Foreign-Affairs
Bangladesh Mission in New Delhi observes Mujibnagar Day
The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi has observed the historic Mujibnagar Day highlighting the significance of the day.
On April 17 in 1971, the first government of independent Bangladesh was sworn in at Baidyanathtala ( Mujibnagar) in now-Meherpur district naming Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the President, Syed Nazrul Islam as Vice-President and Tajuddin Ahmed as the Prime Minister.
Syed Nazrul was made acting President in absence of Bangabandhu who was arrested and jailed in a West Pakistan prison.
The significance of the role the provisional government of Bangladesh played in leading the nine-month War of Liberation and mobilising international support was discussed at a meeting held at the mission.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran paid homage to Bangabandhu placing flowers at his portrait at the Mission on the occasion. High Commission officials and staff were present.
READ: Bangladesh Mission in New Delhi observes Genocide Day
To mark the day, the mission organized a discussion at Bangabandhu Hall of the Chancery on Monday morning.
The meeting was presided over by HC Muhammad Imran.
He paid tributes to Bangabandhu, the greatest Bengali of all times, the four national leaders, Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Capt. Mansur Ali and AHM Kamruzzaman.
He highlighted the significance of Mujibnagar Day and said the Mujibnagar government played a historic role in the freedom struggle of Bangladesh.
The Mujibnagar Day messages of President Md. Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina were read out by Deputy High Commissioner Md. Nural Islam and Minister (Press) Shaban Mahmood respectively.
A documentary on the historic Mujibnagar Day was screened and a special prayer was offered for the progress and development of the country.
Embassy in Washington observes historic Mujibnagar Day
The historic Mujibnagar Day was observed at Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC on Sunday in a befitting manner, recalling the historic ceremonial oath-taking of the first government of independent Bangladesh on 17th April in 1971.
The day's programs began with placing of a floral wreath by Ambassador M Shahidul Islam at the bust of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangabandhu Corner of the Embassy.
Also read:Bangladesh calls for support for sustainable development
Other programs included reading out of messages of President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a discussion meeting on highlighting the significance of the day and screening of a documentary titled "Mujibnagar Sarker".
Taking part in the discussion, Ambassador Shahidul Islam paid rich tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and four national leaders who successfully led the nation’s nine-month war of independence in absence of Bangabandhu.
US to stand by persecuted minorities worldwide: Ambassador-at-Large
The United States is aware of human rights violations and is trying to stand by the minorities who are persecuted around the world, US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain said Sunday.
He held a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCOP) in the capital.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas was also present.
At the meeting, Hussain wanted to know about the current situation of religious freedom in Bangladesh from the leaders of BHBCOP.
Advocate Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of BHBCOP, told the envoy that growing communalism and fundamentalist activities had thrown Bangladesh's religious minorities and indigenous peoples into an existential crisis, according to a press release.
The upcoming election situation is making them fearful, he said.
Ambassador Hussain said he and his family moved to the United States from Bihar of India and had obtained citizenship.
“I was able to come here today, nominated by the President of the United States because the Constitution guarantees equal rights and opportunities for all citizens of that country (USA),” Hussain said.
A fundamental purpose of the American constitution is to ensure the rights of minorities, he added.
Hussain said that changes in the psychological issues of society are not only the responsibility of the government but also the civil society, urging all to come forward in this regard.
He also mentioned the persecution of Muslims in China and the Rohingya in Myanmar.
Hussain assured that the United States will continue to work for the development of democracy and secularism in the world.
Rashad Hussain arrived here on Sunday on a four-day visit to hold a series of meetings with Bangladesh officials.
He is scheduled to meet State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam at his office at the Ministry of Foreign on April 20.
He serves as principal advisor to the secretary of state and advisor to the president on religious freedom conditions and policy, according to the US Department of State.
Hussain leads the department's efforts to monitor religious freedom abuses, persecution, and discrimination worldwide.
He also oversees policies and programmes to address these concerns and works to build diverse and dynamic partnerships with the broadest range of civil society, with equitable and meaningful inclusion of faith actors globally.
He also spearheaded efforts on countering antisemitism and protecting Christians and other religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries.
Bangladesh calls for support for sustainable development
Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam has urged the development partners to join hands with the government to adopt innovative policy in order to provide the poor and vulnerable with the instruments for a sustainable growth.
He reminded the audience that social safety nets have played a vital role in containing the socio-economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Cabinet Secretary was addressing as the chief guest at a workshop on “Lifecycle Based Social Protection Systems in Bangladesh” on Sunday, according to a press release.
Also read:Rab is a brand name for peace, don’t malign it: Shahriar
It was organized under the leadership of the Cabinet Division and with the technical support of the European Union (EU) Technical Assistance to Support Social Security in Bangladesh (TA SSSR).
Around 100 government officials from Cabinet Division and other social protection focal ministries attended the event held at a city hotel.
The European Union-funded the workshop under the framework of its budget support programme in the social protection sector, which aims to support the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) to accelerate social security reforms, in line with the spirit of the 2015 National Social Security Strategy (NSSS).
This budget support operation amounts to EUR 247 million, as direct tranches to the government, and EUR 6.5 million for technical assistance, to support the Cabinet Division and other ministries to better deliver services and increase the number of citizens reached through social security plans and programmes.
Md. Rahat Anwar, additional secretary, Coordination Wing, Cabinet Division and Md Shamsul Arefin, secretary, Coordination and Reforms, Cabinet Division participated in the event as special guests.
The technical session, led by Kavim V Bhatnagar, TA SSSR, reviewed the NSSS focus to consolidate social security programmes within a lifecycle framework.
In a typical life cycle, ranging from early pregnancy to old age, individuals face different risks and vulnerabilities at different stages.
The need for policies to support individuals at each stage of their life, and for social protection strategies to mitigate risks at each stage, said the EU Embassy in Dhaka.
It also highlighted the needs for the GoB to address the most important gaps in lifecycle coverage, for the early childhood and the working-age populations.
Moreover, the technical presentation explored the possibilities of providing social insurance (unemployment, injury, sickness and maternity) and contributory pension, as envisaged under the National Social Insurance Scheme (NSIS), embedded in the NSSS.
With rapidly ageing population of the elderly, the NSSS acknowledges the need to develop a comprehensive pension system that provides a state-guaranteed minimum income for senior citizens belonging to the poor and vulnerable group, while building a contributory pension system for those working age families who want to provide for themselves a higher level of pension income in old age.
Syed Saad Hussain Gilani, Chief Technical Advisor, ILO and Syed Moazzem Hussain, Senior Technical Advisor, GIZ presented their recent projects to pilot an employment injury scheme in the formal sector, showing how the NSIS spirit is translated into reality.
Also read:US HR report appears to encourage creating a “society of lawlessness”: Dhaka
Among the discussants, Dr. Md. Khairuzzaman Mozumder, Additional Secretary, Finance Division highlighted the progressive increment in the national social security budget over the past years and the achievements in the digitalization of beneficiaries’ data and in the number of cash transfers’ beneficiaries paid through G2P.
Mohammad Khaled Hasan, joint secretary, Cabinet Division, presented the Beveridge model, which inspired the lifecycle approach embedded in the National Social Security Strategy and presented the way forward for important social protection institutional reforms.
Hans Lambrecht, Head of Cooperation (acting) at Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh highlighted that one of the challenges for delivery pro-poor, inclusive and shock responsive social assistance and social insurance interventions, is the absence of updated and reliable beneficiaries’ data.
“For this reason, the EU welcomes with enthusiasm the new MoLE planned project to develop a Labour Information Management System (LIMS), with a module on a digital workers registry. Data are a fundamental asset, which needs to be placed in the hands of the government of Bangladesh to ensure that the social security interventions reach the people in need in the shortest time possible. The EU is ready to support the GoB to accelerate this essential reform.”
Rab is a brand name for peace, don’t malign it: Shahriar
Describing elite force Rab as a “brand name for peace” in villages, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam on Sunday said this institution should not be maligned which helped the country contain militancy.
“Please don’t try to malign this institution on which we rely heavily,” he told reporters at a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, apparently referring to the US sanctions imposed on Rab in last December.
He also said, “You go to villages and you will see Rab is a brand name for peace. Rab is a brand name where you will get justice and Rab is a brand name for anti-terrorism activities.”
Also read: Dhaka renews call to Washington to lift Rab sanctions
In the past, the state minister said, Rab had been established on the recommendation of different countries and it has over the years become well-organized and strong with training from a number of countries.
US HR report appears to encourage creating a “society of lawlessness”: Dhaka
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Sunday said the government will ask explanation from the US side on the recently published human rights report noting that there are fundamental flaws in the report.
While briefing reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said the government will also remain engaged with the US government as there are issues of discussion in a number of areas.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen was also present at the briefing.
Also read:Dhaka trashes US HR report as “lie, wrong and misinformation”
Bangladesh, a country of 170 million, follows rule of law, human rights and good governance and therefore, its economic achievements are significant, said the state minister.
The report appears to encourage creating a "society of lawlessness to destabilize" the society and the government, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a separate press statement
Despite all challenges, the government, for the sake of its own commitment made to the people, will continue its endeavours to improve the wellbeing and ensure the rights and dignity of its people, MoFA said.
The report titled ''Bangladesh 2021 Human Rights Report'', was released on 13 April 2022 by the Bureau of Human Rights, Democracy and Labour of the US Department of State.
The government took note of all the observations therein collected mainly from the NGO/INGO sources of reporting.
Information/data has also been collected from newspapers that surely suggest that the media is able to exercise their way of reporting things, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the statement after the briefing.
While a number of unsubstantiated figures vis-a-vis human rights situation posed the purpose of the source questionable, there are also a few factual errors in the report.
For example, MoFA said though "We do not endorse their information, the Ain of Salish Kendra (ASK) mentioned 275 extrajudicial killings in January-May 2018 period, while the US report wrongly cited ASK in mentioning that there were 606 extrajudicial killings in May-June 2018."
When making critical observations and comments about the human rights situation in Bangladesh, the sources often chose to remain forgetful, juxtaposed to their 'statistics' of human rights issues, that Bangladesh is a country of more than 170 million people, and that it is making enormous people-centric development with an ultimate aim of progressively ensuring all human rights of its people in quality terms, the statement reads.
The US report was critical about the status of prohibition of forced labour, but didn't highlight how Bangladesh is progressively realizing the labour rights, Shahriar Alam said.
The report came from a side that ratified only 2 out of 8 fundamental conventions of ILO, whereas Bangladesh ratified all the 8 conventions, he said.
The Government of Bangladesh is of the view that the tendency to impose values of a select few of other countries, like LGBT rights, same sex marriage etc., in the name of human rights violations are "regrettable and uncalled for", MoFA said.
The report tried to capture broad range of issues, even including 2018 election, which compromised with substance and objectivity, it said.
A few instances of the partial pictures the report captured in highlighting protection gap in the legal system include, arbitrary arrest, for example.
"No act of arrest by the law enforcement agencies goes unaccountable bypassing the magistrate of the court. In each case, the magistrate decides whether an arrest is lawful or not," MoFA said.
Therefore, MoFA said, the law enforcers don't enjoy the immunity of commissioning 'Arbitrary Arrest'.
Also read:Bangladesh to get US support in improving, widening coastal embankments
Again, the government said, throughout the report the existing system of accountability of the law enforcement agencies is heavily underplayed.
"The legal system does not allow killing by arbitrary use of firearms. The magistrate requires members of the law enforcement agencies to account for every single use of firearms, without lawful explanation of which faces legal action."
The death sentences to the 16 RAB officials in the Narayanganj seven-murder case, or the recent death sentences to two police officials in the Major Sinha murder case in Cox’s Bazar, are examples of accountability and non-impunity to law enforcers, MoFA said.
While referring to cases of enforced disappearance, the report did not mention whether the families of the disappeared persons filed cases with the court to report 'enforced' disappearance at the time of the occurrence, according to MoFA.
"In the absence of such case, or the victim family's voluntariness of filing a case reporting disappearance, it is rather unlawful to conclude that law enforcement agencies abducted."
In fact, Bangladesh can also quote from many authentic sources on similar abuses and violations existing everywhere, MoFA said.
The report also surprisingly mentioned a few Rohingya cases without adequate acknowledgement that the government continues to remain supportive of an environment respectful of the basic rights and well-being of Rohingyas, despite not being a Party to the 1951 Convention, it said.
Also the report mentions about deaths of Rohingyas in the high sea, the tragic incidents which do not have any relevance with Bangladesh’s efforts to ensure wellbeing, according to MoFA.
The Government of Bangladesh does not deny the fact there are indeed a lot of areas of development to ensure better protection and promotion of human rights, and the government is continuing to make steady strides towards that end, reads the MoFA press statement.
The government underscores that there are indeed capacity issues to adequately observe the standards of human rights, it said, adding that "A gesture of cooperation with support for strengthening the capacity across the relevant systems would be helpful to address the gaps."
The government remains intensely engaged with the UN human rights mechanism, and receptive of constructive recommendations from all international development partners, including the USA, said MoFA.
Shringla, BGMEA chief discuss ways to boost bilateral trade
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has met Foreign Secretary of India Harsh Vardhan Shringla at his official residence in New Delhi on Saturday. BGMEA Director Tanvir Ahmed was also present at the meeting.
Also read: Dhaka, Delhi will soon be connected through 6 rail links: Shringla
They discussed potential areas of cooperation and collaboration to enhance trade between Bangladesh and India. Their talks also focused on existing problems in export-import trade and non-tariff barriers, especially in textiles products trading and possible ways to address them. Faruque Hasaan pointed to the huge opportunities that lie ahead for Bangladesh and India. Both neighbouring countries can gain mutual trade benefits by complementing each other, particularly in boosting apparel and textile businesses, he said He said, “India is one of the major markets for importing raw materials for our RMG industry. We import man-made fiber, yarn, fabric, chemicals, machinery, dyes etc. Bangladesh is giving emphasis on high-end MMF-based apparel items. India, as a major supplier of textiles including MMF fabrics can meet the growing demand of Bangladesh.” On the other hand, India is a promising export market for Bangladeshi readymade garments due to geographical proximity, competitive price and quality, he said.
Also read: India to remain resolute in dealing with security challenges in region: Shringla So, both countries have scope to tap into the reciprocal trade benefits, he added. The BGMEA President requested the Indian Foreign Secretary for steps to expedite and facilitate trade, especially removing non-tariff barriers and simplification of export-import procedures through the land ports in order to reduce time and cost.
Bangladesh to get US support in improving, widening coastal embankments
The US will support Bangladesh in improving and widening its coastal embankments as part of a climate change adaptation effort.
Bangladesh will also get assistance from the US in improving renewable energy and afforestation.
The assurance came as Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen held a meeting with John Kerry, US President Joe Biden's special envoy for climate change, on the sideline of the 7th "Our Ocean Conference" during April 13-14.
Momen attended the conference in Palau, an island country in the western Pacific Ocean, at the invitation of Kerry, according to the foreign ministry.
The US envoy lauded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's global leadership on the climate front and urged Bangladesh to join the Global Methane Pledge to get assistance in reducing emissions from solid waste.
Countries joining the Global Methane Pledge commit to a collective goal of reducing global methane emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030.
Momen described the potential of Bangladesh in harnessing the promises of the blue economy and called for US support to create employment in this sector.
Russia says proud of long-term partner Bangladesh's socio-economic success
Russia has said they stand together with their long-term partners while "proudly observing" Bangladesh's "incredible leap" in socio-economic development.
"We cherish the golden pages of our common history" and appreciate the similar sentiments from the Bangladeshis, said the Russian Embassy in Dhaka Friday, marking 50 years of the Soviet naval operation at Chattogram port.
The seaport's functioning was disrupted during the Liberation War, and the nascent country was experiencing serious difficulties in receiving humanitarian aid and food.
US religious freedom ambassador Hussain to arrive in Dhaka Sunday
US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain is likely to arrive here Sunday on a four-day visit to hold a series of meetings with Bangladesh officials.
Indian-American Hussain serves as principal advisor to the secretary and advisor to the president on religious freedom conditions and policy, according to the US Department of State.
Hussain leads the department's efforts to monitor religious freedom abuses, persecution, and discrimination worldwide.
He also oversees policies and programmes to address these concerns and works to build diverse and dynamic partnerships with the broadest range of civil society, with equitable and meaningful inclusion of faith actors globally.
Read: Thailand favours increased connectivity and trade with burgeoning Bangladesh, says its envoy
Before this appointment, Hussain was the director of the National Security Council's Partnerships and Global Engagement Directorate.
From 2015 to 2021, he served as senior counsel at the Department of Justice's National Security Division.
During the Barack Obama administration, Hussain served as the US special ambassador to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, special envoy for strategic counterterrorism communications and deputy associate White House counsel.
He also spearheaded efforts on countering antisemitism and protecting Christians and other religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas is scheduled to attend a programme at BIISS auditorium on April 24 that will highlight Bangladesh-US ties.