Online Desk  :  The United Nations, UN, has reaffirmed its strong support for the reform initiatives of Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Professor Muhammad Yunus.The universal global organisation came up with the pledge at a meeting between its Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peace building Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo and visiting Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin in New York on Wednesday, a foreign ministry’s press release said on Friday.

The foreign secretary thanked DiCarlo for the assurance terming the UN support as ‘crucial’ in realizing the aspiration of student-led July-August revolution. During the meeting, they also discussed Bangladesh’s contribution to the UN peace architecture, and the protracted Rohingya crisis. On UN peace operations, the foreign secretary made a request to the UN through USG to increase representation of Bangladeshi nationals at the senior policy making levels.

About the Rohingya issue, Jashim underlined ‘global attention as well as global action’ to solve the crisis. He expressed concerns that the current conflicting situation in Myanmar is leading to new influx of Rohingyas inside the territory of Bangladesh. Alluding to the possible spill over in the entire region, the foreign secretary urged the UN to play a greater role in resolving the crisis in Myanmar and facilitating the repatriation of the Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar.

He also assured of Bangladesh’s full cooperation to the special envoy of the secretary-general. The foreign secretary recalled the proposal of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus to convene an international conference on the Rohingya crisis, and requested the UN support in that regard. In response, the under-secretary-general appreciated the ongoing cooperation between the Bangladesh’s interim government and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

She offered further cooperation to advance the reform initiatives in key areas. She also commended the role of Bangladesh in UN Peacekeeping. On the Rohingya issue, DiCarlo expressed hope that new Special Envoy of the Secretary General Julie Bishop will continue to work with all stakeholders to address this issue comprehensively.

Earlier, the foreign secretary delivered a statement at the Third Committee of the General Assembly on ‘advancement of women’. In his statement, he highlighted the importance of investing in women education and skill development, and underscored the need to mobilize necessary financial resources in this regard. Jashim emphasized Bangladesh government’s initiatives in female education, gender parity, close digital divide, ensuring wellbeing and economic empowerment of women to make them self-reliant.

The foreign Secretary also highlighted Bangladesh’s commitment to the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, CEDAW and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda while mentioning Bangladesh’s key role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the adoption of its founding resolution 1325 in 2000.