Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Thursday said the issue of establishing an office in Bangladesh by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is still in discussion and the relevant MoU is still at the draft stage.
“It is still at a draft stage (MoU),” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that they can talk further on the matter if things are fully agreed by the two sides.
Adviser Hossain said there were exchanges of the draft with modifications for a number of times between the two sides.
There has been remarkable progress on the discussion between the interim government and the UN Human Rights Office.
The Council of Advisers, in principle, approved the draft MoU on Sunday.
While briefing reporters on the outcomes of the meeting on Sunday, Law Affairs Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul told reporters that the office will be established in Bangladesh primarily for three years.
If the two sides think that it is necessary to renew, the renewal of the MoU can be considered, he added.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) is the leading UN entity on human rights.
Once they (UN side) agree, Asif Nazrul said, they hope to sign the MoU as soon as possible and based on the signed MoU, an office will be established here.
The Law Adviser hoped that Bangladesh’s local agencies which are dealing with the human rights issues, together with the UN office, will play an important role if there is any case of severe human rights violation in the country.
A milestone was the interim government’s invitation to the OHCHR for an independent fact-finding mission following the July–August unrest.
The UN Fact-Finding Mission last year submitted a report on the human rights violations highlighting the events of July and August last year.
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The report said about 1400 people were killed during the July-August uprising and in the aftermath.
Since becoming a member of the United Nations in 1974, Bangladesh has consistently demonstrated strong support for peace and international cooperation.