Extrajudicial killings most significant human rights problem in Bangladesh: US

Extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, the killing of secular bloggers and others by groups espousing extremist views, some restrictions on online speech and the press are the most significant human rights problems in Bangladesh, the United States has said.

The US, in its 2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, claimed these. US Secretary of State John Kerry revealed the report at the US Department of State on Wednesday.

Child workers were at times targets for violence and abuse, the report said mentioning that discriminating against persons with disabilities was a problem, especially for children seeking admittance to public school.

Instances of societal violence against religious and ethnic minorities persisted, although many government and civil society leaders claimed these acts had political or economic motivations and should not be attributed wholly to religious beliefs or affiliations, the report further said.

The US thinks discrimination against persons based on their sexual orientation continued while the report described Bangladesh as a secular, pluralistic, parliamentary democracy.