Key Takeaways
- The EU Parliament held a special hearing on attacks against minorities in Bangladesh as part of the #BangladeshStopHate campaign.
- The EU agreed to explore trade sanctions on Bangladesh and appointed an observer delegation to visit the minorities affected areas.
- The speakers had four demands, including economic sanctions on Bangladesh, appointment of an observer delegation, safe zone territory for vulnerable Hindus, and EU support for a minority political party.
A special hearing in the EU Parliament took place on Wednesday, February 19, revolving around the violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh. Conducted under the #BangladeshStopHate movement, the session was ‘A critical review of human rights violations (2024-25)’ and the assessment of minority rights in Bangladesh.
The speakers who were a part of the hearing were Manal Msalmi, President of the European Association for the Defense of Minorities; Idil Igdir, GHRD Human Rights advisor and advocate; Salvatore De Meo, Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats); Magdalena Adamowicz, Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats); Regina Doherty, Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats); and Tomáš Zdechovsky, Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats).
The special guests for the session were Erik Selle, Leader, Christian Conservative Party Norway; and Himanshu Gulati, Member of the Nordic Parliament.
The speakers had four demands which were put up to the EU Parliament, namely, economic sanctions on Bangladesh, to which the EU responded saying that all loans and grants are humanitarian in nature, and hence, agreed to explore Trade Sanctions. All imports from Bangladesh will attract a GST+ on par with Europe, if the violence does not stop.
And while the Yunus government would appeal against it for sure, it is a big win for the #BangladeshStopHate campaign.
The second demand put up was for EU to appoint an observer delegation to visit the minorities affected areas, on a fact-finding mission; which the EU immediately approved, and Erik Selle was appointed from the campaigners’ side, to lead the delegation. Further, 3 MEP and few Brussels-based Human rights members will visit Bangladesh soon, for which the schedule is expected in few weeks.
The third demand put up was a safe zone territory where internationally monitored safety camps for vulnerable Hindus could be provide; which was rejected by the EU, upon its observation that it is more a prerogative of NATO and not EU.
The final demand was that EU should support a minority political party to ensure there is a democratic representation in Bangladesh; to which the EU said that it was beyond their scope.
