Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD): Urgent Appeal Regarding Systemic Racial Discrimination Against Indigenous Peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh

On behalf of Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact, FIAN International, International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, Minority Rights Group, and endorsement from local organizations who wish to remain anonymous for safety reasons, I respectfully submit this urgent plea under the Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure, pursuant to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

We seek to highlight the persistent and intensifying pattern of racial discrimination perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. The situation meets several of CERD’s early warning indicators, including the following:

1. Persistent patterns of racial discrimination; (b) Escalating racial hatred and violence condoned by state officials; (d) De facto exclusion from political, economic, and cultural life; (f) Impunity for violence by state actors and state-supported militias; (g) Significant flows of displaced persons from Indigenous communities (including across international borders); (h) Forced removal from traditional lands and occupation and/or encroachment of/on their lands; (i) Environmentally hazardous activities with disproportionately high adverse impact.

Kindly see attached submission describing the current situation after the fall of the former Government. The systemic racial discrimination and impunity highlighted herein underscore the urgent need for CERD’s intervention to uphold Bangladesh’s obligations under the Convention. We stand ready to provide additional documentation and facilitate testimonies from affected communities to assist the Committee in its deliberations.