UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo on Tuesday said the United Nations will continue its support to Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue. Mia Seppo said this when she made a farewell call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganobhaban. PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting. Read: Mia Seppo lauds Bangladesh’s Covid control Hasina told Mia Seppo that Bangladesh has given shelter to the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals on humanitarian grounds. “They should return to their country,” she said. The Prime Minister mentioned that if these Rohingyas -- more than one million – continue to live here it will create various social problems in Bangladesh and said the NGOs which are working in Bangladesh can also work for the Rohingyas in their homeland. They also discussed the issues relating to Covid-19, climate change and women empowerment. The Prime Minister said the government has ensured women participation in every sphere of government jobs and even in sociopolitical areas. Read: World needs journalists more than ever: Mia Seppo Mia Seppo expressed satisfaction over her stay in Bangladesh saying that she had a very good collaboration with the government. Ambassador at Large Md Ziauddin and Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus were present at the meeting. Referring to a recent resolution taken by Asean on Rohingya issue, the Prime Minister said Asean has sent a good message to Myanmar with the resolution.    

UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo has said the recent attacks on Hindus, "fueled by hate speech" on social media, are against the values of the Constitution and need to be stopped. "We call upon the Government to ensure protection of minorities and an impartial probe," she said on Monday. READ: Protesting recent communal attacks, Hindus issue 24 hrs ultimatum before withdrawing Shahbagh blockade

UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo has appreciated the joint efforts in testing, tracing and treating patients, and thus keeping the pandemic under control in Bangladesh. "I’ve been delighted to see how the support provided by the United Nations and our partners has enabled the government to employ innovative methods of testing, tracing and treating patients, and thus keeping the pandemic under control in Bangladesh,” she said.  When Covid-19 arrived in Bangladesh in March 2020, Mia said, there were serious concerns over how the country’s health system would be able to cope with the overwhelming challenges posed by the pandemic.  Read: Climate crisis no longer a looming crisis: Mia Seppo She made the remarks after a delegation from the Government, United Nations, and NGO partners observed efforts to combat COVID-19 transmission in Dhaka. Senior Secretary of the Health Services Division Lokman Hossain Miah and Additional Director General of DGHS, Prof Dr Nasima Sultana also joined the field mission. The Senior Secretary praised the Government’s partners for their support in containing the pandemic in Bangladesh. With funding provided by the World Bank Pandemic Emergency Funding Facility, USAID and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom (FCDO), the government of Bangladesh, several United Nations agencies (FAO, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP and WHO), non-governmental and civil society organizations are conducting an innovative initiative to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 in communities across Bangladesh.  Read: World needs journalists more than ever: Mia Seppo The programme – called the Community Support Team (CST) initiative – deploys teams of volunteers into low-income urban slum communities to help identify symptomatic Covid-19 cases and supports them and their families with home-based case management, hospital referral, telemedicine support, and screens for vulnerable individuals with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.  CST teams are also assisting households with on-the-spot vaccination registration and vaccine card printing.  The teams consist of local volunteers and trained community health workers from a variety of NGO partners, including BRAC, CDP, Himu, and Platform. CST members also distribute locally made cloth masks, provide counseling and guide communities on preventing the spread of the virus by maintaining strict health and safety measures.

UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo on Sunday said the world needs journalists more than ever to bring out truth while effectively dealing with the life-threatening misinformation. “It’s ironic that in a moment with most access to information there’s an avalanche of life-threatening misinformation out there,” she said. The UN official said the journalists have the responsibility to bring out truth, spread science-based facts that save lives, protect people and ensure rights. “That’s the power of your pen. Use that power as a force for good.” The UN Resident Coordinator was addressing the “DCAB Talk” organized by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the Foreign Service Academy. Also read: UN to provide electoral assistance to Bangladesh if requested: Mia Seppo DCAB President Pantho Rahaman and its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin also spoke at the “DCAB Talk” where UNRC Mia shared UN views on Rohingya and Afghanistan crises, issues related to Bhasan Char, climate change, sustainable and inclusive Covid recovery, Digital Security Act (DSA), gender issues and cooperation framework. Mia said reports from journalists can help educate and clarify perceptions; as well as reconcile people and inspire patriotism.

UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo on Sunday said the United Nations (UN) will provide electoral assistance to Bangladesh only if there is any request on that particular front. “The UN doesn’t provide electoral assistance unless we’re asked to provide,” she said, adding that the whole process depends on requests for electoral assistance but the UN does not just step in on its own. UNRC Mia said the UN stands ready to support under the framework of cooperation if there is any request forthcoming. Also read: World needs journalists more than ever: Mia Seppo The UN Resident Coordinator was responding to questions at “DCAB Talk” organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the Foreign Service Academy.

UN Resident Coordinator in Dhaka Mia Seppo on Saturday said the UN and its all the agencies recognise the enormous investment that the government of Bangladesh has made in building Bhasan Char for Rohingya relocation.

The United Nations (UN) has strongly recommended an urgent reform of the criminal justice system to support and protect victims and witnesses, and to speed up the slow trial process expressing "serious concerns" over the increasing violence against women in Bangladesh. "United Nations (UN) expresses serious concerns over the increasing violence against women in Bangladesh. These are heinous crimes and grave violations of human rights. One rape is one too many," said the UN in a statement on Wednesday in the wake of recent rape cases. The case of the woman from Noakhali that was circulated through social media has yet again underlined the state of social, behavioral and structural misogyny that exist, said the U

The UN Resident Coordinator in Dhaka Mia Seppo and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller have appreciated the first sentencing under Bangladesh Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act. 

Bangladesh has established minimum requirements for the production of non-medical fabric masks for community use, making an important step towards safe and regulated production of masks and providing essential guidelines to local manufacturers, RMG sector and NGOs to join the fight against COVID-19. 

A clutch of diplomats stationed in Dhaka on Saturday highlighted the values set by Bangabandhu and the importance of following his ideology of social rights for all.