Bangladesh elected Vice President of the ECOSOC

Sharke Chaman Khan: Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN Dr. A K Abdul Momen elected Vice President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the organizational session of the Council at the UN 18 January .  He will serve as the Vice President of the Council for the year 2011. Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Zambia Lazarous Kapambwe elected sixty-seventh President of the ECOSOC at the same meeting. He replaced Ambassador and Permanent Representative of  Malaysia Hamidon Ali. Belgium, Slovakia, and Peru are the other three member states which were also elected as Vice Presidents.

ECOSOC is the principal organ to coordinate economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. The Council also receives reports from 11 UN funds and programmes. ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and the United Nations system. ECOSOC is responsible for (a) promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress, (b) identifying solutions to international economic, social and health problems, (c) facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation and (d) encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

It should be noted that Bangladesh ‘s commitment to economic and social development and Bangladesh ‘s standing as an active, responsible and contributing member of the international community are among factors credited for this impressive showing.  Bangladesh is currently elected member of 35 UN Committees/ Commissions/bodies/caucuses, which is the highest in recorded history.