UN Reaffirms Support for Bangladesh’s Reform Initiatives During Meeting with Foreign Secretary

USANewsOnline.Com, New York : In a meeting yesterday, 9 October, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Ms. Rosemary DiCarlo, reaffirmed the United Nations’ strong support for the reform initiatives of Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Professor Muhammad Yunus. This discussion took place during the Foreign Secretary’s maiden visit to New York, underscoring Bangladesh’s commitment to multilateralism and its collaborative efforts with the United Nations. Terming the UN support as ‘crucial’ in realizing the aspiration of July-August revolution, Foreign Secretary Md. Jashim Uddin thanked Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo for the reaffirmation of support.
During the meeting, they also discussed Bangladesh’s contribution to UN peace architecture, and the protracted Rohingya crisis. On UN peace operations, Foreign Secretary made a request to the UN through USG to increase representation of Bangladeshi nationals at the senior policy making levels. On the Rohingya issue, Foreign Secretary underlined ‘global attention as well as global action’ to solve the Rohingya crisis. He expressed concerns at the current conflict situation in Myanmar, which is leading to new influx of Rohingyas inside the territory of Bangladesh. Alluding to the possible spill over in the entire region, the Foreign Secretary urged the UN to play a greater role in resolving the crisis in Myanmar and facilitating the repatriation of the Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar. He also assured Bangladesh’s full cooperation to the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General. The Foreign Secretary recalled the proposal of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus to convene an international Conference on the Rohingya crisis, and requested the support of the United Nations in that regard.
In response, the Under-Secretary-General appreciated the ongoing cooperation between the interim Government of Bangladesh and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. She offered further cooperation to advance the reform initiatives in key areas. The USG commended the role of Bangladesh in UN Peacekeeping. On the Rohingya issue, she expressed hope that new Special Envoy of the Secretray General, Ms. Julie Bishop will continue to work with all stakeholders to address this issue comprehensively.
Earlier the Foreign Secretary delivered a statement at the Third Committee of the General Assembly on ‘advancement of women’. In his statement he highlighted the importance of investing in women education and skill development, and underscored the need to mobilize necessary financial resources in this regard. He emphasized Bangladesh government’s initiatives in female education, gender parity, close digital divide, ensure wellbeing and economic empowerment of women to make them self-reliant. Foreign Secretary also highlighted Bangladesh’s commitment to the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, CEDAW and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda while mentioning Bangladesh’s key role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the adoption of its founding resolution 1325 in 2000.
Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith was present at the meeting with the Under-Secretary General.
(Photo credit : Press Wing, Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations.)