After Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina green-flagged an anti-narcotics campaign in May, death toll of alleged drug dealers have been rising consistently.
After Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina green-flagged an anti-narcotics campaign in May, death toll of alleged drug dealers have been rising consistently.
The 'zero tolerance' crackdown was launched to curb the spread of methamphetamine (commonly known as 'meth') in Bangladesh. However, the rising death toll has pushed activists to compare it to Rodrigo Duterte's bloody campaign to wipe out drugs in the Philippines.
So far, at least 140 people have been killed and about 18,000 arrested in Bangladesh, urging rights activists to reach out to the United Nations to step in to stop the bloodbath.
"In a manner reminiscent of the Philippines drug war, Bangladeshi police justified these killings as supposedly happening during 'gunfights' with rival gangs or law enforcement officers acting in self-defence during anti-drug operations," the International Drug Policy Consortium said in a statement to the UN.
"Evidence worldwide have shown that such a violent and abusive approach has not managed to curb the illicit drug market, but it can be used as a political tool to win political elections and target unwanted opposition," said the consortium.
In response, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein called for independent investigations into the killings, and said there was a "high likelihood" that many people may have been arbitrarily detained.
Meanwhile, PM Hasina, who faces a general election later in 2018, has dismissed accusations of extra-judicial killings, and said the crackdown enjoys popular support.
As for in the Philippines, thousands have been killed in the name of a crackdown on the "drug menace" since President Rodrigo Duterte came to power two years ago.
The 'zero tolerance' crackdown was launched to curb the spread of methamphetamine (commonly known as 'meth') in Bangladesh. However, the rising death toll has pushed activists to compare it to Rodrigo Duterte's bloody campaign to wipe out drugs in the Philippines.
So far, at least 140 people have been killed and about 18,000 arrested in Bangladesh, urging rights activists to reach out to the United Nations to step in to stop the bloodbath.
"In a manner reminiscent of the Philippines drug war, Bangladeshi police justified these killings as supposedly happening during 'gunfights' with rival gangs or law enforcement officers acting in self-defence during anti-drug operations," the International Drug Policy Consortium said in a statement to the UN.
"Evidence worldwide have shown that such a violent and abusive approach has not managed to curb the illicit drug market, but it can be used as a political tool to win political elections and target unwanted opposition," said the consortium.
In response, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein called for independent investigations into the killings, and said there was a "high likelihood" that many people may have been arbitrarily detained.
Meanwhile, PM Hasina, who faces a general election later in 2018, has dismissed accusations of extra-judicial killings, and said the crackdown enjoys popular support.
As for in the Philippines, thousands have been killed in the name of a crackdown on the "drug menace" since President Rodrigo Duterte came to power two years ago.