Bangladesh, 1994

I warmly congratulate

you, Sir, on your unanimous election as President of the

General Assembly at its forty-ninth session. Your

election is a tribute not only to you personally but also to

your great country, Côte d’Ivoire. I am confident you

will carry forward the high tradition set by your

predecessor, Ambassador Samuel Insanally of Guyana, to

whom we owe our deep appreciation.

The untiring efforts of the Secretary-General,

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, to renew, reform and

revitalize our Organization deserve our special tribute.

As we stand at the threshold of the United Nations

fiftieth anniversary, one goal remains paramount, namely,

the need to promote human development and human

security in all its manifold aspects. The role and

relevance of the people are enshrined in the very first

words of the Charter. People form the key link that bind

our global society, the source of democracy, the object of

humanitarian concern, the spirit of justice in ensuring

human and minority rights. They are the cause and

object of all our endeavour.

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Too often, people have been ignored, to our peril. As

we see the stricken faces of men, women and children

around our world, the dead, the brutalized, the frightened

and dispossessed, the hungry, diseased and despairing, this

lesson is dramatically brought home by the media. And yet

our sense of purpose and achievement is ennobled as we

witness the new light of hope dawning in South Africa, the

Middle East, Cambodia and in many other States and

societies where the painstaking process of peace, democracy

and development take root and where solutions are

characterized with a human face.

Individuals find identity in nations and nations derive

cognition in universalism. The success or failure of the

United Nations stems from the contribution each Member

makes to promote its goals. The Organization’s principal

motivation arises out of the responsibility borne by each

nation for the stability and welfare of its own people. It is

the sum total of these individual efforts that marks the

United Nations measured progress towards maintaining

peace, securing justice and realizing the Charter prerogative

of “social progress and better standards of living in larger

freedom”.

The limitations of Governments are also painfully

evident. International cooperation has become an

imperative, not only because it is possible or necessary, but

because it is indispensable in a world that has moved from

interaction to interrelationship to interdependence.

As we seek to seize opportunities and confront

challenges at every level — individual, national or

global — we are deeply aware of the contradictory forces

at work, forces that emanate from both within and without

our nations. The way we channel these forces into

productive activities will determine the success of our

common endeavour to forge a just and stable world order.

On the positive side, ideological walls have tumbled,

democracy has spread worldwide, more caring and

responsible Governments have come to power and

economic empowerment and social imperatives have

lessened reliance on military culture. Pragmatic cutbacks

in strategic weapons and a heightened focus on the

destabilizing capabilities of conventional weapons have

opened doors for more productive use of human, financial

and material resources. Historic political changes in the

Middle East and South Africa and political settlements in

Asia and Central America can have a far-reaching positive

impact on those regions.

After a long period of stagnation the global economy

is poised for its first significant expansion. The

successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round and the

creation of the World Trade Organization as a universal

forum for trade negotiations and the settlement of disputes

have brightened prospects for increased trade and long-

term growth. More importantly, the desire and ability of

developing countries to contribute to the growth of the

world economy and help to mitigate common global

concerns as participants and not as bystanders has

significantly increased.

Yet, negative impulses everywhere challenge peace

and security, democracy and human rights, economic

progress and social cohesion. Together, they call for a

concerted response, nationally and internationally, that is

new and imaginative. Today, issues of territorial security

are being overshadowed by concerns over human security.

There is increasing recognition of non-military threats to

security. Nation States are under siege from multiple

forces from within and without that are retarding their

capacity to act effectively and independently.

Within States resurgent micronationalism and

factionalism based on narrow self-interest, ethnic and

cultural rivalries, bigotry and extremism have contributed

to unprecedented human misery. Political instability has

fuelled economic breakdown, and economic backwardness

has fired political upheaval in a never-ending vicious

circle. Poverty, unemployment and social exclusion

pushed by the population explosion, rapid urbanization,

environmental degradation and a crisis in values, together

with rising expectations, have led to social dislocation,

alienation and sometimes violent confrontation.

Demagogues, political separatists and fringe elements are

being encouraged and supported by powerful external

groups to challenge the capability and legitimacy of

Governments to sustain socio-economic reform, peaceful

progress and political stability.

New global forces have emerged that no State acting

alone can control but which threaten the legitimacy of all

States. Pollution, ecological damage, the spread of

communicable diseases and the massive speculative

transfers of monies by electronic means have been the

cause and manifestation of a host of cumulative ills.

These have been exacerbated by corrosive new threats —

organized crime, drug lords, traffickers in women and

children, arms smugglers, money launderers and

terrorists — that eat into all societies, vitiating values and

crippling development. Furthermore, rapid technological

progress and transnational processes are reducing the

9

scope of nation States to act on their own, to regulate

domestic policies and the international movements of

goods, services, labour and capital.

On another plane, fears are surfacing that the bipolar

world of the past 50 years could now assume a new

configuration, a North-South polarity, not between opposing

political and social systems but between rich and poor

nations. Anxiety is increasing in the South that its interests

are being marginalized; that there is a diversion of

resources away from the South; that its potential to act as

a partner in revitalizing the world economy is being ignored

and new constraints, aid conditionalities, rigid adjustment

measures, standards of human rights and good governance,

environmental criteria and military scrutiny are being

selectively imposed. There are signs that, while social and

environmental issues are being highlighted, vital economic

and development imperatives are being sidelined, although

both are integrally related and mutually reinforcing.

Indeed, there is a crisis in development policy, which

manifests itself in stagnation, absence of dialogue,

selectivity and insufficient interest, participation and

commitment.

It is against the backdrop of those prospects and

problems that I now turn to the position and priorities of

our Government. There is strong recognition in Bangladesh

today that to promote representative and constitutional

government, strengthen human rights and ensure socio-

economic emancipation a country must increasingly depend

on itself. Individual self-reliance must be bolstered by

collective self-reliance through South-South cooperation in

concrete and practical areas of cooperation such as food

production, manpower planning, trade, investment and joint

ventures. The critical catalyst, however, remains a

reactivation of a constructive North-South dialogue leading

to a more conducive external environment that can

supplement individual efforts.

Reaching out to the attainment of these goals,

Bangladesh has a development policy that embraces a

fourfold perspective: addressing structural and

macroeconomic reform; stimulating the market economy;

increasing the quality and amount of productive

investments; and concentrating on human-resources

development, particularly the empowerment of women.

These perspectives are all linked together by the unifying

theme of the alleviation of poverty. The cardinal emphasis

is on the connection between structural adjustment and

alleviation of poverty — that is, the quantity and quality of

programmes favouring the needs of the poor and most

vulnerable.

Our efforts at reform and consolidation have led to

some positive results. Bangladesh is enjoying today

perhaps the longest period of macroeconomic stability in

its history. The budget deficit has been reduced. Imports

and exports have increased. Foreign-exchange reserves

are comfortable, inflation is at an all-time low, and there

is increased self-reliance in financing our annual

development plans. Today we are financing 38 per cent

of our development projects from our own resources. We

have achieved near self-sufficiency in food production,

and the overall gross-domestic-product growth rate has

reached 5 per cent. The incidence of absolute poverty

has decreased and some headway has been made in

advancing our human-development policy.

We can reasonably be proud of our efforts to

stabilize population growth and contain and mitigate the

impact of natural disasters. A concerted and determined

family-planning programme has yielded positive results.

Population growth has fallen from 3 per cent to

2.03 per cent, accompanied by progress in reducing

family size; declining infant, child and maternal mortality

rates; and expansion of the immunization programme to

cover 74 per cent of all children.

We believe that the recent successfully concluded

Cairo International Conference on Population and

Development has strengthened our efforts in dealing with

three critical, interlinked issues — namely, a holistic

approach to development, of which population policies are

but one essential element; informed choice in accordance

with the laws and culture of each society; and the vital

issue of garnering and allocating additional resources.

Preparedness and planning for disasters helped us

contain the consequences of the devastating cyclone of

1994 without recourse to outside help. Bangladesh was

able to save countless lives by timely evacuation of

hundreds of thousands of people and to get on with

rehabilitation and reconstruction measures on its own.

Democracy has taken firm root in Bangladesh. Like

all democracies we have our share of domestic

differences, but we remain fully committed to working

out our differences through democratic dialogue and the

rule of law. Fragile democratic institutions and traditions

in new democracies need strong and sustained

international support. Our experience has demonstrated

vividly that without improved standards of living and a

vision of the future that can sustain hope, democracy will

wither. Equally, without people’s participation the

potential for socio-economic progress cannot be achieved.

10

It is also clear that, to survive within States, democracy

needs to be sustained through democratization among States

so that it can expand universally as an essential foundation

for cooperation. We firmly believe that the restoration and

consolidation of democracy worldwide within States and

among States is a vital bed-rock for peace.

We are indeed happy that the 1993 World Conference

on Human Rights, in Vienna, upheld the right to

development as a basic human right and as a vital catalyst

in mutually reinforcing the interrelationship of democracy,

development and human rights. Widespread poverty and

economic deprivation seriously vitiate the protection and

promotion of human rights in many societies, despite the

best of intentions. These realities need to be recognized for

a realistic evaluation of human rights in developing

countries.

For national efforts to succeed, it is essential to create

an atmosphere of peace within our own region. Bangladesh

continues to sustain the momentum and viability of the

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

(SAARC), not only to promote its fundamental socio-

economic mandate but also to create a more receptive

climate for broad-based confidence building, to reduce

tension in the region and to contribute to the resolution of

outstanding differences through dialogue and negotiation.

A major endeavour of Bangladesh, as the current

Chairperson of SAARC, has been to consolidate

cooperation between members so that they may, in the

words of our Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, turn into

partners of development to combat poverty in the region

and meet the most important challenge to security from

hunger, disease, ignorance and prejudice. The Prime

Minister stated that the options of unilateralism and

bilateralism might seem tempting in the short run but in the

long-term interests of the SAARC spirit we need to display

more commitment for multilateralism and for building a

better regional consensus.

Bilaterally, we have taken important steps to strengthen

constructive relations with all our immediate neighbours in

pursuit of our policy of friendship, cooperation and peaceful

coexistence with all countries of the world. The exodus of

250,000 Myanmar refugees to Bangladesh since 1991 has

imposed an enormous socio-economic and environmental

burden on our country. The rate of repatriation is still

slow, and we hope that with the policy of mass registration

carried out by the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) the pace of

repatriation will pick up and all the refugees will return to

their country.

There has been some improvement in our relations

with our largest neighbour, India, on the issue of the

return of Chakma refugees and on that of economic

interactions. However, the critical issue of sharing

Ganges waters remains unresolved. Meanwhile, one dry

season has followed after another without any water

flowing to the Ganges and this is having a cumulatively

disastrous effect on the economy and environment of one

third of our country and on the socio-economic survival

of 40 million people. We earnestly hope that India, our

partner in the South Asian Association for Regional

Cooperation and our neighbour, would agree to a fair

sharing of common rivers, including the Ganges. We

hope our common friends would recognize the

implications of the situation and encourage the support of

an early and equitable solution.

National efforts in the absence of global cooperation

have only limited prospects of improving the human

condition and ensuring peace, justice and development.

Recognizing this fact, we are engaged in perhaps the most

comprehensive exercise ever undertaken to streamline our

Organization, to reform and restructure its main organs

and, together, to forge a more meaningful agenda, one

that is action-oriented, cost-efficient and adequately

funded. The Secretary-General has set the stage with his

proposals put forward in An Agenda for Peace and in An

Agenda for Development. The structure and shape of this

world agenda that is leading us into a new century has

been given more refined substance by a variety of

concentrated suggestions: the outcome of world

conferences and the follow-up to them, making possible

legislation and new and innovative proposals. They form

a continuum that is closely integrated and interrelated.

Bangladesh has been an active participant in this

concerted build-up. Certain key imperatives strike us as

particularly important. The end of the cold war should

not mark the end of competition to support development

around the world. The global society is only as strong as

its weakest link. The world cannot prosper if the poorest

continue to decline. Peace and development are

intrinsically interlinked, and peacemaking and peace-

keeping must go hand in hand with peace-building.

Resolving social issues must be based on the

recognition of the centrality of the individual, the

acceptance of human equality, and the worth and dignity

of the human person. Yet social development is

predicated on progress in economic development.

Together with environment and population, it forms the

logic of comprehensive sustainable development. These

11

are not separate concerns, but integrated within a composite

whole. The core of development and its main impetus will

remain accelerated economic growth fuelled by the input of

additional resources and by resource generation.

The growing divide between rich and poor among and

within nations is of central concern. The plight of the least

developed countries assumes special poignancy at a time

when the world economy has yet to show convincing signs

of recovery, macroeconomic coordination is weak and

poverty is inexorably deepening. The unabated

development crisis calls for urgent remedial action,

especially to implement quickly the 1990s Programme of

Action for the Least Developed Countries. A proper

response to these problems requires accelerating growth,

writing off debts, wider and preferential access of exports

to markets of developing countries markets, enhanced flow

of foreign direct investment and supportive action in the

area of services and labour.

The phenomenon of widespread and increasing

unemployment and underemployment in both developing

and developed countries needs to be addressed as a matter

of urgency. Today, even food availability is determined by

access to employment and financial resources. Rectifying

the situation of jobless women and combating poverty

among women are major priorities.

Reducing damage to the ecosystem and mitigating the

consequences of natural disasters continue to be a great

burden for all concerned. Unchecked consumption of

resources, production patterns triggered by developed

countries and the real plight of the poor need to be dealt

with through remedial action rather than analysis.

There has been an increase in the movements of

people across borders as migrants, persons seeking asylum,

refugees or displaced persons. Much closer introspection

is required to analyse and solve this crisis. A key factor

would be the promotion of socio-economic development

and the protection of migrants.

Strengthening the rule of international law is

imperative, inasmuch as it offers certainty, predictability

and the assurance of the legitimate interests of all States.

This continues to be the only real protection for smaller and

weaker States, especially in areas where the absence of law

can mean a serious potential for conflicts such as the

scarcity and sharing of water, maritime jurisdiction,

transboundary pollution and environmental damage, and

so on. In this context, we welcome the entry into force,

on 16 November 1994, of the International Convention on

the Law of the Sea.

A critical yardstick for all these concerns is the issue

of limited resources and the need for new and additional

resources. At the heart of the matter is the need for a

commitment to enhance the entire development cause

rather than particular interests. It calls for balancing

long-term interests that will not only address continuing

emergencies and immediate conflicts but will face up to

the underlying silent crisis of development.

The absence of peace in our world is a continuing

reality. It is manifest in an immense array of conflicts,

no two of which are alike. They call for solutions that

must be adapted to widely differing circumstances in new

and creative ways. Past, present and potential conflicts

haunt us. Many nations bear the burden of recent

devastation and ethnic strife. No one is safe from the

threat of nuclear overkill and nascent nuclear

proliferation. The ongoing arms race, the potential of a

return to antagonistic spheres of influence, and the threat

of regional hegemony all carry within them the dangers

of conflict and destabilization. Yet today, the real heart

of our concern is the recognition that any viable solution

must be directed towards promoting development as a

fundamental impetus for, and long-term measure of,

peace.

Among Bangladesh’s major priorities are the

following.

First, of key importance is the preservation of the

security of smaller and weaker States and the

strengthening of the rule of law. The enhanced role and

contribution of the International Court of Justice now

assumes much greater relevance.

Secondly, the reduction of military expenditures is

essential for development and peace. Escalating arms

expenditures continue to consume too large a share of

productive resources and capacities. From 1987 to 1992,

the cumulative peace dividend resulting from reduced

military expenses and cut-backs in arms amounted to

some $500 billion in both developed and developing

countries. Little of this dividend was channelled into

development. Reduced reliance on military security must

also be buttressed through monitoring, regulating and

limiting the growing traffic in arms, especially the

clandestine arms trade.

12

Thirdly, regional efforts and regional disarmament are

vital imperatives to stabilize peace. Regional groups can

and must harness durable structures of stability at the base,

through confidence-building measures and broad-based

socio-economic cooperation. For the first time, in the wake

of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe

(CSCE) process, Asia has begun to look hard at steps

towards Asian security. The United Nations Centre for

Disarmament Affairs has initiated over the past five years

a vital process of dialogue and interaction that has opened

up useful prospects and potential. These provide an

analytical base that strongly supports the goal of promoting

regional security arrangements under Chapter VIII of the

Charter.

Disarmament and arms control are the major vehicle

to reduce the threat of destabilization, economic decline and

tensions leading to war. A new momentum has been

generated that needs to be pushed and sustained. Progress

towards negotiating a comprehensive nuclear test ban, the

signing of the chemical weapons Convention, the

establishment of a Register on conventional arms — these

are important milestones on this road. A strengthened

nuclear non-proliferation regime has gained in significance

with important advances in nuclear disarmament. A critical

concern is the objective of extending the Non-Proliferation

Treaty (NPT) either indefinitely or for limited periods,

contingent on progress on the other objectives of the

Treaty, nuclear disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear

technology. Bangladesh is committed to support the

continuation and strengthening of the NPT, and we look

forward to actively participating in the 1995 review and

extension Conference.

Bangladesh has purposefully contributed to United

Nations peace-keeping efforts, and stands proud of its

record as the fourth largest contributor of troops, dispersed

over 10 conflict areas. We strongly add our voice in

concert with those who seek to make peace operations a

more effective instrument of collective security and to

enhance the structural framework for performing and

managing peace-keeping, including strengthened staff,

stronger logistic capability and greater coordination,

standardization and support for training.

In the formulation of critical follow-up guidelines to

strengthen peace-keeping we would like to pinpoint the

following matters.

First, there is a need to define clear-cut mandates with

definite time frames, objectives and rules of engagement

and with secured financing. This must keep in view the real

constraint identified by the Secretary-General, that

traditional assumptions relating to the consent and

cooperation of parties, upholding of agreements and

minimum use of force have all been under challenge in

recent peace-keeping developments.

Secondly, there is a need for impartiality, full

transparency and continuous consultations with troop-

contributing countries so that mandates can be constantly

reviewed, updated and amended. The role of the General

Assembly must be enhanced in this regard.

Thirdly, there should be clear-cut political directions

and a clearly defined command and control structure for

each operation.

Fourthly, contributions to peace-keeping operations

are mandatory and arrears must be paid in full.

Resources for peace-keeping should not be at the expense

of resources for development activities of the United

Nations.

Fifthly, decisions on peace-keeping operations should

include provisions for the safety of personnel, appropriate

standardized compensation of all personnel and timely

payments.

Intimately connected to the process of peace-building

in both its political and economic dimension are efforts to

reform and revitalize the main organs of the United

Nations — the General Assembly and the Security

Council. Bangladesh has been an active participant in

this exercise and will continue to play a constructive,

moderating and flexible role to promote the realization of

these efforts for greater democratization, efficiency,

effectiveness and legitimacy.

I turn now to some of the critical political issues on

our agenda.

Bangladesh’s consistent and categorical position on

the Middle East question and the issue of Palestine needs

no reiteration. We believe the Palestinian cause to be

founded on justice. We have always stood for a

comprehensive solution, which must be based on serious

a commitment by Israel to abide by Security Council

resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978); the

principle of returning land for peace; restoration of Arab

sovereignty over occupied lands; and recognition of the

inalienable national rights of the Palestinians, including a

State of their own. We believe that a historic momentum

has been initiated since the Madrid Peace Conference in

13

October 1991, the signing of the Declaration of Principles

between Israel and Palestine in September 1993, the Cairo

agreement on Gaza and Jericho and the common agenda

agreed between Jordan and Israel this year. We welcome

these vital steps in the peace process, and hope they will

lead to a viable and durable settlement.

We hail the establishment of a united, democratic and

non-racial Republic of South Africa, a long-cherished goal,

and applaud all parties for their relentless and courageous

endeavour to this end. Our special tribute goes to President

Nelson Mandela and Mr. de Klerk. Bangladesh looks

forward to consolidating our relations with South Africa in

more concrete ways, bilaterally and in all multilateral

forums.

We are deeply concerned over the vicious cycle of

starvation, factional fighting, breakdown of central

authority, economic stagnation and exodus of refugees in

various parts of Africa, exemplified by the situation in

Rwanda. We are committed to supporting the Security

Council’s effort, especially through peace-keeping

operations, to break this cycle through a comprehensive

programme of action that could provide vital relief

assistance, consolidate cease-fires, curtail violence and

bring about national reconciliation. We welcome the efforts

of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the

Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab

League to promote and supplement these efforts.

In our own region we are anguished by the continuing

strife in Afghanistan, and urge all Afghan leaders to resolve

differences through peaceful dialogue based on accords

signed in Istanbul, Mecca and Tehran. We fervently hope

that they can reach a broad-based consensus leading to the

formulation of a durable government through free and fair

elections. We welcome efforts, including those of the

Secretary-General of the OIC, the United Nations and

special representatives aimed at bringing about a

comprehensive and peaceful settlement in Afghanistan.

The tragedy of Bosnia and Herzegovina continues.

Plans, deadlines, hopes for settlement have proved

infructuous. The latest plan drawn up by the Contact

Group of representatives from the United States, Russia, the

United Nations and the European Union has been rejected

by the Bosnian Serbs. At the heart of the issue is the

dismemberment of a sovereign Member of the United

Nations, justified on the basis of pragmatic reality. The

arms embargo imposed on the Bosnians crippled them from

the outset, making any agreement artificial. Serbian

aggression and genocide appalled the world, yet too little

was done to stop it. Bangladesh believes that much more

needs to be done to ensure justice, including strengthening

the mandate and numbers of the United Nations

Protection Force (UNPROFOR), lifting the arms embargo,

extending exclusion zones and ultimately making the

whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina a safe haven.

The international community has repeatedly affirmed

the inviolability, territorial integrity and political

independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We feel that

continuing pressure must be maintained on the former

Yugoslavia to recognize Bosnia and Herzegovina and

effectively realize a just and negotiated settlement. If

present efforts of the Contact Group fail to result in a

political settlement we fully support the convening, under

United Nations auspices, of an appropriately structured

international conference on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We are glad that there have been exhaustive attempts

at a peaceful resolution of the problem of Haiti.

Bangladesh has pledged its fullest support to this end,

guided by two key principles: commitment to the

preservation and restoration of democracy wherever it is

threatened in the world, and willingness to serve in peace-

keeping operations under United Nations command

mandated by the Security Council. We hope that will

remain a cardinal point for the future as well.

I may say in conclusion that Bangladesh remains

fully committed to the United Nations as the only forum

that can deal with the cooperative management of the

world’s problems and where we can successfully meet the

challenge of the future by drawing upon our combined

solidarity to confront it together.