Bangladesh has no significant changes in human rights: US report

There had been no significant changes in the human rights situation in Bangladesh during the year 2023, the United States has said in a new report.

The country reports in the 2023 Human Rights Report (HRR) do not draw legal conclusions, rank countries, or draw comparisons, said the US Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday.

There were numerous reports of widespread impunity for human rights abuses, said the report in its Bangladesh chapter.

In most cases, it claimed, the government did not take credible steps to identify and punish officials or security force members who may have committed human rights abuses.

The US Department of State released the 2023 Human Rights Report, which the US Embassy described as a "factual and objective" record on the status of respect for human rights worldwide.

The 2023 Human Rights Report (HRR) covers 198 countries and territories.

The individual reports in the HRR detail "credible factual information" on human rights abuses and violations, providing a tool used by governments, advocates, journalists and others concerned about the state of human rights and democracy in specific countries and territories, said the embassy.

The United States has issued these reports for nearly five decades. 

The HRR represents several months of work performed by US Department of State colleagues in our missions abroad and in Washington, DC. 

The HRR informs US foreign policy decisions and assists the US Congress, Executive Branch, and immigration courts when accurate information on human rights conditions is needed.

The HRR also informs the work of civil society - including human rights defenders-lawmakers abroad, scholars, immigration judges and asylum officers, multilateral institutions, and other governments.