Law Adviser Asif Nazrul today said that institutional reforms, alongside legal ones, are required to prevent enforced disappearances, describing the crime as worse than murder.

"Not legal reform alone, but institutional reforms as well are necessary to put an end to the culture of enforced disappearance," he said at the inaugural session of a day-long workshop on the issue held at a hotel in Gulshan in Dhaka.

The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances organised the workshop with assistance from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of the United Nations.

Asif Nazrul said the courageous and justified role of judges is essential for ensuring justice in cases of enforced disappearance, as "the impartial and bold stand of the judiciary will uproot the culture of enforced disappearance from Bangladesh."

Commission Chairman retired Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury presented the keynote paper at the workshop, saying that collective cooperation among the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and human rights organisations is a must to stamp out the culture of enforced disappearances.

Commission member retired High Court Division judge Md Farid Ahmed Shibli, Law and Justice Division Secretary Liaquet Ali Molla, and Senior Human Rights Adviser at the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office in Bangladesh Huma Khan also spoke at the event.

The workshop was moderated by another member of the Commission, Dr Nabila Idris, a BRAC University teacher.

Ninety individuals, including judges of different courts and tribunals as well as trainees, are taking part in the workshop.