A five-member delegation from the European Parliament will visit Bangladesh from September 16 to 18 to evaluate ongoing reforms and review the country’s human rights situation, local media reported Thursday.

The delegation includes Arkadiusz Mularczyk (ECR, Poland), Urmas Paet (Renew Europe, Estonia), Mounir Satouri (Greens/EFA, France) who chairs the Human Rights Subcommittee, Isabel Wiseler-Lima (EPP, Luxembourg), and Catarina Vieira (Greens/EFA, Netherlands), The Daily Star reported, citing a statement from the EU mission in Dhaka.

During their visit, the lawmakers are expected to meet representatives of Bangladesh’s interim government, civil society, and multilateral organizations. They will also engage with labour unions, NGOs, and human rights defenders. A key part of the program includes a field visit to the Rohingya refugee camps, where nearly a million displaced people from Myanmar are sheltered.

Bangladesh has faced heightened international scrutiny since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, with reports of severe human rights violations under the interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Rights groups say minorities—including Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and indigenous communities—have been targeted amid rising communal violence.

At the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva this week, Rahman Khalilur Mamun, Executive President of the International Forum for Secular Bangladesh, urged international action to protect minority rights and democratic freedoms in the country.

A recent report, One Year of Anarchy: Human Rights Violations in Bangladesh Under the Interim Government, alleged widespread abuses including 637 mob lynchings, 47 extrajudicial killings, and 21 political detainees dying in custody. The report also documented 2,442 incidents of minority persecution, including 27 killings, 20 cases of rape, and the burning of 17 churches on Christmas in 2024.

The upcoming EU visit is expected to assess these concerns and influence future EU-Bangladesh engagement.