H. Res. 1402 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
September 23, 2008. 
Whereas the independent, sovereign republic of Bangladesh 
was first proclaimed on March 26, 1971, and the Con-
stitution of Bangladesh, ratified in 1972 following a war 
of independence, established a democracy ruled by and 
for the people; 
Whereas Bangladesh has a population of 154,000,000 people 
and is the world’s third most populated Muslim country, 
and has been known to be a stable, moderate, democratic 
Muslim Nation; 
Whereas Bangladesh has held what the international commu-
nity has viewed as three free and fair elections in 1991, 
1996, and 2001; 
Whereas in October 2006, as set up by the constitution, 
power was handed over to a caretaker government before 
the January 22, 2007, scheduled election; 
Whereas the caretaker Government of Bangladesh imposed a 
national state of emergency on January 11, 2007, that 
suspended fundamental rights guaranteed by the con-
stitution and detained a large number of politicians and 
others on suspicion of involvement in corruption and 
other crimes;
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Whereas the state of emergency has restricted media report-
ing and it has been reported that journalists have been 
harassed, detained, or threatened by the authorities; 
Whereas the anti-corruption campaign is creating institutions 
to fight rampant corruption throughout the government, 
including in the police and ports, but also has resulted 
in the reporting of human rights abuses; 
Whereas the caretaker Government of Bangladesh reportedly 
arrested 18,000 persons with questionable records since 
May 28, 2008, and subsequently released most of them; 
Whereas the Chief Adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, announced 
that elections will be held by the third week of December 
2008; 
Whereas the current political situation has been exacerbated 
by food prices that have doubled within the past year, 
compounding economic challenges for the people; 
Whereas Bangladesh has established an estimated 6 percent 
real growth rate in the last 4 years, and a 6.5 percent 
growth rate in 2007; 
Whereas the Grameen Bank, through microfinancing in Ban-
gladesh, has been able to provide lending to 7,300,000 
stakeholders and has empowered women to control 97 
percent of the Bank, alongside other agencies in rural 
Bangladesh creating a new climate of economic growth 
and increasing social capital; 
Whereas the economic support extended by the United States 
has helped to create an opportunity for employment and 
growth in Bangladesh, with particular impact on the em-
powerment of women and strengthening the process of 
social moderation and modernization in Bangladesh; and
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Whereas Bangladesh’s long-term political stability and eco-
nomic progress are critical to the security of the South 
Asian region: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) expresses its strong support to the restoration 
of democracy in Bangladesh so it will be able to address 
economic and political challenges, and urges all stake-
holders to play a constructive and forward looking role 
to strengthen such a process; 
(2) appreciates the decision of the caretaker Gov-
ernment of Bangladesh to hold free, fair, credible, peace-
ful, and transparent elections by the third week of De-
cember 2008; 
(3) welcomes the decision of the Government of 
Bangladesh to hold dialogue with all political parties and 
other civil society organizations to create a congenial at-
mosphere for holding elections and to ensure participa-
tion of all political parties in that process; 
(4) urges all political parties to participate in the 
elections so that democratic governance can be main-
tained, which could continue fight against corruption 
and institutional and policy reforms; 
(5) calls on the Government of Bangladesh to lift 
the state of emergency and remove other restrictions on 
political activity to allow free and fair elections to occur;
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(6) urges the caretaker Government of Bangladesh 
to complete a transparent voter registration process that 
will facilitate the enrollment of the maximum number of 
eligible voters to protect the voting rights of all eligible 
voters regardless of religious affiliations or ethnic back-
ground, to use all practical technical means of ensuring 
the security of the ballot, to prevent violence before and 
after elections, and to permit and facilitate international 
and domestic nongovernmental monitoring of the entire 
electoral process; 
(7) urges the caretaker Government of Bangladesh 
to invite foreign nationals to observe and monitor the 
December 2008 elections; 
(8) urges the Government of Bangladesh to ensure 
the due process and equal treatment under the rule of 
law for all suspects, witnesses, and detainees; 
(9) notes the initiatives of the caretaker Govern-
ment of Bangladesh to eradicate corruption from all lev-
els of government and society through institutional and 
policy reforms; 
(10) expresses concern at the reported abuse of 
human rights and urges the Government of Bangladesh 
to ensure human rights, freedom of speech, assembly, 
and association;
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(11) urges the caretaker Government of Bangladesh 
to protect the rights of religious and ethnic minorities, 
particularly Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Ahmadis, 
and non-Muslim tribal peoples; 
(12) urges the President to work toward the return 
of democracy to Bangladesh as a high priority of United 
States foreign policy and affirm the willingness of the 
United States to provide assistance; 
(13) urges the President to use the voice and vote 
of the United States in multilateral organizations to 
strengthen the rule of law and democracy in Bangladesh; 
and 
(14) urges the President to consider, upon comple-
tion of an internationally-accepted free and fair election, 
extending generous economic support to Bangladesh as 
an incentive. 
Attest: 
Clerk.