Antonio Guterres
FM greets UN chief Guterres on re-appointment
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has congratulated António Guterres on his re-appointment as the secretary-general of the United Nations.
He commended Guterres' leadership in the UN during his first term as secretary-general.
Dr Momen also thanked him for his continued attention to the Rohingya issue.
Also read: Guterres gets second term to lead UN
The foreign minister said, "Although Bangladesh is on track towards implementing SDGs, there are concerns about the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in securing financing for the SDGs."
Dr Momen also called for continued support measures for graduating countries.
The UN has special relations with Bangladesh, said Guterres.
He praised Bangladesh's strong leadership in all areas of the UN's activities, especially in peacekeeping, climate change and women empowerment.
Dr Momen met with the UN secretary-general at the UN Headquarters Thursday.
Share vaccines to cope with new surges, variants: UN
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has renewed his call for countries to share vaccines, particularly with those that are struggling to cope with new surges and variants.
He also renewed his call to the international community to come together to address the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19 pandemic.
Read:UN authorizes AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine for emergency use
"There is an urgent need for increased global solidarity to ensure that vaccines are available to everyone, everywhere," said his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric in a regular briefing on Friday.
Equitable access to vaccines is a prerequisite for ending the pandemic and kick-starting a strong recovery, he said.
The UN welcomed the announcement made by the Biden administration that it will be sharing millions of vaccine doses with both the COVAX facility as well as bilaterally with countries in particular need.
The Administration announced its framework for sharing at least 80 million U.S. vaccine doses globally by the end of June and the plan for the first 25 million doses.
Read: UN Chief for ensuring equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccine
The Biden-Harris Administration on Thursday announced an allocation plan for the first 25 million doses to be shared globally.
Approximately 7 million doses will be shared in Asia covering countries and entities including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands, according to White House.
The United States will share vaccines in service of ending the pandemic globally.
The United States will share 75% of these vaccines through COVAX.
The United States will share at least three-quarters of its donated doses through COVAX, supplying U.S. doses to countries in need.
"But I also want to add that the Secretary-General is extremely grateful to the United States Government for the inclusion of United Nations personnel and Member States delegates serving in the United States in its national vaccination programme, and for the generous offer to provide vaccines for United Nations frontline personnel serving in the most challenging and dangerous locations around the world," said the UN Spokesperson.
This donation, he said, will allow the UN staff to stay and deliver critical services to vulnerable people around the world in a safe and effective manner.
UN to honour eight fallen Bangladeshi peacekeepers
The UN will honour eight fallen peacekeepers from Bangladesh to mark the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on Thursday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said their service and sacrifices will never be forgotten, according to a press release from the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Dhaka.
Guterres will preside over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be awarded posthumously to 129 military, police and civilian peacekeepers, including the eight from Bangladesh. They lost their lives serving under the UN flag last year and in the first month of this year, the release said.
Also read: Bangladesh calls for greater int’l efforts for safety, security of peacekeepers
He will lay a wreath to honour more than 4,000 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948.
The fallen Bangladeshi peacekeepers are Abdul Md Halim who served with MINUSMA; LCpl Md Abdulla Al Mamun and Sgt Mohammad Ibrahim who served with United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), Sgt Md Mobarak Hussain, LCl Md Saiful ISLAM, Md Saiful Imam Bhuiyan and Sgt Md Ziaur RAHMAN who were deployed with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); and Washerman Nurul AMIN of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Bangladesh is the largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping.
Also read: UN lauds Bangladesh's peacekeepers
It currently deploys more than 6,600 military and police personnel to the UN operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Mali, South Sudan, and Western Sahara.
In a message to mark the Day, the Secretary-General said: “I express my deep gratitude to the 85,000 civilian, police and military personnel currently deployed in some of the world’s most challenging hotspots to protect the vulnerable and help to build peace.
The theme for this year’s observance is “The road to a lasting peace: Leveraging the power of youth for peace and security.”
Read Dhaka seeks strong global resolve to end Palestinian crisis permanently
Israel Palestinian Conflict: UN chief welcomes cease-fire, urges negotiations
The United Nations chief is urging Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers to observe their cease-fire, and he says the international community must develop a reconstruction package “that supports the Palestinian people and strengthens their institutions.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters after Thursday’s announcement of an end to 11 days of deadly clashes that “Israeli and Palestinian leaders have a responsibility beyond the restoration of calm to start a serious dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict.”
Guterres says the U.N. is ready to work with Israel, the Palestinians, and international and regional partners to return to “meaningful negotiations” on a two-state settlement based on territorial lines before the 1967 war.
He says Hamas-controlled “Gaza is an integral part of the future Palestinian state and no effort should be spared to bring about real national reconciliation that ends the division” with the rival Fatah-led Palestinian Authority that governs the West Bank.
Read:Palestinian minister: Cease-fire in Gaza is `not enough’
GAZA CITY — Hamas is calling the Gaza cease-fire “a victory” for the militant group in its struggle against Israel.
Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya made that characterization while addressing a rally in Gaza City.
Al-Hayya claims Israel failed to destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure, and says the group’s fighters are still “striding proudly” in the underground tunnels.
He did not reveal the terms of the deal.
JERUSALEM — The top United Nations envoy to Israel and the Palestinian territories is welcoming the cease-fire in the latest war between Israel and the Hamas- militant group that rules Gaza.
Tor Wennesland said early Friday on Twitter that he extends his “deepest condolences to the victims of the violence & their loved ones.”
He also thanks Egypt and Qatar for their work with the U.N. in brokering the deal that ended 11 days of fighting.
He adds that now “the work of building #Palestine can start.”
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip are taking to the streets to celebrate the cease-fire reached after an 11-day war between Hamas and Israel.
At 2:00 a.m., just as the cease-fire took effect, frenzy of life returned to the streets of Gaza. People went out from their homes in the night for the first time since the war began, shouting “Allahu Akbar,” whistling from balconies, and many firing in the air.
More rallies are expected across the Gaza Strip later Friday.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is hailing the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ending an 11-day war.
Biden spoke from the White House shortly before the ceasefire was set to go into effect in Gaza, where Israel has struck hundreds of targets in retaliation for Hamas firing thousands of rockets into its territory.
Says Biden: “I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress and I’m committed to working for it.”
Biden said the U.S. was committed to helping Israel replenish its supply of interceptor missiles for its Iron Dome protection system and to working with the Palestinian Authority – not Hamas — to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Let's work together to defeat COVID-19: UN chief
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for working together to defeat COVID-19 and ensuring that digital technologies are a force for good that help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
"On World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, let us commit to work together," he said adding that they should not leave anyone behind.
The United Nations, through a Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and the vital work of the International Telecommunication Union, aims to make the transformation equitable, safe, inclusive and affordable for all, with full respect for human rights.
Also read: Restore planet amid pandemic: UN chief
The UN chief made the remarks in a message marking the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day that falls on May 17.
Guterres said digital technologies sustain life, work, health and learning for billions of people.
Also read: Let's plant seeds for sustainable future: UN chief
In the face of COVID-19, he said, businesses, governments and the digital community have proven resilient and innovative, helping to protect lives and livelihoods. "These challenging times have accelerated the transformation everywhere."
Yet 3.7 billion people – nearly half the world’s population – remain unconnected to the Internet; and of these, the majority are women, said the UN chief.
Also read: UN chief lauds Bangladesh’s Covid mitigation efforts
"They, too, must be included if we are to make the possibilities of 5G, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, digital health and other technologies truly transformative and sustainable," he said.
"We must also protect against the dangers of digital technologies, from the spread of hatred and misinformation to cyberattacks and the exploitation of our data," Guterres added.
PM to highlight challenges, efforts on climate front at Leaders' Summit on Climate
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will deliver her speech virtually at the "Leaders Summit on Climate" on Thursday highlighting the climate-related challenges Bangladesh faces and the efforts it is undertaking.
Prime Minister Hasina, also President of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), will address the inaugural session of the Summit titled "Raising Our Climate Ambition" with other global leaders, an official told UNB.
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will open the inaugural session of the two-day Summit at 6pm (Bangladesh Time).
This session will underscore the urgent need for the world’s major economies to strengthen their climate ambition by the time of COP 26 to keep the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach.
It will provide an opportunity for leaders to announce new steps to strengthen climate ambition.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will also join.
Also read: FM: Bangladesh’s points to be on agenda of Biden's Climate Summit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Russian President Vladimir Puti, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are among participants invited by the US President.
The second session will be on "Investing in Climate Solutions."
Realise rights of all persons with disabilities: UN
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said all must realize the rights of all persons with disabilities, including persons with autism, ensuring their full participation in social, cultural and economic life to truly leave no one behind in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.
"Let us work together with all persons with disabilities and their representative organizations to find innovative solutions to recover better and build a better world for all," he said in a message marking the World Autism Awareness Day that falls on April 2.
Also read: Researchers 'successfully test' drug for children with autism
Guterres said as they work together to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, one key goal must be to build a more inclusive and accessible world that recognizes the contributions of all people, including persons with disabilities.
He said the crisis has created new obstacles and challenges. "But efforts to reignite the global economy offer an opportunity to reimagine the workplace to make diversity, inclusion and equity a reality."
Also read: 50,500 children with autism in country: Zahid Maleque
Guterres said recovery is also a chance to rethink the systems of education and training to ensure that persons with autism are afforded opportunities for realizing their potential.
"Breaking old habits will be crucial. For persons with autism, access to decent work on an equal basis requires creating an enabling environment, along with reasonable accommodation," he said.
Guterres urges ‘decisive action’ to avoid debt crisis in developing world
Though significant steps have been taken to prevent debt crises across the world sparked by the COVID-19 crisis, they have not been sufficient to restore economic stability in many developing countries, according to a policy brief issued by the UN Secretary-General on Monday.
More than a year into the pandemic, the fiscal impacts of the crisis are triggering debt distress in a growing number of countries and is severely limiting the ability of many, to invest in recovery and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including urgently needed climate action, Secretary-General António Guterres said.
Also read: Let's plant seeds for sustainable future: UN chief
According to the policy brief, 42 economies borrowing from capital markets have experienced sovereign downgrades since the start of the pandemic, including 6 developed countries, 27 emerging market economies, and 9 least developed countries.
Sovereign downgrades cause borrowing costs to rise, especially for developing countries, which can, in turn, increase the risk of more nations taking on unsustainable debt – especially if the Covid-19 pandemic is more protracted and deeper than expected.
“Unless we take decisive action on debt and liquidity challenges, we risk another ‘lost decade’ for many developing countries, putting the achievement of the SDGs by the 2030 deadline definitively out of reach,” Guterres said.
The policy brief, entitled Liquidity and Debt Solutions to Invest in the SDGs, takes stock of the global policy response since April last year, assess remaining gaps and challenges for their implementation, as well as propose updates to the recommendations, presented last year, in light of developments over the past 12 months.
Need for debt relief
The brief highlights the need for debt relief to create space for investments in recovery and for achieving the SDGs.
Even in the cases of elevated debt, new borrowing can lead to improved creditworthiness if it finances productive investments, it noted, adding that debt relief can also free up resources, create conditions under which countries can return to voluntary market access, and may lower a country’s overall borrowing costs, with positive impacts across the whole economy.
Assistance for small island states
The Secretary-General also urged governments to provide fresh concessional financing for developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States, recapitalise multilateral development banks and accelerate the timetable for replenishing the funds, meet official development assistance (ODA) commitments and provide long-term financing to developing countries for investment in long-term growth.
In support of recent endorsements from the G7, the document also called for a new general allocation of special drawing rights reiterating the need to combine a voluntary reallocation of the rights from developed to developing countries.
The brief also urged the G20 to extend the World Bank’s Debt Suspension Initiative (DSSI) until the end of June 2022 and include middle-income countries, notably small island developing States that have been gravely affected by the crisis.
It also urged the bloc to extend the eligibility for debt relief under its Common Framework for Debt Treatment Beyond the DSSI to other vulnerable countries on a case-by-case basis, as well as consider other mechanisms that would allow countries to access the framework, without compromising the credit rating.
Also read: UN chief lauds Bangladesh’s Covid mitigation efforts
Financing the 2030 Agenda
The policy brief was released to coincide with the high-level meeting of Heads of State and Government on ‘Financing for Development in the era of COVID-19 and Beyond’.
The virtual meeting on Tuesday, followed up on a series of meetings and last year to mobilise action to assist the economic recovery from the pandemic.
The high-level meeting is convened jointly by the Secretary-General Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada.
‘Liquidity is vital’
Addressing the high-level meeting, Guterres called for urgent assistance for developing countries so they have the financial liquidity they need to respond to the pandemic as well as invest in recovery, or risk a “lost decade” in development terms.
“I’m encouraged to see that our insistence on the necessity for a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the reallocation of unused SDRs to support vulnerable countries, including middle income ones, is now winning widespread acceptance … let us make sure it happens – and is properly managed to the benefit of the developing world”, he said.
Also read: UN Chief for ensuring equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccine
The Secretary-General urged a “three-phase” approach to debt, including a moratorium on debt payments, targeted debt relief, and reforms to the international debt architecture.
He also called for more responsible borrowing and lending, accepted by debtor and creditor countries, investors, market participants, credit rating agencies and international organisations, highlighting the need for a time-bound, open dialogue to build trust and transparency in a systematic, inclusive way.
“Together, with collective resolve, we can help all countries invest in response, recovery, and a more sustainable, resilient future.”
Myanmar: UN expert urges emergency summit to head off deepening crisis
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has warned that the pace and scope of the international response to the military coup in Myanmar is falling short of what is required to head off a deepening crisis.
Andrews on Thursday called on UN Member States, including those in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union, the United States and China, to hold an emergency summit of all stakeholders, including the duly elected illegally deposed parliamentarians who make up the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH).
“Conditions in Myanmar are deteriorating,” he said, “but they will likely get much worse without an immediate robust, international response in support of those under siege.
“It is imperative that the international community heed the recent call of UN Secretary-General António Guterres for a ‘firm, unified international response’,” Andrews said.
Also Read: UN: 38 died on deadliest day yet for Myanmar coup opposition
To date, however, the limited sanctions imposed by Member States do not cut the junta’s access to revenue that help sustain its illegal activities, and the slow pace of diplomacy is out of step with the scale of the crisis.
“The incremental approach to sanctions has left the most lucrative business assets of the junta unscathed. It needs to be replaced by robust action that includes a diplomatic offensive designed to meet the moment," he said.
Andrews stressed that he is receiving reports indicating that the situation in Myanmar is in danger of spiralling further out of control and warned of a dramatic increase in loss of life.
“Without a focused, diplomatic solution, including the hosting of an emergency summit that brings together Myanmar’s neighbours and those countries with great influence in the region, I fear the situation of human rights in Myanmar will further deteriorate as the junta increases the rate of murders, enforced disappearances and torture,” he said.
Andrews said it is critical that the people of Myanmar, the CRPH, and opposition leaders and activists see that the international community is working towards a diplomatic solution in support of the peaceful Civil Disobedience Movement.
Also read: UN official: Myanmar people want UN sanctions, peacekeepers
This combined course of action — domestic peaceful resistance, sustained pressure, and international diplomatic momentum — will have a greater chance for success than taking up arms and will save untold numbers of lives.
“Member States have an opportunity to demonstrate this alternative, but the window in which this can be achieved is closing rapidly. I fear that the international community has only a short time remaining to act," he said.
Let's plant seeds for sustainable future: UN chief
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said more than 1 million of the planet’s estimated 8 million plants and animal species are at risk of extinction today.