What is the present state of Bangladesh’s security sector and its oversight mechanisms? What are the obstacles to reform? This paper focuses on the Bangladesh Army, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), the Bangladesh Police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). It finds that the security sector, especially the police, is not accountable, transparent or efficient. The development of an effective and accountable security sector in Bangladesh is hindered by an ineffective parliament, intolerance between ruling and opposition parties, corruption and bureaucratic malpractice, lack of judicial independence, lack of long-term vision, and partisanship in civil society. A non-biased, people-centric security policy must be established, and this requires radical change in the attitude of politicians and bureaucrats.
The Bangladesh armed forces and BDR are tasked with external and border security,and the police and RAB with domestic law and order. The security forces have failed to protect people’s rights and security, however, and adequate, coherent measures for holistic security sector reform have not been evident. The reforms that have been undertaken have lacked coordination and accountability, and have been further compromised by rampant corruption and bureaucratic lethargy. The overall security situation in Bangladesh has improved during the caretaker government, but under the state of emergency, it is difficult to judge whether the provision of law and order is genuinely improving.
Internal insecurities have been driven by dysfunctional politics, bureaucratic malpractice, lack of rule of law, human rights violations, lack of an independent judiciary, lack of transparency and accountability in public affairs, terrorism, and inadequate civilian capacity to manage and monitor the security forces. Obstacles to SSR in Bangladesh include the following:
- Civil-military relations marred by: corruption and military interference in politics; lack of civilian leadership in ruling the country; failure to specify limits to the role of the military in state affairs; lack of transparency and accountability in military affairs; barriers to mutual understanding of values, objectives and policies; and conflicts over power sharing and facilities.
- Laws that are both outdated and misused. The police force is run according to the Police Act of 1861, and arbitrary arrests, torture and killings in prison continue. Bureaucratic malpractice makes the implementation of the police act more difficult.
- Patronage of security officers by the leading political parties. In many cases, the recruitment, transfer and promotion of security officers are decided on the basis of political affiliation.
- Opposition political parties opposing reforms by a party in power, regardless of whether they are beneficial or harmful to the people.
- Weak political institutions and failed leadership, which prevent long-term strategic planning in the security sector.
- An ineffective parliament: Many parliamentarians lack knowledge and expertise, and the absence of the opposition party during parliamentary sessions is a major constraint to policy reform.
- Lack of an independent and efficient judiciary, due to: the slowness of the judicial process; delays in criminal investigation; failure to appoint judges on merit; political interference; poor salaries and insecure working conditions; unfair processes for promotion and transfer, and lack of training; a shortage of judges at district level; and an outdated civil procedure code.
- Pervasive corruption affecting most of Bangladesh’s public institutions and all levels of public office.
- A polarised and politicised civil society aligned with political parties. The few independent voices are muffled by the louder voice of the partisan majority.
- Limited resources: The police, for example, are underpaid, overworked and ill-equipped.
Human security rather than national security should be prioritised in Bangladesh. Parliament must make the military accountable. However, unless a civilian government is accountable for its own actions, it cannot oversee those of the military.
- In order to promote internal security, priority should be given to legal reform and to the policies and activities of the police, RAB and related ministries such as the Ministry of Home Affairs. The defence budget should remain small.
- The Bangladesh Police Ordinance of 2007 needs to be enacted and implemented to curtail government influence on the police.
- There should be more transparency in military matters, and in civil-military relations. Integration of civilian and military efforts is vital for socio-economic development.
- The legislative and oversight functions of parliament should be strengthened by mandatory attendance of MPs during sessions, a non-partisan Speaker, and clear job descriptions and access to official files for MPs.
- South Asia needs a shared commitment to improve the security sector and a cooperative security mechanism which emphasises non-military solutions to bilateral and regional conflicts. Perhaps then more resources could be allocated to human security than to territorial security.
