He came up with the call while delivering the country statement at the General Debate of the UN High Level Forum on the ‘Culture of Peace’ commemorating of its 20th Anniversary at General Assembly Hall of UNHQs in New York on Friday convened by the President of the 73rd General Assembly (PGA)sMaría Fernanda Espinosa Garcés.

Ambassador Masud highlighted that 20 years back, under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, it was an honour for Bangladesh to facilitate this norm-setting resolution the ‘Culture of Peace’ (resolution 53/243).

He said, “It was therefore, not a coincidence that during the first term of the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh mooted the idea of ‘Culture of Peace’ and it was included in the agenda of General Assembly (GA) in 1997 and subsequently on 13 September 1999, the GA adopted the resolution by consensus. It is therefore, gratifying for Bangladesh that when we are observing this 20th anniversary, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is still here to lead our country to peace and sustainable development”.

Ambassador Masud stated, “We’re happy that this notion has now matured into a dominant theme at the UN with widespread resonance. It is noteworthy that in recent years a number of new resolutions have been adopted under this agenda item”. He further added, “We should now engage ourselves to see how best we can utilize the notion to attain Agenda 2030 and even beyond that to sustain the relevance of this agenda”.

Flagging the quest ‘leave no one behind’ in the pursuit to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, the PR said, “In Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has kept people at the centre of our development. Due to her efforts in alleviating factors of conflict like poverty eradication, economic upliftment Bangladesh has experienced much less conflict from within and maintained a peaceful coexistence with her neighbours”.

The President of the General Assembly (PGA) María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés chaired the event and delivered the opening remark. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate LeymahGbowee shared solidarity message and King of the Ashanti people of Ghana his Royal Majesty OtumfuoOsei Tutu II spoke as a keynote speaker at the event.

A classic musical interlude was presented during the opening ceremony by two famous expatriate Bangladeshi artists Ustad Morshed Khan (setar) and Tapan Modok (tabola) which was highly appreciated by the participants.

Member States delivered national statements afterward at the plenary segment. A panel discussion was held in the afternoon at Trustee Council Chamber. The PGA also delivered the closing remark to conclude this daylong event.

Several events were organised as part of commemorating this auspicious occasion. Yesterday a side-event was held at International Peace Institution (IPI) in New York entitled ‘On the Road to Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: Celebrating Twenty Years of the Culture of Peace’.

PGA of the 73rd UNGA María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, IPI Vice President DR. Amem Lupel, Ex Under-Secretary General and ex PR of Bangladesh to the UN Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury and Ambassador Masud Bin Momen participated this interactive discussion.