Recently, an Indian media outlet, AajTak Bangla, published a video report claiming, “It is confirmed that peacekeeping forces are entering Bangladesh.”
The report asserted that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wanted the United Nations Peacekeeping Force to be sent to Bangladesh. It further claimed that the United Nations had now released a report on Bangladesh, and speculation was growing that there were no more obstacles to the deployment of peacekeeping forces in the country. The entry of UN peacekeeping forces into Bangladesh was now just a matter of time. Additionally, the video report mentioned the details included in the UN report.
View the report published by Indian media outlet AajTak Bangla here (YouTube).
The same report by AajTak Bangla was later circulated on social media platform Facebook, where it was claimed, “It is confirmed that peacekeeping forces are entering Bangladesh, the UN has reported to Modi.”
See Facebook posts promoting this claim here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive), and here (Archive).
Fact-Check
Rumor Scanner Team’s investigation found that the claim regarding the imminent deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in Bangladesh is false. The claim has been propagated without any credible evidence.
Upon analyzing the AajTak Bangla report, it was discovered that it primarily referred to a report recently published by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which detailed events from July-August. The claim also suggested that the UN report mentioned minority persecution during the interim government and, based on this, alleged that peacekeeping forces were soon to be deployed in Bangladesh.
A fact-check of the issue through the UN OHCHR website revealed that on February 12, the OHCHR published a report titled “OHCHR Fact-Finding Report: Human Rights Violations and Abuses related to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh.” Read the report here.
The report states: “At the invitation of Bangladesh’s interim government, the OHCHR conducted an independent investigation into alleged human rights violations and abuses committed during and after the nationwide protests from July 1 to August 15, 2024.”
Based on thorough and independent evaluation of collected data, the OHCHR concluded that the former government and its security and intelligence agencies, with the aid of violent groups linked to the Awami League, systematically engaged in serious human rights violations. These included hundreds of extrajudicial killings, severe injuries to thousands of protesters due to excessive force, mass arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, and other inhumane treatments.
According to the OHCHR, these repressive activities were carried out with the knowledge, coordination, and direct orders of political leadership and top security officials to suppress protests and dissent.
These serious human rights violations are also concerning under international criminal law. Therefore, additional investigations are needed to determine whether these incidents constitute crimes against humanity, distinct international crimes such as torture, and serious crimes under domestic law.”
However, the report does not mention any imminent deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in Bangladesh. Furthermore, no indication or reference to such a deployment was found upon analyzing the report.
Additionally, a press release version of the report in Bengali was also published on the OHCHR website. Read it here. However, even this press release contains no mention or suggestion regarding the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in Bangladesh.
A relevant keyword search also yielded no reliable sources confirming the claim that UN peacekeeping forces would soon be sent to Bangladesh.
An article titled “Deploying Peacekeepers” can be found on the United Nations Peacekeeping website, which outlines the process the UN follows to deploy a peacekeeping force to a country. According to this article, deploying UN peacekeepers involves several steps:
- Initial consultation: When a conflict arises, escalates, or moves towards resolution, the UN consults relevant parties, including UN agencies, potential host countries, member states, regional organizations, and other stakeholders. The UN Secretary-General may conduct a strategic assessment at this stage.
- Technical field assessment: If the security situation permits, the UN dispatches a technical assessment team to evaluate security, political, military, humanitarian, and human rights conditions in the region. The findings are presented in a report to the Secretary-General, who outlines potential peacekeeping missions and estimated costs.
- Security Council resolution: If the Security Council deems a peacekeeping mission necessary, it passes a resolution defining the mission’s mandate, size, and objectives. The General Assembly must approve the budget and resources.
- Appointment of senior officials: The Secretary-General appoints the mission head, who serves as a Special Representative. Additional appointments include force commanders, police commissioners, and other officials.
- Planning and deployment: An integrated task force comprising various UN departments and agencies is formed to coordinate political, military, operational, and logistical planning.
- Deployment: An advance team is sent to establish mission headquarters, followed by the deployment of all mission components. Since the UN does not have a standing army, troops and police officers are contributed by member states.
- Reporting to the Security Council: The Secretary-General regularly reports on mission activities to the Security Council, which reviews progress and makes necessary adjustments until the mission is completed or terminated.
Additionally, another article on the United Nations Peacekeeping website highlights that deploying UN forces takes considerable time since the UN does not have a permanent reserve force. The UN can only deploy military personnel when the UN Security Council approves a resolution authorizing the mission. The Security Council determines the required number of military personnel, and the UN headquarters coordinates with member states to identify and deploy these forces. This process takes time, and it often takes more than six months from the date a resolution is adopted for troops and equipment to arrive at the designated location.
Rumor Scanner investigated whether the UN Security Council has approved any resolution regarding the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in Bangladesh by reviewing the recently adopted resolutions available on the UN Security Council’s website. However, no such approved resolution was found regarding the deployment of peacekeepers in Bangladesh. The most recent resolution related to peacekeeping was observed to have been adopted on January 31, which extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cyprus.
Furthermore, while the reported claim suggests that the UN report indicated minority persecution during the tenure of the interim government, the actual UN report did not focus solely on the interim government. Instead, it referenced all incidents occurring between July 1 and August 15, without limiting the events to any particular government or period.
Therefore, the claim that UN peacekeepers are being deployed in Bangladesh soon is false.
Sources
- Rumor Scanner’s Own Analysis
- OHCHR Fact-Finding Report
- OHCHR Press Release (Bangla)
- United Nations Peacekeeping: Deploying Peacekeepers
- United Nations Peacekeeping: Military
- United Nations Security Council: 2025 Resolutions
