2022 Speech - Bangladesh
| Session Number | 77 |
|---|---|
| Year | 2022 |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Country Code | BGD |
| Speech |
I heartily congratulate Mr. Csaba Korosi on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy- seventh session. I assure him of my delegation’s full cooperation throughout the session. I also commend his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Abdulla Shahid. I would like to express my deep appreciation to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his strong commitment to making the United Nations more vibrant in its responsibilities.
The theme of this year’s general debate is “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”. Our planet Earth today is plagued by multiple complex and multidimensional challenges, such as climate change, violence and conflict, and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This year’s theme calls for united efforts to find ways to overcome those challenges and revitalize our economy to build a peaceful and sustainable world. To achieve that goal, we need to act collectively without delay. We believe that antagonism, like war, economic sanctions and counter-sanctions can never bring good to any nation. Mutual dialogue is the best way to resolve crises and disputes. In that context, I thank the Secretary-General for setting up the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance. As a champion of the Group, I am working with other world leaders to identify a global solution commensurate with the gravity and depth of the current situation. The father of the nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, formulated our foreign policy dictum “friendship to all, malice towards none”. Bangladesh has been pursuing that principle of non-alignment since its independence. In his maiden address to the Assembly on 25 September 1974, he said: “Our total commitment to peace is born of the realization that only an environment of peace would enable us to enjoy the fruits of our hard- won national independence and to mobilize and concentrate all our energies and resources in combating the scourges of poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and unemployment. “We therefore welcome every effort aimed at advancing the process of detente, relaxation of tension, limitation of armaments and the promotion of peaceful coexistence in every part of the world, whether in Asia, Africa, Europe or Latin America.” (A/PV.2243, p.160) That statement of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib is still equally relevant in the present global context. Bangabandhu believed that peace is the embodiment of the aspirations of all men and women in the world. As a result of war, human beings, especially women and children, suffer tremendously. Many people become refugees. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have adopted strategies to contain the crisis, mainly focusing on three aspects. First, we expanded national health care to prevent the transmission and spread of the infection. Secondly, we have provided strategic fiscal stimulus to safeguard our economy. Thirdly, we have secured people’s livelihoods. Those initiatives have helped reduce the number of deaths due to the pandemic as well as reduce public sufferings. Vaccination is the key to our safe transition from the pandemic. We thank the World Health Organization and its COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) system and our partner countries for providing this vaccine. As of August, 100 per cent of the eligible population of Bangladesh had been vaccinated. We are working towards sustainable economic growth, creating equal opportunities for all and realizing an inclusive peaceful society and social harmony. Bangladesh is now one of the five fastest growing economies in the world. We are forty-first in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). We have reduced the poverty rate from 41 per cent to 20.5 per cent over the past decade. Our per capita income has tripled to $2,824 in just one decade. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, our GDP growth rate in fiscal year 2018-2019 was 8.15 per cent. Earlier, we achieved GDP growth of over 7 per cent for three consecutive years. Even during the pandemic, the economy of Bangladesh expanded by 6.94 per cent in the fiscal year 2020-2021. However, as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, economic sanctions and counter-sanctions, there has been a supply chain disruption and exorbitant price hikes for fuel, food and consumer goods. That has put economies like ours under tremendous pressure. Inflation has been increased. We are taking various initiatives to overcome this situation. In 2026, Bangladesh is going to graduate from least developed countries category to that of developing country. We are working to transform Bangladesh into a knowledge-based developed country by 2041 and building a prosperous and climate-resilient delta by 2100. Bangladesh has achieved significant progress in universal primary education, food security, the reduction of maternal and child mortality, gender equality, women’s empowerment and so on. The literacy rate has increased from 50 per cent to 75 per cent in the past decade. We have placed great emphasis on ensuring an information technology-based education system. Our infant mortality rate has declined to 21 per 1,000 live births, and the maternal mortality rate has decreased to 173 per 100,000 live births. The average life expectancy of our people is now more than 73 years. We have paid special attention to the most vulnerable people in society so that no one is left behind. The coverage of the existing social safety net has been expanded to ensure the social and financial security of destitute women, widows, the elderly, persons with disabilities, third gender people and other vulnerable segments of society. Currently, about 10.7 million people are receiving direct benefits under the social safety net. Improved physical infrastructure serves as the foundation for a strong economic structure. That is why we are building massive sustainable infrastructure, including underwater tunnels, elevated expressways and mass rapid transit systems. Recently, we have added the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, a self-funded asset, to our road communications system. It will facilitate Bangladesh’s local and international trade and enhance regional connectivity. That will ensure at least 1.23 per cent growth in our national income. The impact of climate change is one of the biggest threats to humankind. In the past, we have seen a vicious cycle of promises being made and broken. We must now change this course. In Bangladesh, we have led many transformative measures to tackle the perilous impacts of climate change, consistent with the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. During our presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, we launched the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan, which is aimed at putting Bangladesh on a sustainable trajectory from vulnerability to resilience and climate prosperity. Our national plans and policies on climate change and natural disaster have been made gender sensitive. We are ready to support other vulnerable countries to develop their own prosperity plans. I call on world leaders to promote inclusive climate actions. Migrants continue to face precarious situations in their migration journeys and are denied their rights. To overcome that situation, we must enhance global partnership and solidarity. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and its Progress Declaration give us an excellent road map in that regard. Today complex global crises have reversed decades of development gains of many developing countries. The realization of the 2030 Agenda appears to be a farfetched dream for many of them at this moment. They need targeted support in areas that are severely impacted, including health, education, decent jobs and agriculture. There is no better way than harnessing the potentials of science, technology and innovation. We are witnessing how frontier technologies are rapidly changing the world. It is imperative that everyone, everywhere gets fair and equal access to these technologies. The burgeoning digital divide must be bridged. Sixteen countries, including Bangladesh, are now on track to graduate from the list of least developed countries. However, the evolving global crises have posed serious challenges to our sustainable graduation. We appeal to development partners for enhanced and tailored support. We welcome the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries in that regard. After the peaceful settlement of maritime boundary issues with neighbouring countries, the blue economy has opened a new horizon for the development of Bangladesh. We are committed to working with global partners for the sustainable use, conservation and management of our marine resources to accelerate our socioeconomic development. The effective implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is imperative to harnessing sustainable utilization of ocean resources. In that regard, I also call upon Member States to work closely to bridge the gaps and conclude the much- needed international instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. We are fully committed to complete disarmament, including the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. We ratified the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2019. We have consistently implemented our commitment to peacekeeping operations. As a reflection of our peace-centric foreign policy, we are the largest contributor of troops and police to United Nations peacekeeping missions. They help maintain peace, support the capacity-building of national and local institutions, protect civilians from harm, empower women and other vulnerable communities and build a sustainable society. While performing those duties, many of them have sacrificed their lives. We believe that we cannot sustain peace without addressing the root causes of conflict. As the current Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, we are doing our part by creating a platform for multi-stakeholder engagement in support of the conflict-affected countries. We are committed to pursuing our efforts to strengthen the women and peace and security agenda. We have adopted a zero-tolerance policy on terrorism and violent extremism. We do not allow our territory to be used by any party to incite or cause terrorist acts or harm to others. I also call on Member States to work together for the conclusion of an internationally binding instrument to tackle cybercrime and cyberviolence. As a responsible Member Sate, Bangladesh is fully committed to protecting and promoting the human rights of its own people. We have adopted a holistic and inclusive approach to ensuring the political, economic, cultural and social rights of the people. For example, we have adopted legal provisions to ensure the rights and welfare of third-gender individuals. We have been implementing the Ashrayan project to provide free housing to all homeless and landless families in the country. Since 1997 and for 18 years during the tenure of my Government, we have provided housing to more than 3.5 million people. We believe that continued democratic polity and norms can ensure people’s socioeconomic emancipation. We will continue to extend our support to the Palestinian people. I reiterate Bangladesh’s unequivocal support for the two-State solution, based on the pre-1967 borders and the establishment of a Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital. I shall now turn to the Rohingya people forcibly displaced from Myanmar. Last month marked five years since the 2017 start of the mass exodus of the Rohingyas to Bangladesh from their home country. Despite our bilateral engagements with Myanmar, trilateral discussions with partners and engagements with the United Nations and Member States, not a single Rohingya has been repatriated to her or his ancestral home in Myanmar. The ongoing political turmoil and armed conflicts in the country have made the repatriation of the displaced Rohingyas even more difficult. I hope the United Nations will play an effective role in that regard. The prolonged presence of the Rohingya in Bangladesh has had serious repercussions on our economy, environment, security and sociopolitical stability. Uncertainty over repatriation has led to widespread frustration. Cross- border organized crime, including human and drug trafficking, is on the rise. This situation can even potentially fuel radicalization. If the problem persists further, it may affect the security and stability of the entire region and beyond. The greatest lesson we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is that no one is safe until everyone is safe. We must use the hard-earned lessons to stimulate the critical and much-needed reforms of our institutions, including of the United Nations, to better prepare for such calamities in the future. We are interested in looking for transformative solutions to alleviate poverty, mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, and prevent conflicts and the economic, energy and fuel crises that the world is grappling with now. However, we need to understand the fact that socioeconomic development cannot be achieved without ensuring peace and stability. We want to see the end of the Russia-Ukraine war. Due to sanctions and counter-sanctions, all humankind, including women and children, is being punished. The war’s impact is not confined to one country; rather, it puts the lives and livelihoods of the people of all nations at greater risk and infringes their human rights. People are deprived of food, shelter, health care and education. Children suffer the most in particular. Their future sinks into darkness. I appeal to the conscience of the world to stop the arms race, war and sanctions; ensure food, education, health care and the security of the children; and establish peace. We want to see a peaceful world with enhanced cooperation and solidarity, shared prosperity and collective actions. We share one planet, and we owe it to our future generations to leave it in a better shape. I would like to talk about a cruel tragedy now. On 15 August 1975, my father, the father of the nation, the incumbent President of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was brutally assassinated, along with my mother Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, my three younger brothers, Freedom Fighter Captain Sheikh Kamal and his newly married wife Sultana, Freedom Fighter Lieutenant Sheikh Jamal and his newly married wife Parveen Rosy, and Sheikh Russell, who was just 10 years old. A total of 18 of my family members were killed, including my paternal uncle Freedom Fighter Sheikh Abu Naser, paternal uncle Abdur Rab Serniabat, his 13-year-old daughter Baby Serniabat, 10-year-old son Arif Serniabat and 4-year-old son Shukanto, my paternal cousin Freedom Fighter Sheikh Mani and his pregnant wife Arzu Mani, Brigadier Jamil, and police officer Siddiqur Rahman. May their souls rest in peace. My younger sister, Sheikh Rehana and myself survived the brutality on 15 August 1975, as we were in Germany at that time. After that, we spent six years abroad as refugees. In 1971, when the liberation war going on, the Pakistan occupation forces killed 3 million innocent Bengalis. Two hundred thousand women were heinously tortured and abused. I recall their sacrifices with deep homage. After my father was arrested in 1971, he was taken to an undisclosed location in Pakistan. In Dhaka, my mother, my younger brothers Sheikh Russell and Sheikh Jamal, younger sister Sheikh Rehana and I were arrested, too, and were kept in a damp one-story house. My first child, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, was born in that prison house. There was no furniture in that house. There were no medical facilities or provisions. Even getting daily food was uncertain. Having suffered these things myself, I can rightly realize the pain and agony that people endure due to the horrors of war, killings, coups and conflict. I therefore do not want war. I want peace. I want welfare for humankind. I want economic development for people. I want to ensure a peaceful world, and a developed and prosperous life for future generations. My earnest appeal to Member States is to stop war and the arms race. May the values of humankind be upheld. Let us join our hands together and build a better future, leaving no one behind, so that our future generations may live in a peaceful world. Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu. May Bangladesh live forever. |