Citizen’s Platform to launch ‘Bangladesh Reform Watch’ tomorrow

Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh is set to officially launch its new initiative, Bangladesh Reform Watch (BRW), tomorrow -- to assess the progress of reform measures taken by the interim government following the July mass uprising.

In a press release issued today, the platform said the July uprising created strong expectations for reforms envisioned to play a critical role in advancing socio-economic development, strengthening political institutions, and upholding human rights.

Citizen's Platform for SDGs said it will start evaluating the progress of reforms in an effort to build a just, equitable, and accountable society.

The platform said, BRW is tracking reform-related commitments and actions taken so far to see which reforms are possible during the remaining tenure of the interim government.

The second phase will focus on the election period, analysing the manifestos and electoral debates of political parties. Finally, it will track the priorities and implementation of the reform agenda after the formation of a government following the election scheduled for February 2026.

Citizen's Platform said it wants to assess the feasibility of funding for the reform processes and the capacity of the government agencies to implement the reforms. It also aims to ensure that the concerns, views, and participation of marginalised communities are reflected in the reform process.

The BRW will be launched tomorrow morning, which is expected to be attended by distinguished members of civil society, private sector leaders, and partners of the Citizen's Platform.

Under the initiative, the BRW will observe and evaluate reforms in areas such as public financial management, the capital market, banking and the financial sector, energy transition and security, and public services.

The platform will examine the reform progress in the areas of ensuring decent employment and labour rights, social protection, education, health, agriculture, land management, Bangladesh's graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category, progress in ensuring gender equality, media and freedom of expression, universal human rights, and the data ecosystem.

The platform said the BRW initiative will be a collaborative civil society effort, in which more than 150 organisations at both the national and grassroots levels are partnering, along with private sector leaders, experts, and professional groups.

About the initiative, Debapriya Bhattacharya, convenor of the Citizen's Platform and distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said no reform initiative can be effective or sustainable without an active citizen voice.

He said BRW will monitor the implementation and the progress of the government's reform measures.

"It will work to develop an inclusive reform agenda that ensures accountability in implementation and takes into account the concerns of marginalised communities. We also expect that the reform proposals will be appropriately reflected in the election manifestos of political parties in the coming days," he said.