A/HRC/32/36/Add.3 Australia are so broad as to prohibit peaceful acts of protest and establish prohibitions that go far beyond the legitimate restrictions established by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, especially articles 19 and 21. He remains also concerned that the mandatory and disproportionate penalties could have the deterrent effect on the legitimate exercise of the right to peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of expression, silencing and punishing human rights defenders and any dissenters that hinder, obstruct or prevent a lawful activity. He urges the relevant authorities to amend the draft to bring it into compliance with international human rights norms and standards. Bangladesh 256. JAL 10/04/2015. Case no. BGD 1/2015. State reply: 17/04/2015. Allegations of summary executions. 257. JUA 12/08/2015. Case no. BGD 5/2015. State reply: None. Alleged stigmatization of two human rights non-governmental organizations by the police, and possible threats against a human rights defender, his relatives and colleagues. 258. JAL 02/10/2015. Case no. BGD 6/2015. State reply: 06/11/2015. Alleged acts of harassment and intimidation against human rights defenders, and against relatives of victims of enforced disappearances and against a group of non-governmental organizations. 259. PR 06/11/2015 Bangladesh NGOs: UN expert warns against proposed funding bill Observations Responses to communications 260. The Special Rapporteur takes note of the responses of the Government of Bangladesh acknowledging receipt of his communications. However, he regrets that the Government failed to provide substantial responses to the questions raised in the communications since the establishment of the mandate in 2011. He considers responses to his communications as an important part of the cooperation of governments with his mandate and again urges the authorities to comply with Human Rights Council resolutions 24/5 (2013), 21/16 (2012) and 15/21 (2010) on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association that call upon States to cooperate fully with and assist him in the performance of his mandate and to respond promptly to his communications. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Special Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in his communications. 261. The Special Rapporteur reiterates his deep concern about the indiscriminate use of petrol bomb attacks by opposition demonstrators, as well as the excessive use of force by security forces, including apparent extrajudicial killings, which have led to the death of at least 49 and 32 individuals respectively. He urges the authorities to undertake thorough and independent investigations into these cases, hold the perpetrators accountable, and provide remedies to the victims and families of victims. In this regard, he wishes to refer to the joint report on the proper management of assemblies he prepared with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (A/HRC/31/66), which is highly relevant to the present case. 262. The Special Rapporteur remains concerned about the media release issued by the police alleging defamation that targets the legitimate human rights work of Odhikar and BAMAK, which have a “chilling effect” on all organizations monitoring human rights violations, in particular those receiving foreign funding. This intimidating action on the part of the police could contribute to stifling reporting on issues of public interest, including on human rights violations, and restrict the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of 41