States possess broad authority to regulate the movement of foreign nationals across their borders. They exercise their sovereign powers to determine who will be admitted and for how long. However, it is essential to ensure that non-nationals enjoy all of the inalienable rights applicable under international law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) defines basic rights of all persons such as the "right to life", liberty and security, the right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as well as any arbitrary arrest or detention. States are definitely entitled to exercise jurisdiction at their international borders, but they must do so in light of the individual's human rights obligations. This means that the human rights of all persons at international borders must be respected in the pursuit of border control, law enforcement and other State objectives.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) set the Guidelines with a view to translating the international human rights framework into practical border governance measures. According to the Guidelines, the term 'international borders' refers to the politically defined boundaries separating territories or maritime zones between political entities and to the areas where political entities exercise border governance measures on their territory. As a result, the principle of non-discrimination shall be at the centre of all border governance measures. Prohibited grounds of discrimination shall include race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, nationality, migration status, age, disability, statelessness, marital and family status, sexual orientation or gender identity, health status, and economic and social situation.
Notwithstanding the above, border killing has turned out to be a delicate as well as grave issue for many states, including Bangladesh. As reported by the legal aid and human rights organisation Ain-o-Salish Kendra (ASK), the Border Security Forces (BSF) of India killed 27 civilian Bangladeshis in 2014 (until October 31, 2014), 26 people in 2013 and 48 people in 2012 along the Bangladesh-India border. The statistics clearly show the gross violation of human rights of the people residing within the Bangladesh territory. It has been a significant concern over the years not only for our government but also for the international organisations working for guarantee of human rights globally. Over the past years our government raised the issue of killing Bangladeshis along the border and the Indian authorities reaffirmed to bring down the killing to zero level. It is necessary to appreciate that bilateral relations do not depend only on government-to-government relations but also the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, of the countries manage their relations.
As appears from the statistics above, the rate of killing civilians around the Bangladeshi border not only went up over the years, the victims of the incidents were also arbitrarily denied the access to justice. For example, on Jan 07, 2011, a 15-year-old Felani was shot dead by a trooper of BSF's Choudhuryhat camp while trying to cross the barbed-wire fencing at Anantapur border point in Kurigram's Phulbari Upazilla on her way back to Bangladesh. The victim's body was left hanging from the fence for quite a while and the killing provoked huge outrage in both Bangladesh and India. One of BSF's constables was accused and tried for the killing but could not be found guilty because of inconclusive and insufficient evidence against him. Due to heavy criticism thereafter, the revision trial of Felani killing has been started by the BSF at its sector headquarters in Cooch Behar of India.
Migrant deaths beyond our continent, particularly along the Mexico-U.S. border, occur hundreds of times a year. According to the United States Border Patrol, 1,954 people died crossing the U.S-Mexico border between the years 1998-2004. The number of yearly border crossing deaths has doubled since 1995. The statistics cited by scholars and the media are only the number of known deaths and do not include those who have never been found while attempting unauthorised border crossings.
Barrister Abir Abbas Chowdhury is an Associate at Hossain & Khan Associates, Bijoynagar, Dhaka. abir_chowdhury2008@yahoo.com
International territories vs human rights
Abir Abbas Chowdhury | Published: December 31, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
Share if you like