Features

July 30, 2010

Fighting Past Impunity in Bangladesh: A National Tribunal for the Crimes of 1971

Bangladesh has taken several steps to seek redress for mass atrocities committed during the course of their “Liberation War” in 1971 that split West and East Pakistan into modern Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The conflict arose as West Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan to clamp down on nationalist sentiments in the region following the victory of a Bengali nationalist leader in the 1970 general elections. During the operation, the Pakistani Army committed severe and massive human rights violations, including sexual violence. In March 2009, the Awami League party announced the creation of an International Crimes Tribunal to indict collaborators accused of international crimes during this period.

An ICTJ briefing paper by Caitlin Reiger, director of  international policy relations, outlines the history of the conflict, transitional justice efforts to date and issues of concern for the recently established International Crimes Tribunal.

The paper was prepared with the support of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Click here to download the briefing paper.