The US will continue its concerns about the efforts by the government of Bangladesh to repress freedom of expression – including from members of the press – freedom of association, and other fundamental freedoms and human rights, said a senior US State Department official.
Robert S Gilchrist, senior official in the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor, came up with the comment while responding to a question regarding the situation of human rights violations in Bangladesh.
The US diplomat was speaking to the media at the launch of the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Monday (22 April) at Washington DC.
"Ensuring anything can be challenging. I hope with the human rights report shining on specific issues, specific human rights concerns will help facilitate change in the government regimes in a positive direction," Robert S Gilchrist said.
He also said the US had the visa restriction policy that was announced in May 2023, implemented before the elections with the hope of reducing violence to deter actions that could undermine the democratic election process.
“I have nothing new to announce at this time, but as is our longstanding practice, we don’t often preview actions with regard to policy or with regard to visas,” Gilchrist also said.
He went on saying, “We have repeatedly expressed concern about the efforts by the [Bangladeshi] government to repress freedom of expression – including from members of the press – freedom of association, and other fundamental freedoms and human rights, and that remains a continued concern of the United States.”
