The Crime Desk: Today is August 30. International Day for the Prevention of Missing Persons The Day of Remembrance of Missing Persons is observed around the world today. On December 20, 2006, it was adopted by the UN General Assembly as an international instrument for all missing persons. The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearance, which came into force in December 2010, declared August 30 as the International Day for the Prevention of Disappearance. Since 2011, the day has been observed worldwide on August 30 every year to remember the missing and also express condolences to their families. And among the victims of disappearance are ordinary people along with political leaders and activists.
The non-governmental organization Law and Arbitration Center (ASK) said that no one has gone missing in the last two years. Five people went missing last year, of whom four were arrested by law enforcement agencies. Another was released after being abducted. And this time, six people were missing. All of them later returned. According to Amnesty International, in the 1970s and 1980s in Latin American countries, only illegal arms dealers and dissidents went missing. But nowadays, disappearances are also seen among ethnic groups, drug dealers, and human traffickers.
ASK has demanded the signing of the International Convention against Disappearance and the formation of an impartial commission to investigate the related complaints. Analyzing the data collected from various media, ASK said that 34 people have gone missing in Bangladesh from 2019 to August 29, 2023. Of these, 12 were later arrested, and 11 returned. 11 people have gone missing in the last five years. Before this, from 2007 to 2019, 604 people have gone missing, and the families and relatives of the victims have complained. Among them, the bodies of 78 people were later recovered, 89 people were arrested, and 57 people returned.
In most of these cases, the family, relatives, or eyewitnesses have claimed that a person or persons in plain clothes are being picked up under the identities of Special Forces RAB, DB Police, and the Intelligence Department. But in most cases, the concerned forces deny their arrest or detention. Asak demanded that all the missing people be found and returned to their families immediately. An independent and impartial commission should be formed to ensure a fair investigation into every complaint of disappearance. The International Convention on Missing Persons must be signed. The existing legal framework must be changed to ensure the prosecution of such cases without denying allegations of serious human rights violations, such as disappearances.
