PM reaffirms Bangladesh’s support for global humanity, world peace

Shibbir Ahmed, New York — Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today reaffirmed Bangladesh’s support for United Nations initiatives aimed at promoting global humanity and world peace, calling for conflicts to be resolved through dialogue, diplomacy and mutual cooperation.

“Today, I reaffirm Bangladesh’s support for any initiative of the United Nations aimed at establishing global humanity and world peace,” he said while addressing the General Debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The Prime Minister said human-made conflicts had created unrest in many countries, resulting in large-scale displacement and humanitarian crises, while wars and conflicts were placing severe pressure on the global economy. He said energy security crises, disruptions to global energy supply systems and rising inflation were further worsening the economic situation.

“We believe that any conflict should be resolved through dialogue, diplomatic processes and mutual cooperation,” he said. Tarique Rahman said equality, fairness, protection of mutual interests, respect and dignity should form the basis of bilateral and multilateral relations among states.

“We aspire to a peaceful world, a humane global community where, rather than nuclear weapons, reason and debate, diplomacy, education and humanity become the instruments of change,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Bangladesh viewed the United Nations as the centre of efforts to establish an understanding-based global community that respects the independence and sovereignty of states. He said the tendency in various countries to divert development budgets towards military expenditure was an obstacle to world peace.

“As a peace-loving nation, Bangladesh remains committed to the goal of complete and general disarmament, preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and arms control,” he said.

Bangladesh and UN peacebuilding

Tarique Rahman reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to multilateralism in maintaining international peace and security, saying the theme of the 81st UNGA — “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All” — was highly relevant to the prevailing global situation. He said Bangladesh, as Vice-Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, continued to advocate sustainable peace, conflict prevention and inclusive peacebuilding.

The Prime Minister also highlighted Bangladesh’s contribution to UN peacekeeping missions, saying Bangladeshi peacekeepers were serving humanity in different countries around the world. He said the participation of Bangladeshi women in peacekeeping missions, despite challenging circumstances, reflected Bangladesh’s commitment to advancing the “Women, Peace and Security” agenda.

Support for Palestine

Turning to Palestine, Tarique Rahman said the people of Bangladesh, who cherish democracy, were deeply concerned about the suffering of the Palestinian people.

“Bangladesh reaffirms its unwavering support for their legitimate demands, including their right to self-determination and their right to establish an independent State of Palestine,” he said.

Rohingya crisis

The Prime Minister also called for continued international support for the forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar, saying Bangladesh had been providing shelter to more than 1.2 million Rohingyas for more than nine years. He said the only solution to the Rohingya crisis was the safe return of the displaced population to their homeland in Myanmar. Tarique Rahman called upon the United Nations and the international community to continue life-saving assistance programmes for the Rohingyas until their repatriation.

Safe and orderly migration

On migration, the Prime Minister called for stronger international cooperation to protect the rights, dignity and welfare of migrants. “Bangladesh expects stronger global cooperation to ensure the rights, dignity and welfare of migrants,” he said. He said migration was as old as human civilisation and migrants were making important contributions to the economies of both their countries of origin and destination.

Tarique Rahman said Bangladesh remained committed to ensuring regular, safe and orderly migration. The Prime Minister reiterated that Bangladesh would continue supporting efforts to build a peaceful and humane global community based on dialogue, mutual respect, diplomacy and cooperation.