Guwahati: The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), an NGO with special consultative status with the United Nations (UN), has accused the Bangladesh government of undermining democracy and failing to ensure peace and security in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) ahead of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), beginning on September 8.

The ACHR said on Monday that while Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman had identified peace, security and human rights as his priorities before being elected President of the 81st Session of the UNGA, the Bangladesh government reconstituted the Bandarban Hill District Council, Khagrachari Hill District Council and Rangamati Hill District Council without elections on August 20.

“Before leaving for New York on August 30 to preside over the 81st session of the UNGA, Rahman’s own government murdered democracy in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region. This is not a positive sign for the world as far as the outcomes of the UNGA are concerned,” said Tejang Chakma, Research Director of ACHR.

The ACHR also said Rahman had failed on “peace and security” in his own country. It said the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997 had become a dead letter.

According to the ACHR, instead of demilitarising the CHT as required under the Accord, the Bangladesh government has started building infrastructure for a new cantonment in Naikhongchhari under Bandarban district, including marking the site for the proposed cantonment.

The organisation said Defense Advisor Brigadier General AKM Shamshul Islam and Principal Staff Officer Lt Gen Mir Mushfiqur Rahman visited Bhagban Tilla Outpost under Khagrachari district and Udaypur Outpost under Rangamati district on August 25 to explore the possibilities of establishing new brigade headquarters for the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB).

The ACHR alleged that about 400,000 Muslim settlers were implanted in the CHT from 1979 to 1983 through land grabbing. It said about 22,000 complaints of land grabbing had been filed by indigenous peoples with the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission, but not a single dispute had been resolved.

It further said no meeting of the Land Commission had taken place for the last one year. As a result, about 43,000 indigenous refugees who returned from India after the signing of the CHT Accord have been unable to regain their lands, the ACHR said.

The organisation also said 25,997 Muslim settler families living in cluster villages were being provided with free rations.

The ACHR alleged that the Bangladesh government had refused to cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms on violations of the rights of indigenous peoples.

It said the government refused to respond to a letter from nine UN Special Rapporteurs dated September 24, 2025, concerning the alleged grabbing of about 1,000 acres of land by the Army Welfare Trust and the Sikder Group in Chimbuk, Bandarban district, CHT. The ACHR said the alleged land acquisition is expected to affect at least 150 indigenous Mro families.

The organisation also said the government failed to respond to a letter from seven UN Special Rapporteurs concerning the killing of three indigenous peoples on September 28, 2025, at Guimara under Khagrachari district.

The ACHR has urged members of the UNGA to intervene with the Government of Bangladesh to hold elections in the three Hill District Councils and the CHT Regional Council.

It also urged UNGA members to withhold development cooperation projects with the Bangladesh government and these local government bodies in the CHT if no elections are held. The ACHR further called for full implementation of the CHT Accord and accountability for human rights violations.