Crimes against humanity - An assessment of Bangladesh’s response in a comparative perspective; the cases of Cambodia and Iraq

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Abstract

SADF has dedicated a good number of research papers and events to the Bangladeshi 1971 genocide. SADF has raised the awareness of the international community by organising and attending conferences both in Brussels and in Dhaka. SADF now aims to further develop its previous work on Bangladesh by conducting a comparative analytical study. This study assesses Bangladesh’s contemporary judicial initiative in contrast with the cases of internationally led or influenced initiatives, like the ones of Cambodia and Iraq. In so doing, this paper appraises the application of the rule of law by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), and the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT) in prosecuting authors of crimes against humanity. Our findings show that the Bangladeshi authorities were able to apply the rule of law and, most importantly, combat impunity, in a far more robust and lawful way than the international community’s highly influenced justice procedures of Iraq and Cambodia.