Interim government chief advisor Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus said his government is committed to upholding human rights and freedom of speech in Bangladesh. He made these comments in a meeting with senior officials of more than half a dozen world’s leading human rights organizations at a New York hotel on Wednesday local time.

The meeting discussed the trial and accountability of the July-August uprising and the brutality and human rights violations committed during the long 15-year rule of dictator Sheikh Hasina.

Human rights officials have stressed the need for more investigations into the nearly 3,000 extrajudicial killings carried out during the dictatorship.

They called for security sector reforms, repeal of the Cyber ​​Security Act, unimpeded access to justice and accountability for detention center operations for victims of enforced disappearances during Sheikh Hasina’s dictatorship.

The delegation of 9 human rights officials was led by Kerry Kennedy, president of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation for Human Rights. Besides, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard also joined the meeting.

“The interim government should send a strong message that this is a new Bangladesh,” Callamard said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Yunus briefly describes how civil liberties and human rights were denied during the previous dictator Hasina’s rule. At the same time, he told what his government has done so far to establish human rights in the country.

He mentioned that his government has formed several commissions, including a police commission, for important reforms and institutional changes in Bangladesh.

He said the interim government would welcome any criticism of its actions. The interim administration will do its best to maintain freedom of speech.

Hong Kong-based former human rights activist Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman and Human Rights Watch senior researcher Julia Bleckner also spoke at the meeting.