Abstract

The haunting image of fifteen-year-old Felani Khatun’s body hanging from a barbed wire fence after being shot by the Border Security Force (BSF,) the extrajudicial killing of 1,926 individuals over the past 15 years, and the staggering 9,977 recorded rape cases in the last two years highlight the ongoing human rights crisis in Bangladesh. To investigate abuses and act as a bridge between the people and the state, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was established in 2009. However, over time, it has become more of a spectator than an enforcer, mainly due to fundamental flaws in its founding law, the National Human Rights Commission Act 2009 (NHRC Act).

This work was previously published in Oxford Human Rights Hub on Jul 7, 2025.