<div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">At the invitation of the Interim Government, a UN Human Rights Office fact-finding team is conducting an independent and impartial investigation into alleged human rights violations that took place between July 1 and August 15 this year, arising from the recent protests.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fact-finding team is mandated to establish facts, identify responsibilities, analyze root causes, and make concrete recommendations for Bangladesh to address past human rights violations and prevent their recurrence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Individuals, groups, and organizations are invited to provide first-hand information that is not already on social media or otherwise in the public domain concerning the period of July 1 to August 15 2024 and human rights violations and abuses in the context of the protests during that period.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Submissions should be sent to OHCHR-FFTB-Submissions@un.org.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The team also plans to conduct interviews with victims, law enforcement officers, medical practitioners, and witnesses.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fact-finding mission is not a criminal investigation and is conducted independently of any national criminal justice process.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fact-finding process is strictly confidential. The team will not be conducting any media interviews during the investigation phase.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We appeal for respect for the confidentiality of the fact-finding process," said the UN Human Rights Office.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">After its on-site examination and data analysis, the UN Human Rights Office will publish a detailed human rights report containing key findings, conclusions, and recommendations.</div>