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The Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Issues express their deep concern over reports of growing violence against the Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh.
The Permanent Forum has heard during its sessions about increasing tensions between the Indigenous Jumma Peoples of the CHT and Bengali settlers, which has culminated in the disturbing incidents of September 2024. The recent violence is set against a backdrop of broader discrimination and marginalization of the Indigenous Jumma Peoples, who for decades have been subjected to forced evictions and heightened militarization of the region.
The Chairperson and the Special Rapporteur call on the interim government to take immediate action to protect the Jumma Peoples from violent and indiscriminate attacks, conduct an impartial commission of enquiry into allegations of violence and prosecute perpetrators to end the culture of impunity.
Consistent with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Chairperson and the Special Rapporteur calls on social media companies to take all relevant steps to prevent their platforms from disseminating hate speech and misinformation regarding the Indigenous Jumma Peoples.
The Chairperson and the Special Rapporteur call on the interim government to implement the CHT Peace Accords of 1997, in line with national and international laws, and the provisions contained within the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in particular Article 7, which states that “Indigenous Peoples have the collective right to live in freedom, peace and security as distinct peoples and shall not be subjected to any act of genocide or any other act of violence.”
Furthermore, the Chairperson and the Special Rapporteur calls on the interim government to invite the United Nations to investigate and report on allegations of human rights violations in the region, and to monitor the situation unhindered, in coordination with the interim government, Indigenous Peoples’ representatives and relevant stakeholders, with a view to strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ institutions and ensuring respect for their collective and individual rights.
The Chairperson and the Special Rapporteur offer their assistance, within the terms of their respective mandates, in providing independent advice towards building trust and reconciliation between communities and preventing further violence in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
For the full statement see the following link.
