ORAL STATEMENT
Humanists International
UN Human Rights Council, 58th session (24 February – 4 April 2025)
General Debate under Item 3
Speaker: Asad Noor
Mr President,
The right to freedom of belief helps protect the rights of religious and belief minorities.
We want to highlight worrying trends in Bangladesh where attacks against religious and belief minorities have been rising since the 2024 protests.[1] Not long ago, secular bloggers and publishers were targeted in a coordinated campaign of harassment and killing. I, myself, was forced to flee Bangladesh, faced with both state persecution and threats from religious extremists.[2]
While there is an opportunity for less intolerance and hate in a reimagined Bangladesh, recent calls by the Constitutional Reform Committee to retain a State religion (Islam) undermine this.[3] Such an approach is inherently discriminatory and marginalises minorities, risking emboldening hate, extremism and violence.[4]
The previous FoRB Special Rapporteur found that States which retain “entanglement with religion” are most likely to see ‘unlawful interference’ with numerous rights, including in the areas of education, expression and gender equality.[5]
Only with separation of religion and state can Bangladesh ensure human rights for all its citizens are realised.
Thank you
[1] https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/bangladesh/ohchr-fftb-hr-violations-bd.pdf
[2] https://humanists.international/case-of-concern/asaduzzaman-noor/
[3] https://thediplomat.com/2025/02/ali-riaz-on-recommendations-of-bangladeshs-constitutional-reform-commission/
[4] https://humanists.international/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150315-A_HRC_28_NGO_36.pdf
[5] A/HRC/37/49
'Freedom of Religion or Belief in Bangladesh', Humanists International