Four Decades Later, Justice in Bangladesh

In 1971, the South East Asian country of Bangladesh, then known as East Pakistan, was caught up in a brutal war for independence from Pakistan. Bangladeshi collaborators along with Pakistani soldiers and militia dealt ruthlessly to suppress the uprisings for autonomy in East Pakistan. It is estimated that during this bloody nine-month period, close to three million individuals were killed, hundreds of thousands of women were raped, and millions were displaced. In Bangladesh and elsewhere, the crimes committed by Pakistan in order to eradicate a growing political threat have been described as nothing short of genocide; yet despite their gravity, little has been done to end impunity for perpetrators.Almost forty years later, in March 2010, Bangladesh ratified the Rome Statue and the same week, “announced the establishment of a special war crimes tribunal that will hear cases against individuals accused of war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.” The International Crimes Tribunal has since indicted several individuals for atrocities committed during the 1971 civil war. Since 2010, Bangladesh’s efforts to procure justice for the victims of crimes committed in 1971 have received mixed reviews at both the international and domestic level. This paper seeks to serve as an introductory piece on the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal, the law it applies, and some brief perspectives on its work to date.