Former Foreign Minister and former Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, Professor Dr. AK Abdul Momen, has made an urgent appeal to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for an independent and transparent investigation into the report of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCHR) on the protests and violence in July-August 2024.
In a strongly worded letter to Secretary-General Guterres dated October 20, 2025, Dr. Momen described the OHCHR report as based on โfactual inconsistenciesโ and โbiased narratives.โ
He expressed concern that the report was undermining the credibility of the UN and further fueling political instability in the country by encouraging an โunelected regime.โ
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Dr. Momen warned that the OHCHR’s flawed report has fueled political manipulation. It has pushed Bangladesh, which has made remarkable progress in development and poverty alleviation, to the brink of humanitarian, economic and social collapse.
To restore the integrity of the UN and uphold the principles of justice, he called on the Secretary-General to establish a โfull, transparent and independentโ commission of inquiry into the OHCHRโs Bangladesh report.
He stressed that it would be a historic injustice to take punitive measures against innocent people, especially those who worked under the UN flag, based on false reports.
โUN peacekeepers being targetedโ
Dr. Momen noted in his letter that the International Criminal Tribunal for Bangladesh had recommended the arrest of 25 senior military officers based on the OHCHR report. Many of these officials have served with great efficiency in UN peacekeeping missions.
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He alleged that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has directed the Bangladesh government to refer these officials to a โKangaroo Tribunal,โ which changes its rules without following any procedural rules.
Momen argued that while accountability and justice are essential, the UN should uphold the principles of impartiality and accuracy. But the OHCHR report lacks objectivity and due process.
Accusations of โunreasonably inflatingโ death toll
The former foreign minister made the most serious allegations in his letter about the death toll. He claimed that according to the countryโs leading dailies, the total number of deaths from July 16 to August 8 was 657. Even the Health Ministry of the interim Yunus administration initially mentioned 824 deaths, of which 52 were later found to be alive. These 824 deaths also included traffic accidents and natural deaths.
Dr. Momen wrote, โWhile the initial UN report put the death toll at 650, the final OHCHR report arbitrarily increased the death toll to 1,400 based on discussions without any verifiable evidence.โ He opined that such inconsistencies were damaging the credibility of the UN.
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List of omitted facts in OHCHR report
Dr. Momen alleged that the OHCHR report deliberately omitted some important facts, which made the narrative one-sided:
1. Police killings: The killing of about 3,200 police officers during the protests and the public display of some of their bodies.
2. Indemnity Decree: The โIndemnity Decreeโ issued by the Yunus administration, which protected criminals during the protests.
3. Removal of judges: The illegal dismissal of many Supreme and High Court judges.
4. Use of weapons: Unused 7.62mm sniper rifle bullets found in the militantsโ homes.
5. Release of terrorists: Release of terrorists sentenced to death under the current government from prison.
6. Vandalism: Arson and looting of metro rail, television stations, railway lines and government buildings by hired thugs.
Momen said that by omitting these important facts, the report is hiding the real criminals and is portraying those who were engaged in maintaining law and order as criminals.
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