Civil Society Organisations’ Perspectives on the Contemporary Human Rights Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh: A Critical Analysis

Abstract Based on corpus analysis of submissions to the latest United Nations Universal Periodic Review, this study examines civil society organisations’ perspectives on the contemporary human rights situation of indigenous peoples in Bangladesh. The analysis confirms how they are subject to discrimination, denial of land rights, exclusion from decision-making, violence and suppression of indigenous languages. We argue that the present constitutes a critical juncture. Whilst it currently falls sort of universal cultural ethnocide, unless there is urgent action by government and other parties, over coming years, this is likely to lead to the socio-cultural and linguistic loss of some of the more vulnerable indigenous groups in the People’s Republic, notably those located in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.