Bangladesh, 2002

May I begin by

extending my warm congratulations to the President

upon his election. We have every confidence that his

stewardship of our proceedings will yield fruitful

results. Credit is due also to his predecessor, Mr. Han

Seung-soo, for his deft handling of our affairs. We also

congratulate Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the

leadership he has shown during the past year across a

very broad range of subjects. His inaugural remarks,

which have set the tone for our deliberations, are truly

praiseworthy. We welcome two new Members this

year, Switzerland and, soon, East Timor. We look

forward to working closely with them.

As we are all painfully aware, this has been a

very difficult year. The day of 11 September 2001

witnessed a dastardly act of barbaric terrorism. It also

united peace-loving peoples all over the world as never

before. As we continue our struggle to prevent the

resurgence of such atrocities, we must also address

ourselves seriously to the task of rooting out the causes

that spawn such behaviour. Any action in that respect

should be based on the widest possible international

consensus-building through consultations.

Bangladesh has been and shall always be a

committed and active partner in the coalition against

terrorism. We have taken every necessary step to share

information and assist in the curbing of terror. We have

sought to implement Security Council resolution 1373

(2001), which we ourselves helped to draft and adopt

last year as a member of the Council. At the regional

level, we are currently examining ways and means of

further strengthening the South Asian Association for

Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Regional Convention

on Suppression of Terrorism. Terror is totally

unconnected to any faith or region. It is a global

phenomenon that needs to be tackled by means that are

both legitimate and consensual.

Those methods include the promotion of

democracy and democratic values, respect for human

rights and the rule of law, the peaceful resolution of

conflicts, peace-building, cooperation towards

equitable economic development, the eradication of

poverty, gender equality, measures aimed at

confidence-building, mutual respect among races and

peoples, and harmony — not clashes — between

cultures. Those are the main pillars on which we must

build a world where hope will reign in place of despair.

In the construction of this edifice, the architect must be

the United Nations — which, with its Charter

principles and purposes — is the greatest institution

crafted by humankind.

Bangladesh is relentless in the pursuit of those

goals, both nationally and internationally. Our

problems, as all are aware, are many and varied. Of

roughly the size of the state of Wisconsin in the United

States, we have a population of 130 million people,

which makes us one of the largest nations in the world.

Centuries of colonial exploitation left us with

inadequate infrastructure and resources, and

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constrained us in the trap of poverty. Subject to the

vagaries of nature, our economy was a gamble in

monsoons. Soon after our independence, in 1971, we

were perceived as an irredeemable basket case.

Since then, we have come a long way. We have

dedicated ourselves wholeheartedly to improving the

quality of life of our people and to their development.

Our policies were grounded in certain values dear to

our hearts. We have acted in the firm belief that

development is possible only against a matrix of

democracy, human rights and the rule of law; that

structures and institutions in society must be inclusive,

participatory and accountable; and that growth must be

pro-poor, pro-environment, pro-equity and pro-women.

In our view, tolerance among religions and an

appreciation of differing opinions must be imbedded in

the social psyche. Our rich intellectual heritage and

cultural tradition have been the source of home-grown

innovative ideas such as micro-credit and special

educational projects that have enabled us to initiate the

quiet revolution in our society that has led to a process

of huge societal transformation.

As a result, we have been able to achieve many

successes, which have been widely acclaimed. Despite

our being a traditional society, through effective family

planning programmes we were able to cut the

population growth rate by 50 per cent over the last two

decades. In agriculture, we now produce sufficient food

grains to feed our entire people. We have invested

heavily in human resources development and have

provided massive budgetary allocations for primary

and secondary education. Schooling up to twelfth grade

is free for girl students, and all are awarded stipends.

Gender mainstreaming is a major policy thrust. In

Bangladesh the empowerment of women receives the

highest priority. This is achieved mainly through

initiatives such as special provisions for education for

girl children, employment of women in the garment

industry, and micro-credit schemes that generate self-

employment for women. Global recognition of these

endeavours was manifest in our recent election to the

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination

against Women.

Excellent cooperation exists between the

Government and civil society. Bangladesh hosts some

of the world's largest and most active non-

governmental organizations. In our development

process, we are ourselves in the driver's seat. A mix of

appropriate macro-economic policies and effective

utilization of external assistance has vastly reduced our

dependence on foreign aid. A document at the

International Conference on Financing for

Development, held at Monterrey, entitled “Successful

development: models for the twenty-first century” says

that

“The lesson in Bangladesh is that official

development assistance, when applied in

conjunction with a country's efforts to resolve its

own development challenges, can yield dramatic

results.”

Today what we seek is not compassion, largesse or

charity, but greater market access for our manufactured

products, fairer trade and more investment. We may

still have a long way to go, but we believe we are on

the right track.

At the international level, we are striving to

reinforce mutually beneficial and cooperative relations

with all countries. We are seeking, in concert with our

development partners, to achieve the Millennium

Development Goals. The special efforts made, and the

successes achieved, in Monterrey, Johannesburg and at

the special session on children have given us cause for

hope. It is now important for all of us to seriously get

down to implementing the promises made and to

achieving the targets set. We are happy that our image

abroad is one of a responsible, politically stable,

moderate, democratic and constructive member of the

international community. We have actively engaged our

neighbours in the development of cooperation and

understanding. As the Assembly will recall, it was

President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh who first

conceived of the concept of the South Asian

Association for Regional Cooperation. Today, our

Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, is also committed

to bringing the Asian cooperation dialogue to fruition.

As a demonstration of our commitment to global

stability and peace, we have voluntarily given up the

nuclear option and joined the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We actively

participate in peacekeeping operations, and are

currently one of the largest contributors of

peacekeepers in the United Nations.

I should note, however, that there are certain

issues that continue to trouble us. In South Asia, our

own region, the volatility of the situation between two

nuclear-capable countries is deeply worrisome.

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Bangladesh encourages all concerned in South Asia to

exercise utmost restraint and seek solutions to their

differences through dialogue and meaningful

engagement.

After emerging from the most destructive episode

in its history, Afghanistan has yet to be given the

wherewithal for recovery and reconstruction. The

international community must redouble its efforts to

secure peace throughout Afghanistan and accelerate the

reconstruction and rebuilding of the country. Unless we

do so, the long-term security and stability of our region

will remain very uncertain.

In the Middle East, the continued denial of the

right of the Palestinian people to their own State and to

freedom greatly concern us. The continued illegal

occupation of Palestinian land, the trampling of human

rights and the atrocities perpetrated against the

Palestinian people by Israel must end immediately.

Serious efforts must be resumed to seek a

comprehensive solution to the problem — a solution

that addresses the legitimate concerns of the

Palestinian people.

We welcome the announcement made in Baghdad

with regard to the return of the weapons inspectors, and

we see this as a significant step towards the fulfilment

of obligations under Security Council resolutions.

The havoc wrought in Africa by ethnic conflict,

disease and famine is very disturbing. The financial

turmoil in Latin America is a matter of anxiety for all

of us. Commitments to the least developed countries

remain largely unfulfilled. The existence of large trade-

distorting subsidies that impede development is

painfully clear. Restrictions on the movement of factors

of production, including manpower, remain a major

impediment to progress. Lack of consideration of the

emotional and human aspects of people's movement

across frontiers remains a great source of pain. The

concept of a global fund for poverty alleviation

financed through some form of international taxation is

also worth considering. These are issues that we, with

our limited capacity, can do little to influence —

though in our modest way we will do our very best to

help. Those who can must do more.

For our part, we will play an effective role — as

we are indeed doing — in all international forums. In

the World Trade Organization we will continue to work

with others to implement the development objectives of

the Doha Round and to pursue fairer trade. We will

cooperate with the international monetary institutions

and other agencies, funds and programmes to promote

the welfare of our people and those of a comparable

milieu. Working within the United Nations, we shall

endeavour in every possible way to strengthen its

institutions and to support reforms that will render

them more participatory, representative and

democratic. These are pledges that are enshrined in the

vision for the future of the Government of the People's

Republic of Bangladesh under the dynamic leadership

of Begum Khaleda Zia. They are commitments that are

at the core of the Bangladeshi ethos.