UN Rights chief urges to amend Bangladesh's Digital Security Act

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has said that Bangladesh's Digital Security Act (DSA) should be amended.

"Following lengthy consultations with my Office on the Digital Security Act, I urge that it be amended, as criminal sentences continue to be handed down against those exercising their rights to free expression and belief," Volker Türk said at the 52nd session of UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday (7 March).

In his speech, Türk outlined concerns in over 40 countries, including Bangladesh.

"In Bangladesh, I regret the increasing incidence of political violence, coupled with arbitrary arrests of political activists, and ongoing harassment of human rights defenders and media personnel in the build up to the elections this year," he added.

The UN council session focuses on a number of situations that are of particular concern.

"Solutions that stem from rights that are universal while being tailored to the specific circumstances of each country. Solutions which bring forward our longstanding experience in difficult settings, and our work as bridge-builders between civil society, human rights defenders and institutions of the State," Volker Türk said.

He said that the war in Ukraine has led to civilian casualties and destruction of a "shocking magnitude."

"The rights of Ukrainians will be harmed for generations to come, and the war's impact on fuel and food prices, as well as geopolitical tensions, are impacting negatively on people in every region of the world. That such damage could once again be done across the world by warfare in Europe is a betrayal of the promises of transformative change made at our foundation over 75 years ago," the UN rights chief said.

He said that the repression of women in Afghanistan is unparalleled, contravening every established belief system.

"Women and girls' rights to make choices about their lives and participate in public life have been, or are being, eliminated as we speak. This repression and persecution of women constitute a clenched fist around Afghanistan's economy and its future. Such a tyranny must not escape accountability. We will not give up; we will continue to fight for respect for the rights and freedoms of every Afghan woman and girl," he added.

"We face the compounding effects of all these crises – while also confronting a surge of new human rights challenges, notably in the digital realm and involving artificial intelligence and surveillance. Fresh thinking, political leadership, renewed commitments, and dramatically scaled-up financing – with the centrality of human rights at their core – are urgently needed to meet these challenges," he said in the concluding remarks of his speech.