Bangladesh, 2006

I extend my

delegation’s sincerest congratulations to the President

on her very well-deserved election. I would like to

congratulate her predecessor, Mr. Jan Eliasson, on his

stewardship of the historic sixtieth session of the

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Assembly and to pay a special tribute to the Secretary-

General for his dedicated service to the Organization

over the past decade. It is also my pleasure to welcome

Montenegro as the newest Member of our

Organization.

The Assembly is meeting against a backdrop of

dire human tragedy. The recent wanton Israeli

aggression in Lebanon has shocked the world. Most

disconcerting has been the fact that the international

community failed to respond promptly and effectively,

as colossal devastation wrecked Lebanon and the

Lebanese people. In the end, the Security Council

redeemed itself by ordering a ceasefire in Lebanon. Let

us hope that the Security Council will exercise its

mandated responsibilities so that such atrocities and

violations of human rights do not occur in the future

under any pretext.

Alongside Lebanon, the dire situation in Palestine

has worsened owing to the continuous use of

disproportionate force by the Israeli Government. We

call upon the international community to make sincere

efforts to put the peace process back on track.

The scourge of terrorism knows no boundaries. It

is professed and carried out by a handful, and the vast

majority of victims are innocent men, women and

children. Efforts to combat terrorism and its

protagonists globally and nationally may have seen

some positive results. However, action to combat terror

by individual countries has created divisions between

peoples and affected interfaith harmony. Many

individuals are being subjected to racial or religious

profiling, which foments suspicion, misunderstanding

and even hatred. That is what the terrorists are actually

looking for: to divide the nations of the world. We

must ensure that they do not have their way.

Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia has

unequivocally declared that Bangladesh abjures

religious extremism and does not and will not support

any kind of militancy. The Prime Minister has

reasserted her Government’s vow to eliminate all

militants and their networks. She has called for the

passage of tough laws to punish the perpetrators, whom

she has repeatedly dubbed enemies of Islam, enemies

of democracy, development, humanity and the people

of the country — our country, beloved Bangladesh.

In this connection, I must mention that a small

group of extremists carried out a country-wide

bombing attack on 17 August last year in Bangladesh.

But the extremists underestimated the will of the

Government and the people of Bangladesh. Instead of

fear, there was anger. The Government mobilized all

available resources to relentlessly hunt down the

leaders and the operatives. I am proud to inform the

Assembly that we have been able to bring all the

leaders of the outlawed militant group to justice.

Bangladesh today is what it has always been: a

moderate, tolerant society that practises democracy and

where the equal rights of each and every citizen are

preserved. Our determined action did not allow the

opportunists and the perpetrators of terror to destroy

the values of democracy and tolerance that we treasure

most.

For smaller States, the United Nations remains

the premier world body, addressing the challenges they

face. Despite its shortcomings, the United Nations has

proved invaluable in times of crisis and in the tasks of

preserving global peace and security and promoting

sustainable development.

At present, we are seized of the issue of reform of

the United Nations. Bangladesh holds that reform is a

process and not an end in itself. We do not think that

arbitrary deadlines or pressure in order to obtain a

particular outcome are helpful. It is our belief that, for

meaningful reform, an environment of mutual trust,

confidence and respect for divergent positions is

indispensable.

We trust that the new Human Rights Council will

not be a mere replication of the Commission on Human

Rights. It must not indulge in politicization of its work.

Bangladesh, as an elected member, is committed to

advancing the work of the Council in a fair and

balanced manner.

We hope, too, that the newly constituted

Peacebuilding Commission will fill the existing

institutional gap in the United Nations system to

facilitate the transition from peacekeeping to

peacebuilding. Bangladesh, being one of the largest

contributors to United Nations peacekeeping

operations, will bring its experience to the work of the

Commission in all its aspects.

As the United Nations deals with individual post-

conflict situations, it must not lose sight of wider

issues, such as disarmament and small-arms

proliferation, as well as weapons of mass destruction.

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Bangladesh would like to see sustained efforts by the

United Nations in these very critical areas.

The Outcome Document of the 2005 World

Summit (resolution 60/1), which had development as

its centrepiece, has hardly progressed beyond mere

pledges. For the least developed countries (LDCs), the

savings-investment gap and lack of capital remain the

primary constraints to development. Official

development assistance (ODA) to the LDCs in 2004,

according to the most recent data available, amounted

to $23.8 billion, or $35.70 per person living in these

countries. This is certainly not sufficient to

complement income or boost investment. Faster growth

in exports, and the consequent rise in income, could

help the LDCs accumulate the resources needed for

development. For this, we would need unhindered

market access for all LDC exports. The Doha

development round must resume to ensure special and

differential treatment for the LDCs. We would also

need increased ODA, full debt cancellation, foreign

direct investment and transfer of technology to enhance

the global partnership for development.

We can also increase capital flows to LDCs by

addressing one of the fundamental inequities in the

global financial system. It is utterly inefficient and

unfair that the LDCs cannot utilize their own foreign

exchange reserves — a staggering $28 billion — to

finance their own development efforts and that these

reserves yield very low interest, or none at all. On the

other hand, when LDCs borrow against their own

reserves, they pay a huge premium in interest or

service charges. The United Nations system must lead

the international effort to reform the global reserve

system and to make arrangements that enable the LDCs

to borrow at a zero mark-up of the interest rate against

their own foreign exchange reserves.

The General Assembly has just concluded the

midterm comprehensive review of the implementation

of the Brussels Programme of Action for the LDCs. In

this context, I would like to point out that, unless duty-

free and quota-free market access for all LDC products

is ensured, the agreed development goals and targets

will remain unattained for a long time to come. We call

on the developed countries to fulfil their pledges of

support for the framework to facilitate aid for trade, to

which they have committed many times over. An

effective monitoring capacity under the auspices of the

United Nations can significantly facilitate this task.

Let me now turn to two issues that are of

particular concern to Bangladesh. I begin with

migration. Liberalizing the movement of labour can

generate significant benefits and a win-win result for

both sending and receiving countries, as well as for the

migrants themselves. Numerous studies have found

that a modest commitment under the World Trade

Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in

Services Mode 4 would offer substantial welfare gains

for both developing and developed countries. It may

even exceed the gain of complete market liberalization

in merchandise trade.

The second issue is the threat of natural disasters,

which often undermine our development efforts. The

Asian tsunami was a wake-up call for all of us. In these

times of increasing global interdependence, disaster

risk management is a matter of global concern, as the

impact of a disaster in one region adversely affects

others. Bangladesh has advanced considerably in the

field of comprehensive disaster management. We stand

ready to share our experience, which has been

internationally recognized as the best-practice model.

The United Nations must gear its efforts to introduce

weather insurance and weather derivatives to manage

the risks of natural disasters, especially in developing

countries.

Within weeks of her assumption to power five

years ago with a massive mandate from our people, the

Government of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia

launched a reform programme to restore discipline in

our country. Thanks to our relentless efforts, we could

accelerate the growth momentum remarkably without

destabilizing our macroeconomic fundamentals.

After maintaining a growth rate of 6 per cent for

the past five years, we expect a growth rate of 6.7 per

cent this fiscal year, against the backdrop of a global

economic slowdown. Given natural disasters, political

unrest and many external shocks — such as the global

economic recession, the phasing out of the Multifibre

Arrangement and the oil price hike — that affect our

economies, that is a remarkable achievement.

Keeping our commitment to the Millennium

Declaration, we have already achieved two Millennium

Development Goals by ensuring access to safe drinking

water and removing gender disparity in primary and

secondary education. Enrolment in primary education

has been ensured for 97 per cent of our children. Of

course, there is no complacency on our part and we

11 06-53341

know that we should try to achieve 100 per cent

enrolment in our primary schools.

Apart from those achievements, Bangladesh has

achieved remarkable success in the reduction of child

and maternal mortality and malnutrition and in

improving food security. We have begun channelling

resources to targeted programmes in the light of our

Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Our development

efforts, however sincere, will not reach their goals or

even see the light of day unless they are complemented

by international support.

Bangladesh has been pursuing meaningful

regional cooperation to improve the socio-economic

conditions of South and South-East Asia. As the

current Chair of the South Asian Association for

Regional Cooperation and as members of the Bay of

Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and

Economic Cooperation, the Asia Cooperation Dialogue

and the Developing Eight Countries, Bangladesh has

demonstrated its commitment to working with other

countries of the region. We are working in total

harmony with the nations of our region. Our recent

partnership in the Regional Forum of the Association

of Southeast Asian Nations bears testimony to our

commitment.

The present Government will complete its tenure

towards the end of next month and will hand over

power to a neutral caretaker Government in accordance

with the provisions of the Constitution. We very much

hope to return to work again with the General

Assembly. We have had peaceful transfers of power

over the past three elections under neutral caretaker

Governments when the voters exercised their franchise

freely and without fear or intimidation. The system has

worked and has been accepted by the people.

Democracy has taken firm root in our country and the

next general election will be one more opportunity for

the people to demonstrate that they are the ultimate

source of power.

I end with the assurance that we will work

together for a better tomorrow for future generations.