The 126th five-day meeting of the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Disappearances begins today in Geneva. The meeting will review the progress of the disappearance situation in different countries. There is also the issue of Bangladesh. The committee had in the previous meeting handed over the report to the government stating that 6 persons were missing in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has claimed that some missing persons have been found.

The ‘Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances’ consists of five experts. Although experts are citizens of different countries, they do not represent those countries. As they are independent experts, they collect information through their own sources and prepare reports. The report is then shared with the countries concerned to take action. Representatives of the countries do not have the opportunity to attend the meeting of the Working Group on Disappearances.

According to diplomatic sources, the report of the working group on disappearances was handed over to the government through the Bangladesh Embassy in Geneva. It includes the names of 6 Bangladeshis.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Geneva sent the list to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends it to the Ministry of Home Affairs for reply. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that several people had returned missing. Also, various Indian media outlets have reported that some of the missing persons are staying in India. The news of their location has been published in the media; Copies and links of all those media were given to the committee.

According to sources, Bangladesh Ambassador to Geneva Mostafizur Rahman paid a courtesy call on the working group. At that time, the ambassador handed over information about the return of the missing and their stay abroad. Bangladesh has also requested that the names of those found in this way be removed from the list of missing persons. In the North, the Working Group on Missing Persons said that the issue of omission of names was a matter of time. The next decision will be taken after the group independently verifies the matter.

According to sources, the Working Group on Disappearances is reviewing the disappearance situation in many countries and it is difficult for them to make a decision in a short time. It is time for him to decide on the matter. Bangladesh Ambassador to Geneva Mostafizur Rahman said in a conversation with Manabjamin at night that this is a routine meeting. The working committee meets every 3 months. It is not country specific. No one from any of the embassies of any country has the opportunity to say anything in that closed door meeting. He said that the report of the previous meeting has not been received yet and he has come to know that there will be general discussion in this meeting. However, if any new query is asked in the meeting on Bangladesh starting from today, it will be provided as much as possible later. The United States has imposed sanctions on Bangladesh’s Elite Force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and six of its former and current influential officials for serious human rights abuses, including disappearances