Engagement

The international community—particularly actors committed to human rights, democratic governance, and conflict prevention—has a responsibility to treat emerging patterns of mob violence as early warning signals, not post-crisis footnotes.

Independent scrutiny, principled engagement, and preventive diplomacy can still make a difference.

The goal is simple but urgent:
to ensure that violence does not become normalised, accountability does not erode, and democracy does not hollow out under the weight of fear.

Presented by

Minhaz Samad Chowdhury
Independent Human Rights Defender, Bangladesh
Focus: State Violence • Media Freedom • Minority Rights • Political Rights • Democratic Accountability

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