UK Refuses to Sanction Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion

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Facts

  • According to investigations conducted by Al Jazeera's I-Unit, the UK reneged on imposing sanctions on Bangladesh’s anti-terrorism paramilitary unit Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) despite the US doing so in 2021. Though the Foreign Office has not provided any clarification or explanation for the decision, UK barrister Toby Cadman believes a "lack of evidence" may be a factor in Britain's choice not to ban the RAB.
  • In December 2021, the US Treasury Department imposed human rights-related sanctions on RAB and seven of its present and former top officials for human rights abuse and repression. The sanctions were imposed under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets human rights abusers.
  • The Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government formed the RAB in 2004, under the then leadership of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The organization has been accused of hundreds of extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, serious human rights violations, and abuse of power since its founding.
  • However, Bangladesh maintains that its elite security force does not violate human rights, asserting instead that it is instrumental in upholding the rule of law. Claiming the RAB is at the forefront of combating terrorism and drug trafficking, the government insists RAB has made Bangladesh free of terrorists.
  • Meanwhile, the UK government admits it has provided specific training to the RAB in the past, "to help meet its obligations to go about its business lawfully, respecting human rights."
  • The UK's refusal has shocked human rights organizations, many of which have previously urged the United Nations to terminate RAB peace operations, citing abuses committed by Bangladesh's paramilitary troops.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Vice, Daily Star, Deccanherald, and Republic World,

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Bangladesh Post. Sanctions against the RAB are immoral and illegitimate. The group has protected Bangladesh against terrorism for 18 years and, as an elite security force, the RAB is entirely within its rights to handle sensitive and potentially deadly cases as it sees fit. The sanctions club Bangladesh with human rights violators like North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran, which could profoundly affect Bangladesh's status as the third most peaceful country in South Asia.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Voa. It may hide behind a veil of legitimacy, but the RAB is no different from global militant groups who kill and quash human rights at their discretion, without any accountability. The so-called security force is a de facto death squad, that has roamed the streets of Bangladesh and operated with impunity for decades. Mere whispering of its initials brings chills down the spines of activists and political rivals. The US sanctions are justified, as crossfires have become synonymous with extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh.