HC orders UN report on July Uprising to be recognised as ‘historic document’

The High Court has ordered that a United Nations fact-finding report on human rights violations during last year’s July Uprising be recognised as a “historic document” and published in an official gazette.

The ruling, delivered on Thursday by the panel of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Mubina Asaf, came in response to a writ petition filed by lawyer Tanvir Ahmed.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published the report in February 2025, detailing allegations of rights abuses between Jul 1 and Aug 15, 2024. The findings were based on interviews with protesters, including many seriously injured, and an analysis of incidents during the unrest.

The court instructed that the document be gazetted within three months as the “July Revolution 2024”, according to Tanvir. It also ruled that the case will remain ongoing to prevent any future government from interfering in accountability efforts, he added.

The petition, filed Aug 13 last year, sought measures against those responsible for sustaining “genocide and dictatorship”.

A supplementary application was later filed in May, attaching the UN report. Following a hearing on May 14, the High Court issued a rule asking why the UN human rights report should not be declared a “historic document”, Tanvir said.