UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres concluded his Ramadan solidarity visit on Sunday morning, expressing his hope that Bangladesh would become one of the most perfect democracies in the world through reforms. Guterres left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 9:55am on Sunday. UN chief voices “concern” over disinformation targeted against Bangladesh: Foreign Adviser Environment, Forests and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Chief Adviser's High Representative for Rohingya issue Khalilur Rahman saw him off at the airport. Before his departure, the UN Secretary General spoke to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus over the phone and exchanged farewell greetings, CA's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder told UNB. Before leaving Dhaka, Guterres expressed his total solidarity with the efforts that Bangladesh is taking in order to introduce reforms that will make Bangladesh "one of the most perfect democracies" in the world. During his visit, the secretary-general met with top officials, including Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus; Foreign Adviser Md Towhid Hossain, and High Representative Khalilur Rahman. He visited the Rohingya camps to share Ramadan Solidarity Iftar with about 10 million Rohingya when he was accompanied by the Chief Adviser. He also joined a roundtable discussion on reforms, met with Bangladeshi youth representatives and members of the civil society. Guterres, who arrived in Dhaka on March 13, said Bangladesh can count on full support of the UN in its way to provide its citizens a set of institutions which will be able to guide the country towards "sustainable and inclusive" development. During iftar and early dinner hosted by Chief Adviser Dr Yunus on Saturday, Guterres expressed his deep admiration to him and his team for the work they are conducting. He reiterated that Bangladesh can count on the UN's full solidarity in mobilis.ing all their capacities to support the reforms in Bangladesh. Guterres highlighted Bangladesh’s support to the United Nations and its mission, particularly in peacekeeping. Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping operations, with thousands of soldiers serving in some of the world’s most dangerous environments. UN chief acknowledges people’s hopes for democracy, justice, prosperity “I want to pay tribute to the sacrifices and dedication of Bangladeshi peacekeepers,” he said. Regarding Bangladesh's efforts to support over 1 million Rohingya refugees, Guterres said Bangladesh's generosity is "absolutely outstanding". "You have been a remarkable example....that should be followed," said the UN chief.

The Office of the United Nations Secretary-General has said that UN Secretary-General António Guterres will undertake an official visit to Bangladesh from March 13-16. Not for UN Secretary-General to designate an event as genocide: Spokesman The visit follows an invitation from Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Dr Muhammad Yunus, which was handed over by Dr Khalilur Rahman, High Representative of the Chief Adviser on the Rohingya Issue and Priority Matters, during his meeting with the Secretary-General on February 7 in New York.

The United Nations hopes that the next general polls will be the best election in the history of Bangladesh. "We are supporting the EC to conduct a free, fair election; hopefully the best election in the history of Bangladesh, and that is the aspiration," Stefan Liller, Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh told reporters after joining a briefing for development partners, arranged by the Election Commission. Envoys and representatives of 18 countries including USA, UK, EU, Japan, China, South Korea, also attended the briefing held at the EC office in Dhaka. Stefan said that the matter of the timeframe of the next general election is upto the interim government and the Election Commission. Bangladesh’s general election scheduled for Dec 2025 "We have nothing to do with that," he said. Stefan said that the EC made a request to the UN in December last year for electoral support, and based on that request a needs assessment team visited in January for two weeks to decide what type of technical support the UN can provide to EC. On the basis of their recommendation they had some initial discussion with the development partners on different areas, including strengthening the EC, the training institutions, voter registration and others.

Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Kirstine Damkjaer, will pay an official visit to Bangladesh from February 11 to 12. The visit aims to review the stage of cooperation between the government of Bangladesh and UNOPS to identify additional areas of cooperation focusing on issues of climate change, disasters and development cooperation, according to the UN. Bangladesh-Canada FIPA could boost business confidence: Minister Hussen The UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNOPS Deputy Executive Director will converge with high-ranking government officials and advisers of the interim government of Bangladesh, focusing on sectors in which UNOPS is already collaborating, such as healthcare, climate Change and Sustainable Infrastructure. The UN Assistant Secretary-General will also visit the National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH), one of the 29 hospitals benefiting from the PSA oxygen plant project being implemented by UNOPS with funding from the Global Fund and in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Program and the Centre for Disease control and -Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). This initiative is among the most significant healthcare support projects currently being implemented in Bangladesh. During her visit to the hospital, she is expected to meet with the Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). UNOPS supports the Government of Bangladesh in advancing the country’s healthcare services. UNOPS is also implementing the EU-UNOPS Lives in Dignity Grant Facility for the climate-induced migrants in the coastal regions with other stakeholders. UNOPS supported Bangladesh as a Fund Manager through the ‘Strengthening Humanitarian Preparedness and Response’ programme USD 205 Million financed by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). In climate change and environmental sustainability, UNOPS supports the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) in implementing the "Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia" project, financed by the World Bank. UN Human Rights Office to launch OHCHR fact-finding report on July movement Moreover, UNOPS has provided extensive procurement services to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) to strengthen its operational capacities.

Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Ambassador Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury has called for transforming the peacekeeping missions into more environmentally friendly entities. At an event held at the UN Headquarters in New York recently, he briefed about the contribution of Bangladesh’s peacekeepers in the field and called for adopting innovative approaches, saving biodiversity of the host countries and training of the peacekeepers to supplement the work of Agenda 2030. Bangladesh delegation to the UN along with Missions of Germany, Italy, Republic of Korea and Slovenia co-hosted the side event on “Environmental Impact of UN Peace Operations – from Ambition to Action.” UK remains Bangladesh’s steadfast partner with growing trade: Sarah Cooke Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare and a large number of delegates from member States attended the event, said the Bangladesh Mission on Tuesday. Moderated by the Permanent Representative of Slovenia, the side event was organized to raise awareness on the issues and to discuss the achievements of the UN peace operations in reducing its environmental footprint as well as possible transition to renewable energy options.

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday met Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus in the Swiss city of Davos. During the meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, Antonio Guterres and Dr Yunus exchanged pleasantries. CA Dr Yunus begins hectic 2nd day in Davos with 14 meetings lined up The Chief Adviser also had a brief conversation with European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde on the sidelines of the WEF meeting. UAE invites Dr Yunus to attend World Governments Summit in Dubai

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has started assessing the needs to provide assistance to the Election Commission to hold the next parliamentary elections. The UNDP will complete the need assessment within 10 days following talks with the Commission and other stakeholders, including civil society, academicians and political parties. “The Election Commission sent the United Nations a letter requesting assistance before the UN could provide technical assistances to the Bangladesh Election Commission. We need to do need assessment,” said United Nations Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis in Bangladesh after a meeting with the EC on Tuesday. A UNDP delegation, accompanied by a need assessment mission came from New York, first met Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin and then four election commissioners and EC officials at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital. Based on the talks with stakeholders, there will be some recommendations made the election commission over what technical supports the UN could provide, said the UN resident coordinator. She said the UNDP may extend assistance for a wide range of issues, including capacity development, technology support, help over misinformation and disinformation. Replying to a question, she said, “We’re really on the first days and trying to understand what the needs of the Election Commission are and understand how the Election Commission like to run the elections and there are already works in terms of updating the electoral rolls.” Govt demands clarification from UN on Rohingya exodus report Noting that the door-to-door works are going to start to update the electoral rolls, she said some technologies might be need there. Gwyn Lewis said the EC has made a request for technical supports for different aspects of the works ranging from IT capacity development, help with misinformation and disinformation and wide range of issues. “The (need assessment) mission will finish it within 10 days and will come back here to present it before the EC,” she said. EC senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the commission sought assistance from the UNDP for the election process. The assistance is related to technology --hardware and software—, training for capacity building, development of communication materials and other issues, he said adding that the delegation came here to review the needs. “They have talked to us and will talk to other stakeholders.  They will come back to us with a proposal over the needs within 10 days,” he said. Denmark, AUW to promote women´s climate leadership Replying to a question about the timeframe of the next general election, the EC Secretary said the CEC and other election commissioners said that they were working in line with the window given by the Chief Adviser. Citing an example, Akhtar Ahmed said the UNDP would not assist to collect data during the door-to-door campaign rather help to process data to update the electoral rolls.

The world economy resisted battering by conflicts and inflation last year and is expected to grow a subdued 2.8% in 2025, the United Nations said Thursday. In “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025,” U.N. economists wrote that their positive prediction was driven by the strong although slowing growth forecast for China and the United States and by the robust performances anticipated for India and Indonesia. The European Union, Japan, and United Kingdom are expected to experience modest recovery, the report says. “We are in a period of stable, subpar growth,” said Shantanu Mukherjee, chief of the Global Economic Monitoring Branch at the Economic Analysis and Policy Division at the U.N.'s Department of Economic and Social Affairs. “This may sound a bit like what we were saying last year, but actually if you lift the hood and take a peek at the engine things are humming,” he said. The report says the U.S. economy outperformed expectations last year thanks to consumer and public-sector spending, but growth is expected to slow from 2.8% to 1.9% this year. The report points out that China sees its own strong growth slowing slightly from 4.9% in 2024 to 4.8% in 2025 due to lower consumption and property-sector weaknesses that are failing to make up for public investment and export strength. This is forcing the government to enact policies to lift property markets, fight local government debt and boost demand. Read: ADB, WTO strengthen collaboration for sustainable economic growth in Asia-Pacific region China's “shrinking population and rising trade and technology tensions, if unaddressed, could undermine medium-term growth prospects,” the report reads. The U.N. projected last January that 2024 global economic growth would be 2.4%. It said Thursday that the rate was estimated to have been higher, at 2.8%. Both remain below the 3% rate that the world saw before the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020. European growth this year is projected to gradually pick up after a weaker than expected performance in 2024. Japan is poised to pick up from periods of near-recession and recession. India is expected to drive a strong outlook for South Asia, with regional growth projected at 5.7% in 2025 and 6% in 2026. India's 6.6% growth forecast for 2025 is backed by solid private consumption and investment growth, the report says. “The global reduction of poverty over the past 30 years has been driven by strong economic performance. This has been especially true in Asia, where rapid economic growth and structural transformation have allowed countries such as China, India, and Indonesia to achieve poverty alleviation unprecedented in scale and scope,” the report says. Read mor: Japan reaffirms commitment to support Bangladesh’s reform agenda and economic growth “The world economy has largely avoided a broad-based contraction despite the unprecedented shocks of the last few years and the most prolonged period of monetary tightening in history,” said Li Junhua, director, of the Economic Analysis and Policy Division at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. However, he cautioned, “the recovery remains driven primarily by a few large economies.”

Home remains the deadliest place for women, with an average of 140 women and girls being killed each day by an intimate partner or family member in 2023, according to a report released on Monday by two U.N. agencies. The report, issued by UN Women and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, states that approximately 51,100 women and girls were killed by an intimate partner or family member worldwide in 2023, up from around 48,800 victims in 2022. The report, published on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, clarified that the increase in numbers was primarily due to improved data availability rather than a rise in killings. However, both agencies emphasised that this form of gender-based violence affects women and girls everywhere, with no region untouched. The report reaffirmed that "the home is the most dangerous place for women and girls." Africa recorded the highest number of intimate partner and family-related killings, with an estimated 21,700 victims in 2023. The continent also had the highest rate of such deaths relative to its population, with 2.9 victims per 100,000 people. The Americas and Oceania also had high rates, with 1.6 female victims per 100,000 in the Americas and 1.5 per 100,000 in Oceania. In contrast, Asia and Europe had significantly lower rates, at 0.8 and 0.6 victims per 100,000, respectively. Read: Families must be cautious to secure female child from harassments: Speakers The report highlighted that in Europe and the Americas, most women killed within the private sphere are victims of intimate partners, while male homicides tend to occur outside of homes and families. It further noted that while men and boys represent the majority of homicide victims overall, women and girls remain disproportionately affected by lethal violence within the family. Nearly 60% of all women intentionally killed in 2023 were victims of intimate partner or family member homicide, despite women making up only 20% of all homicide victims. Despite efforts to prevent violence against women, the report expressed concern that such killings continue to occur at "alarmingly high levels." The agencies stressed that these deaths are often the result of repeated gender-based violence and could be prevented through timely and effective interventions.

The United Nations and other international organizations are bracing for four more years of Donald Trump, who famously tweeted before becoming president the first time that the 193-member U.N. was “just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.” In his first term, Trump suspended funding for the U.N. health and family planning agencies, withdrew from its cultural organization and top human rights body, and jacked up tariffs on China and even longtime U.S. allies by flaunting the World Trade Organization’s rulebook. The United States is the biggest single donor to the United Nations, paying 22% of its regular budget. Trump’s take this time on the world body began taking shape this week with his choice of Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York for U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Stefanik, the fourth-ranking House member, called last month for a “complete reassessment” of U.S. funding for the United Nations and urged a halt to support for its agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA. President Joe Biden paused the funding after UNRWA fired several staffers in Gaza suspected of taking part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas. Here’s a look at what Trump 2.0 could mean for global organizations: ‘A theater’ for a conservative agenda Speculation about Trump’s future policies has already become a parlor game among wags in Washington and beyond, and reading the signals on issues important to the U.N. isn’t always easy. For example, Trump once called climate change a hoax and has supported the fossil fuel industry but has sidled up to the environmentally minded Elon Musk. His first administration funded breakneck efforts to find a COVID-19 vaccine, but he has allied with anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “The funny thing is that Trump does not really have a fixed view of the U.N.,” said Richard Gowan, U.N. director for the International Crisis Group think tank. Gowan expects that Trump won’t view the world body “as a place to transact serious political business but will instead exploit it as a theater to pursue a conservative global social agenda.” There are clues from his first term. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris climate accord and is likely to do it again after President Joe Biden rejoined. Trump also had the U.S. leave the cultural and educational agency UNESCO and the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, claiming they were biased against Israel. Biden went back to both before recently opting not to seek a second consecutive term on the council. Trump cut funding for the U.N. population agency for reproductive health services, claiming it was funding abortions. UNFPA says it doesn’t take a position on abortion rights, and the U.S. rejoined. He had no interest in multilateralism — countries working together to address global challenges — in his first term. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls it “the cornerstone” of the United Nations.