Urgent call to end violence against Bangladeshi minorities
ICC Note:
Minorities in Bangladesh are represented mostly by the religions of Christianity and Buddhism. Women are also minorities in the country. This article discusses how these types of people are treated, ” violation of the human rights of minorities, such as land grabbing, kidnaps, sexual violence against women, forceful conversions to Islam, desecration of places of worship and discrimination related to access to education, business and employment.” 
By: World Council of Churches
3/27/2014 Bangladesh (Christian Today)-Human rights defenders from Bangladesh, gathered in a meeting sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), are calling the international community’s attention to the severe persecution of Bangladesh’s religious and ethnic minorities.
They identified the rise of religious extremism, fundamentalism and lack of security as some of the major reasons behind human rights violations in the country.
Bangladesh, a Muslim majority country, has some 20 million people belonging to religious and ethnic minority communities. However, the number has come down since the country’s independence in 1971.
These issues were raised by Bangladeshi human right activists in a meeting on “human rights and human security in Bangladesh”. The meeting was organized by the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs and the Bangladesh Minority Council and took place on 26 March in Geneva, Switzerland.
In the meeting, the WCC programme executive for human rights, Christina Papazoglou, highlighted the long-standing support of the WCC for churches, faith-based and civil society organizations in Bangladesh in their struggle for the protection and promotion of human rights, especially in relation to minorities. “It is our hope that this meeting helps to strengthen and enhance partnerships and networks for the effective advocacy of human rights in the country,” said Papazoglou in her opening remarks.
Tarun Kanti Chowdhury, president of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council in Sweden, said that persecution of minorities in Bangladesh is not an “overnight crisis” but is a phenomenon deeply rooted in the history and politics of the country.
Chowdhury cited several examples of violation of the human rights of minorities, such as land grabbing, kidnaps, sexual violence against women, forceful conversions to Islam, desecration of places of worship and discrimination related to access to education, business and employment.
Chowdhury called for responsible actions from the government to address these issues. He said, “When the state appears to be the best patron of the process of discrimination, injustice and violation, it promotes an atmosphere of impunity.”
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