The High Court on Thursday (August 21) directed the authorities to declare the United Nations fact-finding report on the July 2024 uprising as a historic document and to publish it in an official gazette.

A High Court division bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Sayed Jahed Mansur delivered the judgment, making absolute a rule issued earlier. The court ordered that the report be published under the title “July Revolution 2024” and instructed the Law Ministry to submit a progress report within three months.

The order follows a May 14 ruling in which the court questioned why the UN’s fact-finding report on the uprising should not be given historic recognition and preserved for future generations. That rule was issued after a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Md Tanvir Ahmed.

Earlier, a bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Mubina Asaf heard the petition and directed the authorities to explain why the document should not be safeguarded.

The fact-finding report was published in February 2025 by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), detailing allegations of human rights abuses between July 1 and August 15, 2024. The report’s findings were based on interviews with protesters and analysis of incidents during the unrest.