Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Bangladesh’s government of weakening existing human rights protections through three laws approved by parliament in September, saying the measures roll back safeguards introduced during the interim administration.

In a statement published on 23 September, the international rights organisation said the legislation could reduce the ability of state institutions to prevent and investigate serious abuses, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. It also said the measures represented a retreat from commitments made by the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government on human rights reform.

The criticism centres largely on changes to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the legal framework governing the force formerly known as the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

Concerns over the Human Rights Commission

According to HRW, the interim government that governed Bangladesh from August 2024 to February 2026 introduced ordinances aimed at strengthening the NHRC. Those measures expanded the commission’s authority to investigate allegations involving security agencies, monitor places of detention and improve its institutional independence.

HRW said the reforms also established a National Preventive Mechanism with powers to inspect and monitor detention facilities, including places where secret detention might be suspected. The organisation had previously described those measures as important steps towards bringing Bangladesh’s national human rights institution closer to international standards.

After the February 2026 election, however, the BNP-led government allowed the ordinances to lapse and introduced new legislation. Parliament passed the National Human Rights Commission legislation on 6 September.

Under the new framework, HRW said, the commission cannot directly investigate alleged violations by security forces in the same way as provided under the earlier ordinance. Instead, it is generally required to seek a report from the agency accused of the violation. The organisation also raised concerns about government influence over the appointment process and the commission’s budgetary and administrative independence.

HRW argues that these changes could undermine the commission’s ability to investigate allegations involving powerful state institutions independently. It also said the new arrangements do not appear to meet key requirements of the Paris Principles, the internationally recognised standards for national human rights institutions.

Disappearance law draws criticism

Another major point of concern is the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Act, passed by parliament on 6 September.

HRW said the interim government’s earlier ordinance had given the NHRC authority to investigate allegations of enforced disappearance and to monitor, inspect and investigate detention facilities. Those powers have been reduced under the new law, according to the organisation.

The law also changes the standard for establishing command responsibility in enforced disappearance cases. Under the earlier framework, HRW said, responsibility could arise where an officer knew or should have known about violations and had the ability to prevent them. The new legislation instead requires evidence of a direct order before a commanding officer can be held responsible for an enforced disappearance.

The issue is particularly significant because enforced disappearance was among the serious abuses documented during the previous Awami League government. HRW has said the interim government’s Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances received 1,569 complaints and documented 287 people who remained missing at the time of its earlier assessment.

RAB replaced by Special Response Battalion

HRW has also criticised the government’s decision to replace the Rapid Action Battalion with the Special Response Battalion (SRB).

Parliament passed the Special Response Battalion Bill on 10 September, paving the way for the formal dissolution of RAB and establishment of the new specialised police unit. The government gazetted the legislation on 15 September, and the SRB began operating the following day.

Under the new law, RAB’s personnel, powers, facilities, funds, property and records were transferred to the SRB. HRW argues that this amounts to a change of name and structure rather than a sufficiently comprehensive reform of the force’s human rights safeguards.

The organisation also raised concerns about the absence of detailed provisions on safeguards, training, independent oversight and accountability in the new legislation.

There has been some official clarification on the transition. SRB authorities said changes to the force’s logo, flag, monogram and uniform were already being processed and would be implemented after government approval. The force’s director general has also instructed personnel to conduct operations with transparency and accountability under the new law.

RAB’s controversial human rights record

The debate over the SRB cannot be separated from RAB’s record. Established in 2004, the force has faced longstanding allegations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture.

The United States imposed sanctions on RAB in 2021 over allegations of serious human rights abuses. HRW said seven former senior officers of the force have also been placed under targeted US sanctions. Several former RAB members are facing proceedings before Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal over alleged crimes against humanity, including enforced disappearance.

The government and officials involved in the transition have presented the SRB as a new specialised police unit. The official position is that the force will operate under a new legal framework and with greater emphasis on transparency and accountability.

HRW, however, says transferring RAB’s personnel, powers and assets to the new force without stronger safeguards risks leaving fundamental accountability concerns unresolved.

Broader concerns over past abuses

HRW’s latest assessment also refers to alleged widespread abuses during Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government between 2009 and 2024. These included extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests of critics and excessive use of force against protesters, according to the organisation.

The rights group has argued that preventing a recurrence requires more than institutional or name changes. It has called for independent oversight of security agencies, credible investigations into alleged abuses and mechanisms capable of holding officials accountable.

The organisation’s Asia director, Elaine Pearson, said Bangladesh needs genuine security-sector reform and an independent human rights institution with the authority to investigate allegations of abuse. She also argued that shielding security forces from effective scrutiny would not help build public confidence that killings and disappearances would not return.

The latest criticism follows earlier concerns raised by HRW and other rights organisations in June over the proposed National Human Rights Commission legislation. At the time, the groups argued that the proposed framework weakened several safeguards contained in the earlier NHRC ordinance and could restrict the commission’s ability to investigate serious violations independently.

For HRW, the central issue is whether Bangladesh’s new legal and security framework will provide effective checks on state power. The organisation has urged the government to ensure independent oversight, stronger investigative powers for the human rights commission, safeguards for detention and arrest, preservation of evidence from the former RAB and clear accountability mechanisms for the SRB.