An alliance of international human rights and Indigenous Peoples organizations have condemned the recent surge in deadly violence targeting Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), perpetrated by military forces of the Government of Bangladesh and Bengali settlers.

Minority Right Group, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), FIAN International, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission charge violence targeting Indigenous Peoples, reflecting a pattern of systemic oppression, including the use of sexual violence as a weapon of terror and control. The surge of violence is emblematic of the entrenched impunity and institutional neglect that has persisted across successive governments, including the current interim administration.

Since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on 5 August 2024, the CHT Commission secretariat has documented 8 incidents of rape (of which 5 are gang rape), one murder following alleged rape, 7 cases of attempted rape, and 4 cases of sexual harassment.

The organizations explain how these acts form part of a broader campaign to dispossess Indigenous communities of their ancestral lands, dismantle their cultural integrity, and silence their voices.

They demand and urge the interim government to implement remedial measures.

Find the statement here.

Image: Logos of organizations issuing the condemnatory statement.