On Thursday, Bangladesh signed the accession instrument to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.

Bangladesh became the world’s 76th party to the convention when Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus signed the instrument at a weekly meeting of the interim government’s council of advisors.

“It is a historic occasion,” the chief adviser’s press office cited him as saying.

Bangladesh is currently a signatory to all nine major UN human rights treaties.

The international treaty was approved in New York on December 20, 2006.

The foreign ministry stated that the signing of all UN human rights conventions demonstrated the Bangladeshi people’s desire for freedom and justice for all.

The signing comes a day before International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

The enforced disappearance issue came to the fore after the formation of the interim government on August 8 after Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister on August 5 amid a mass uprising.

The interim government earlier this week formed a commission to investigate every case of enforced disappearances by security forces under Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year-long rule.