Twelve international human rights groups have demanded the exclusion of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) from UN peacekeeping missions.
The agencies have written to UN Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
The letter was published on the Human Rights Watch (HRW) website on Thursday (January 20).
The letter was signed by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Asian Federation Against In-Voluntary Disappearances (AFAD), Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development or Forum Asia, Asian Human Rights Commission, Asian for Free Elections (Unfrel), Capital Punishment Justice Project, International Federation for Human Rights, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, The Advocates for Human Rights, World Organization Against Torture (OMCT).
In the letter, human rights groups have accused the RAB of torture, enforced disappearances and other human rights abuses. UN human rights experts have expressed concern about this.
Although the letter was sent on November 8, 2021, the UN peacekeeping operations department has not yet responded to the letter.
Earlier, on December 10 last year, the United States issued sanctions on seven former and current members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for alleged human rights abuses. .The sanction was imposed separately by the US Treasury Department and the State Department on International Human Rights Day.