UN General Assembly
Hasina places six proposals before world to fight Covid
Terming Covid-19 a common enemy, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has placed six proposals before the global leaders to fight the deadly virus with fresh, inclusive and effective ideas.
“Sadly though, this malaise (Covid-19) seems to be here for a while, and therefore, as we had in the past, must come forth with fresh, inclusive, and global ideas to fight this common enemy. Let me highlight a few specific issues in this regard,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while delivering her speech in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) debate at the UN Headquarters on Friday.
Address vaccine inequality
In her first proposal, Hasina said for a Covid-free world, “We must ensure universal and affordable access to vaccines for people across the world.”
In the last UNGA, Hasina said, she called for treating Covid-19 vaccines as a ‘global public good.’ This was echoed by many other leaders. “Yet these calls remain largely unheeded. Instead, we’ve seen growing ‘vaccines divides’ between the rich and the poor nations.”
According to the World Bank, she said, 84 percent of vaccine doses have so far gone to people in high and upper middle-income countries, while the low-income countries received less than 1 percent.
“This vaccine inequality must be urgently addressed. We cannot chart out a sustainable recovery and be safe by leaving millions behind,” she said.
She also said immediate transfer of vaccine technologies could be a means to ensure vaccine equity. Bangladesh is ready to produce vaccines in mass scale if technical know-how is shared with us and patent waiver is granted.
Covid’s disproportionate impacts
In the second proposal, she said the pandemic has disproportionately impacted the climate vulnerable countries. “Unless there are immediate measures, the devastating impacts of climate change will be irreversible. No country, rich or poor, is immune to the destructive effects. We, therefore, call upon the rich and industrialised countries to cut emissions, compensate for the loss and damage, and ensure adequate financing and technology transfer for adaptation and resilience building.”
She said as the Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Vulnerable Twenty Group of Ministers of Finance, Bangladesh has launched the “Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan – Decade 2030” outlining a transformative agenda from climate vulnerability to climate prosperity.
She said the upcoming COP-26 Summit in Glasgow provides a good opportunity to rally support for such new and inclusive ideas. “Let us not miss out on this opportunity.”
Read: PM joins opening session of 76th UNGA general debate
Climate crisis no longer a looming crisis: Mia Seppo
UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo has said the climate crisis is no longer a looming one but it is widespread, rapid and intensifying.
“Few countries know this better than Bangladesh,” she said, adding that this pressing issue (climate crisis) will play a central role in the current session of the UN General Assembly.
In a recent programme with the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh, Mia said the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a code red for humanity.
But it also made clear that it is not too late to meet the Paris Agreement 1.5 degree target. “We’ve the tools to achieve this target but we are rapidly running out of time,” said the UN Resident Coordinator.
Read:World needs journalists more than ever: Mia Seppo
Countries like Bangladesh have not historically contributed to the problem but are bearing the brunt of its consequences, with the most vulnerable being hardest hit, she said.
While the global outlook is dire, Mia said, the impact on the Asia Pacific is particularly alarming.
Sea-level rise is reportedly occurring faster than the global average and the region is predicted to experience more intensive heat waves and heavier rainfall in the decades to come, said the UN official.
Moreover, with the majority of the world’s poor in the Asia Pacific, the impacts of climate change threaten to push millions more into poverty and hardship, she said.
For Bangladesh, Mia said, the IPCC predicts more frequent high-intensity cyclones and storm surges they create, which are particularly devastating for already-vulnerable coastal regions undermining livelihood security, food and water security, and fuelling internal displacement and migration.
She said climate change threatens to increase the level of poverty and inequality, pushing poorer Bangladeshis into situations of protracted economic uncertainty.
And as urban migration increases in the years to come, Mia said, public infrastructure will be put under further stress, creating a host of social protection concerns for those already at risk.
Read: UN to provide electoral assistance to Bangladesh if requested: Mia Seppo
According to a recent report, sea-level rise alone is predicted to submerge 17 percent of the country by 2050, leaving approximately 20 million people homeless.
Mia said this does not take into the account the millions more who will be forcibly displaced by extreme weather events or the slow-onset impacts of climate change, such as saltwater intrusion.
In line with continued global leadership on climate advocacy, the UN official acknowledged that Bangladesh, as the chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, has made a similar plea for greater recognition of the cross-cutting impacts of climate change on human rights, peace and justice.
Mia hoped that Bangladesh will use the expertise for advancing the human rights, climate and environmental justice agenda domestically, too.
DCAB President Pantho Rahaman and its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin also spoke at the DCAB Talk held at Foreign Service Academy on Sunday.
Things to watch at the UN General Assembly meeting this week
Things to watch beyond the main speeches from leaders at this week’s high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York:
— A MEETING at U.N. headquarters on Wednesday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the U.N. conference on racism in Durban, South Africa will be closely watched. It is being boycotted by the United States, France, Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia because of concerns about anti-Semitic statements at the 2001 meeting.
— THERE ARE also high-level meetings on energy and the nuclear test ban treaty, and a summit on the connected system of producing, processing, distributing and consuming food, which according to the U.N. contributes an estimated one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. The U.N. Security Council will hold a high-level meeting Wednesday on climate and security.
Read:UNGA: No scope for side events this time due to Covid-19
— USUALLY, HIGH-LEVEL WEEK has hundreds of side events but because of the COVID-19 pandemic only a limited number are being held mainly virtually or outside U.N. headquarters. These include events on vaccines, on children as invisible victims of the coronavirus and conflict, on multilateralism and democracy, and on global hotspots including Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
— THE OUTCOME of a meeting Wednesday of the foreign ministers of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council is eagerly awaited. Afghanistan and other major global challenges are expected to be on the agenda, including the lack of progress on the United States rejoining the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Iran’s new foreign minister, Hossain Amir Abdollahian, is coming to New York and there is speculation that he may meet with the five countries that remain part of the deal — Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
Afghanistan, terrorism, Indo-Pacific, climate change on Modi's US trip agenda
Cementing bilateral ties, stabilisation of Afghanistan, counterterrorism, Indo-Pacific and climate change are expected to be on the agenda when Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes on a three-day visit to the US this month, reports The Hindustan Times.
While the scheduling of programs and engagements of PM Modi will be worked out by the advance team, which is expected to reach the US on September 9, the visit will begin with a bilateral with US President Joe Biden in Washington on September 23 followed by a physical summit meeting of QUAD partners the next day. PM Modi is expected to address UN General Assembly on September 25 before flying back to India. This is the first international visit of PM Modi after he travelled to Bangladesh in March 2021.
Read:India's August Vaccination Tally Higher Than G7 Nations Combined: Centre
Apart from strengthening bilateral ties, the security and diplomatic ramifications of Taliban controlled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific will be on top of the diplomatic agenda as PM Modi will hold his first physical meeting with Joe Biden after he took over as President this year. This will also be the first QUAD physical summit with Australian and Japanese heads of government even though there is a question mark on the physical availability of Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga as he has decided to step down. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed his availability for the QUAD summit.
Afghanistan and the role of regional players like China, Russia, and Iran will be priority agenda with Pakistan openly playing cards in the formation of the government in Kabul. While countries like UK and Germany are seeking Pakistan Army’s support in engaging the Taliban, Lt General Faiz Hameed, DG, ISI, is parked in Kabul for the past two days to ensure that a pro-Pakistan government is formed and ensuring that resistance in Panjshir is eliminated with the help of Pakistani commandoes in mufti. Amrullah Saleh, the face of Panjshir resistance, is the principal target of ISI as the former first vice president of Afghanistan has always blocked the grandiose plans of the Pakistani intelligence agency. It is a matter of concern that despite Pakistani ISI, which runs the terror factory in the Af-Pak region, running the show in Kabul with a tired international community watching the events silently.
The QUAD summit will not only discuss the regional security of the Af-Pak region but also the Indo-Pacific as China will be a net gainer of the ascent of Taliban in Afghanistan via its client state Pakistan. The bilateral engagement and QUAD summit will pave the way for the decision on the legitimisation of the Taliban regime for the concerned countries individually. Despite the Taliban claiming that it will not allow Afghanistan to be used against a third country, the Sunni Pashtun Islamists refuse to disavow the al Qaeda terrorist group and are virtually run by the pro-Pakistan Haqqani Network terrorist group. The Taliban are a votary of global jihad till the world turns into Dar-ul-Islam.
Read:Kashmir leader’s family charged under India anti-terror law
At the meeting of the QUAD, the architecture of the four-nation grouping could be announced, a sort of rules of engagement that have been worked out by the foreign ministers of the participating countries.
PM Modi will address the UNGA with India a non-permanent member of the UNSC on September 25. While he is expected to address the core issues facing the world, the speech will be forward-looking with a focus on climate change and terrorism. It is another matter, that the UN has been found to be performing below par when it comes to critical issues including Afghanistan or terrorism.
UNGA: No scope for side events this time due to Covid-19
The Ministry Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said there is no scope for any country, as advised by the UN headquarters, to hold any side events during the 76th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 76) next month due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The decision to hold any event on the sidelines of the UNGA depends on the country concerned and there is no need to take permission from the United Nation, said the MoFA in a media release as it dismissed a media report on this as “misleading”.
The ministry, however, said the concerned country discusses with the concerned authorities for logistic and technical supports if that country wants to hold any event on the sidelines at the UN headquarters.
The 76th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 76) will open on September 14. The first day of the high-level General Debate will begin September 21.
Read: PM likely to join 76th UNGA in person
The UN has already shared the Covid-19 related guidelines and Bangladesh is trying to hold some side events maintaining health protocols.
Many side events were arranged in the six years when Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen was a Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN which helped brighten Bangladesh’s image in the international arena and protect Bangladesh’s interest, said the ministry.
No permission was required to host such side events at the UN headquarters, it said.
Currently made up of 193 member states, the UN and its work are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.
FM's NY Visit: Dhaka to press for early repatriation of Rohingyas
Bangladesh will reiterate its position seeking quick and sustainable repatriation of Rohingyas as Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen left here for New York on Sunday morning to attend two important events at the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
One of the events will be on Myanmar's current situation where Bangladesh will reiterate its call to the international community for quick and sustainable repatriation of Rohingyas, said Dr Momen.
"Our priority is repatriation. They (Rohingyas) must be repatriated. We want to make Rohingya repatriation a condition," he said, mentioning that much has been talked about democracy and the overall situation in Myanmar.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar district and Bhasan Char.
Also read: Rohingya repatriation looks uncertain: Hasina tells UNGA President
No Rohingya was repatriated over the last four years amid the "absence of conducive environment" in Rakhine State and lack of confidence among the Rohingyas, officials said.
Dr Momen said President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozkir invited him during his recent visit to Bangladesh.
"There’ll be very good discussion. Many will join it," said the Foreign Minister.
76th UNGA session: Maldives elected president, Bangladesh VP
Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid was elected president of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Monday.
Also, Bangladesh was elected vice-president of the same session from the Asia-Pacific region. Twenty-one vice-presidents are elected for each session of the UNGA according to a pattern that ensures equitable geographical representation.
Bangladesh lauded at UN for leadership in promoting mother language, multilingualism globally
President of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir has acknowledged Bangladesh’s distinct role in the proclamation of International Mother Language Day by the UN and also lauded Bangladesh for its leadership in promoting the importance of mother language and multilingualism globally.
‘No place’ for coups in today’s world, UN chief tells Myanmar military
On the opening day of a new UN Human Rights Council session on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his “full support to the people of Myanmar”, three weeks after the military takeover that has brought thousands out onto the streets in protest.
Bangladesh reaffirms commitment to nuclear-free world
Bangladesh has reiterated the clarion call made by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at his historic maiden address to the UN General Assembly in 1974, “to free the world from the scourges of nuclear war.”