While some individuals and a section of media in Bangladesh are claiming that the US Department of the Treasury has not designated Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the anti-terror and anti-drug elite for in Bangladesh, sources in the US Department of the Treasury claimed, such perceptions are “not prolific”. According to the website of the US Department of the Treasury, on December 10, 2021, it has designated 15 individuals and 10 entities in a number of countries, including Bangladesh.
Announcing the decision of designation, the US Department of the Treasury on its website said: Today’s actions are taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, and targets perpetrators of corruption and serious human rights abuse; E.O. 13959, as amended, which targets, among other things, companies that operate or have operated in the surveillance technology sector of the PRC economy, and entities that own or control such companies; E.O. 13687 and E.O. 13722, which target the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Workers’ Party of Korea and certain conduct related to labor; and E.O. 14014, which targets a range of malign activities, including serious human rights abuse in Burma.
The announcement further said:
RAB is designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being a foreign entity that is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse.
Additionally, the following individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being foreign persons who are or have been a leader or official of RAB, an entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse relating to their tenure:
Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Director General, RAB, April 15, 2020 to Present,
Benazir Ahmed, former Director General, RAB, January 2015 to April 14, 2020,
Khan Mohammad Azad, Additional Director General (Operations), RAB, March 16, 2021 to present,
Tofayel Mustafa Sorwar, former Additional Director General (Operations), RAB, June 27, 2019 to March 16, 2021,
Mohammad Jahangir Alam, former Additional Director General (Operations), RAB, September 17, 2018 to June 27, 2019,
Mohammad Anwar Latif Khan, former Additional Director General (Operations), RAB, April 28, 2016 to September 17, 2018.
Decision of the US Department of State
In the same announcement of the US Department of the Treasury, it further said:
Today, the US Department of State has announced visa restrictions under Section 7031(c) of the FY 2021 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act on Benazir Ahmed due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights, making him ineligible for entry into the United States.
Meanwhile, Islamist nexus of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, with the help fo several rights groups has been making frantic bids in getting similar sanction to that of the US Department of the Treasury on the members of Bangladesh Armed Forces and other law enforcement agencies and ban them from participating in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. Commenting on such notorious bids, Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs said, United Nations sanctions are no longer the blunt instrument they once were, but concerns remain.
As a prime example, she pointed to the continued difficulty in reviving the banking channel for humanitarian transfers to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, since its collapse in 2017. Various resolutions make it clear that sanctions are “not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian populations”, she stated.
Highlighting several areas for action, she said Member States can minimize the burden of additional due diligence and reporting requirements on humanitarian actors by keeping their domestic legislation as close as possible to Council language. Other vital actions include continued monitoring by the Council’s sanctions committees for possible negative consequences and increasing cooperation with humanitarian actors and the private sector. More can also be done to reduce the possible adverse consequences of sanctions, she said, recalling the world’s welcome of Council resolution 2615 (2021), which carves out a humanitarian exemption to the sanction’s regime on Afghanistan.
Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said “humanitarian carve-outs, as we now have on Afghanistan, can allow us to continue our programs for those at greatest risk”. Mitigating the humanitarian impact of sanctions requires the international community to continue reviewing the way sanctions are designed and implemented, he said, urging the Council and Member States to ensure that measures applicable in armed conflict do not impede the assistance and protection activities of impartial humanitarian organizations for persons who are not fighting.
“In all contexts, they should ensure that sanctions do not restrict the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights including the right to food, water, shelter and health,” he said. To prevent this, the Council and others imposing sanctions should include comprehensive humanitarian carve-outs from the outset rather than case-by-case authorization procedures. Welcoming proactive efforts, he cited the United States guidance that incidental payments and cases of aid diversion to Al-Shabaab in Somalia would not be a focus for sanctions enforcement. At the same time, humanitarian agencies can boost confidence by investing in risk management and due diligence, he said, noting that operations in north-west Syria are an example of a highly monitored activity.
Another source in the United Nations told this correspondent that there is almost zero possibility for banning Bangladesh from participating the United Nations Peacekeeping Force.
It further said, allegations brought against RAB by the US Department of the Treasury actually went against global efforts of combating drugs and terrorism. Rapid Action Battalion has been playing praiseworthy role in combating radical Islamic militancy, terrorism and drugs.
The official said, in almost every country in the world, including the United States, there are some cases of “cross-fire” while fighting militancy, terrorism and drugs. It happens everywhere, and such incidents should not be considered as violation of human rights. Punishing Rapid Action Battalion and some of its officers for combating militancy, terrorism and drugs is “very unfortunate”.
