UN now condemns use of live fire ammunitions

Amid renewed protestes in Bangladesh over deaths and arrests during the quota reform movement, the United Nations has condemned the use, of live fire ammunitions that they saw in the country.

UN chief‍‍`s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric in a statement on Wednesday said, "Governments, whether in Bangladesh or anywhere else, need to be protecting the rights of people to protest peacefully and need to be protecting the right of journalists to do their job in a free and unfettered manner."

He was responding to queries regarding journalists killed in Bangladesh in recent days at a press briefing at the UN headquarters.

Responding to another query, on whether the UN would assist with any investigation by state-controlled institutions regarding the recent violence centring on the quota reform protest, he said, "We are, of course, always ready to assist governments anywhere who may request help with different issues, and we see how we can best do that."

A large number of lives were lost as the violence escalated in the following days from Jul 16 to Jul 21.

Although the media has reported as many as 200 deaths in the incident, the government claims that the death toll stands at 150.

Previously, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his concerns over emerging reports about the ‘excessive use of force and human rights violations’ in Bangladesh surrounding the quota reform movement.

Stating his concerns, the UN secretary general’s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said at a press conference in New York on Monday that, “He is alarmed by emerging reports about the excessive use of force by security forces and credible evidence of human rights violations.”

He said, “The secretary-general remains deeply concerned about the situation in Bangladesh. He notes reports of the resumption of student protests today

“The secretary-general is concerned about reported mass arrests of thousands of young people and political opposition in connection with the current student movement. He underscores the importance of due process and the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.”

Guterres also repeated his call for all acts of violence to be investigated ‘promptly, transparently, and impartially’, and for those responsible to be held to account.

Dujarric said, “We continue to raise our concerns about the situation in the country with relevant authorities, both in the capital, Dhaka, and here in New York, and we count on Bangladesh to respect and uphold human rights, including as a top troop-contributing country to United Nations peacekeeping missions.”

The UN representative said the agency has taken note of the statements by the Bangladeshi authorities that UN-marked vehicles are no longer being deployed within Bangladesh.

He gave a reminder and reiterated that UN troop- and police-contributing countries are to use UN insignia and equipment marked with the UN logo only when they are performing mandated tasks as UN peacekeepers in the context of their deployment within a UN peacekeeping operation.

Responding to a question regarding the agency’s assistance to compensate for the destruction of public and private properties in Bangladesh, Dujarric said, “We are always ready to help any country to promote dialogue in a time of crisis.

“The UN is not involved in any compensation scheme for people who, sadly, lose property or family members during demonstrations anywhere in the world.”

In response to another question over the UN’s intervention in the investigation of the acts of violence, the spokesperson said, “The secretary-general is always ready to provide support within the scope of his mandate.”