Controversial Role of the Rapid Action Battalion in Bangladesh: A Big Challenge to uphold Human Rights

Controversial Role of the Rapid Action Battalion in Bangladesh: A Big Challenge to uphold Human RightsAbstract: Bangladesh constitutionally pledged to uphold the dignity and worth of human being. However recent history witnessed widespread violations of human rights including systematic use of torture, other inhuman, degrading treatment, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings and serious restrictions on the freedom of expressions. The context of human rights becomes very significant in the sense that the state law enforcement machinery such as Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is actively involved in those massive violations with impunity. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) was formed on 26 March 2004, as a vital anticrime and antiterrorism elite force, comprising influential members of various law enforcement agencies. Since its inception, it is engaged in committing more than 1,600 extrajudicial killings. Yet the government refuges to publicly acknowledge exact figures of those violations, and the RAB states that all deaths took place during armed interactions with criminals.They also participate in custodial death, arbitrary arrests and detention, disappearance, and torture. The highest executive authorities in the country endourse those serious crimes which are of great concern to the citizens, civil society, human rights organizations, and international community as a whole. This paper will explore to what extent is the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) responsible for human rights violations in Bangladesh and why are state and non-state actors of the country not playing an active role to prevent these violations? This paper will also, find out what are the underlying causes that create challenges for ensuring human rights in Bangladesh?