‘Nobel Peace Prize is symbol of justice, not silence’: Calls grow for action against Yunus amid B’desh violence

Human rights groups wrote to the Norwegian Nobel Committee accusing Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh’s interim government chief advisor, of remaining silent amid escalating violence and rights abuses in the country, urging moral leadership and accountability to uphold the Nobel Peace Prize’s ethical authority

Ottawa: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, currently serving as the Chief Advisor of the Bangladesh interim government, remains silent instead of standing for justice while the South Asian nation continues to grapple with violence and human rights abuses, several human rights bodies said in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

In the letter, issued by the human rights representatives, which was shared by Canada-based think tank organisation ‘Global Centre for Democratic Governance (GCDG) in its social media platform X, they expressed grave concern over Yunus failing to publicly exercise moral leadership commensurate with the severity of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh.

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The human rights institutions stressed that “when an individual entrusted with both global moral authority and national responsibility remains publicly silent” amid such widespread suffering in the country, that silence carries serious “ethical consequences”.

The letter was issued amid widespread violence in Bangladesh, under the Yunus-led interim government, targeting minorities, media houses, cultural institutions and diplomatic missions following the murder of radical Islamist leader Sharif Osman Hadi.

“For more than a century, the Nobel Peace Prize has represented humanity’s highest ethical commitment to peace, justice, human dignity, and moral courage. Its authority rests not only on the prestige of its recipients but on the moral clarity it embodies during moments of widespread human suffering,” the letter read.

Highlighting what they described as an alarming deterioration of human rights conditions in Bangladesh, the signatories cited credible reports and eyewitness accounts of targeted violence, destruction of homes and livelihoods, attacks on cultural and religious institutions, and systematic intimidation of vulnerable communities, particularly religious and ethnic minorities. Women and children, they said, are among those most affected.

“These violations are neither isolated nor spontaneous; they bear the characteristics of organised and sustained abuses of fundamental human rights,” the human rights activists stated. They asserted that the letter was not motivated by political alignment or opposition but was grounded solely in universal principles of “humanity, accountability, and justice”.

“Peace cannot exist where fear governs daily life. Neutrality cannot be claimed where fundamental rights are systematically violated. We respectfully urge the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Nobel Foundation to reflect on their ethical responsibility at this critical moment. Upholding the moral authority of the Nobel Peace Prize requires transparency, moral clarity, and the courage to confront suffering when it unfolds before the world,” the letter added.

The human rights activists emphasised that the victims in Bangladesh deserve recognition, while the global conscience demands responsibility. “And the Nobel Peace Prize must remain a symbol of justice, not silence. History will remember how institutions responded when human dignity was under siege. We sincerely hope the Nobel Committee will be remembered for standing firmly on the side of humanity,” the letter concluded.