Open letter on Digital Media Security Bill

The President of Bangladesh, H.E. Md AbdulHamid

The Chair of the National Human RightsCommission, H.E. Kazi Reazul Hoque

Subject:Open letter on Digital Media Security Bill

Your Excellencies

We write to you as international civil societyorganisations engaged on human rights and sustainable development issues inBangladesh. We are concerned that in the current political climate inBangladesh, which is narrowing avenues for free debate and legitimatedemocratic dissent in the country, the Bangladesh Digital Security Bill 2018,likely to be introduced in the current session of Parliament, fails to protectthe right of the media, civil society and members of the general public to freelyexpress their opinions on policies and actions of decision makers.

Many of our organisations have closelyfollowed debates about this bill over the years. In the past we have raisedconcerns about the existence of overbroad definitions and harsh punishments inthe bill which, if enacted, would severely undermine freedom of expression aswell as the freedom of the press. From available information, it appears that ourconcerns about the bill’s provisions as likely to impinge on constitutionalrights and well as Bangladesh’s commitments under international law persist.Both Article 29 of the Constitution of Bangladesh and Article 19 of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights allow the imposition of restrictionson the right to freedom of expression only in very limited and clearly defined circumstances.

In the present situation we recommend that thebill’s provisions are carefully considered from a constitutional andinternational law standpoint. Mr. David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on thePromotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, hasdone extensive work on the subject including on the exercise of the freedom ofexpression in the digital age. We believe that the government would greatly benefitfrom engagement with Mr. Kaye, who could advise on the permissible limits onthe freedom of expression under international law.

Furthermore, we urge the government to seekassistance from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)on measures to strengthen the protection and promotion of human rights in thecountry in line with constitutional and international standards. We areconcerned to hear that an official visit to Bangladesh by the UN HighCommissioner for Human Rights, H.E. Zeid bin Ra’ad Al Hussein has beenpostponed and request the facilitation of a such a visit at the earliestopportunity.

We believe that Bangladesh’s democracy andcommitment to human rights and sustainable development will be strengthened throughconstructive engagement with UN human rights experts. We urge you to kindly considerthe above requests in the interests of the people of Bangladesh.

Sincerely,

List of signatories (in alphabetical order)

Asian Federation AgainstInvoluntary Disappearances (AFAD)

Asian Forum for Human Rights andDevelopment (FORUM-ASIA)

Asian Human Rights Commission

CIVICUS

FIDH – International Federationfor Human Rights

Human Rights Watch

Odhikar

People’s Watch

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

World Organisation Against Torture(OMCT)