Bangladesh, 2007

I would like to take

this opportunity to express to you, Mr. President, my

delegation’s sincerest congratulations on your well-

deserved election. A special tribute goes to Her

Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa and to

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, for their visionary

and dedicated leadership.

Recent events in Bangladesh have aroused

considerable interest worldwide as we struggle to fulfil

the promise of democracy for our people. I will take

this opportunity to share with the global community

some of our recent experiences in consolidating

democracy. We have learned that democracy is not an

event; it is an ongoing process. It is not just about

casting votes and changing Governments; it is also

about social justice, accountability and empowerment

of the people.

Those who have followed events in Bangladesh

over the past few months will know that the Caretaker

Government came into office in January this year amid

a political stalemate. The fabric of our democracy had

been torn apart by years of catastrophic corruption.

Widespread frustration with the status quo had led to a

rising tide of political violence. That in turn had

disrupted ordinary life and shattered all public

confidence in the possibility of credible elections.

Moreover, there was little hope that a tainted election

could end the cycle of violence. A state of emergency

was therefore declared on 11 January of this year in an

effort to end the ongoing chaos and to usher in a new

beginning.

As stipulated in our constitution, the non-party

Caretaker Government acts as a bridge between two

successive political Governments. Our task is, first and

foremost, to ensure a free and fair election, and we are

fully committed to fulfilling that responsibility.

However, our nation has learned through harsh

experience that an election cannot simply be a one-off

casting of votes, but must be part of a dynamic and

continuing process whereby people freely choose their

leaders.

While Bangladesh has held three elections in the

past two decades, our democracy has been brutally

undermined by ruinous corruption. The lack of

systemic institutional safeguards allowed corruption to

run rampant. That created a winner-takes-all electoral

system, whereby the spoils of electoral victory were so

great, and the stakes of winning so high, that the

political process became hopelessly polarized, leading

to a paralysis even of ordinary governance. As the

benefits of winning elections increased, so did the

costs of securing victory, creating a truly vicious circle

in which corruption became the linchpin. Corruption

thus became both the means and the end in terms of

winning elections. If our democratic spirit is to emerge

unscathed from that downward spiral, and if we are to

deliver free, fair and meaningful elections, we must

first free our politics from the clutches of corruption

and violence.

Democracy and the rule of law are not merely

concepts; they must be embodied in functioning public

institutions. In Bangladesh, the very institutions that

form the foundations of democracy have been eroded

by ongoing corruption. Rebuilding those institutions

and restoring public confidence through meaningful

reforms are Herculean tasks, but they are ones in which

we cannot and will not fail.

In Bangladesh, the task of conducting free and

fair elections is the responsibility of the Election

Commission. The Caretaker Government has already

overhauled the Commission, guaranteeing its

independence and giving it a broader mandate. The

Election Commission, of its own accord, has

announced a timeline for the holding of the next

parliamentary election by the end of 2008. Our

Administration is committed to ensuring that that

timeframe is adhered to. We will bring to bear the full

resources of the Government in that effort.

Our Government has reorganized the Independent

Anti-Corruption Commission to ensure that it can

effectively lead the fight against corruption. We have

given the Commission broad and sweeping powers —

including operational independence — not only to

apprehend those who have been corrupt, but also to

work as a deterrent. Within a month after coming into

office, our Government acceded to the United Nations

Convention against Corruption as a clear signal of our

unwavering commitment against corruption.

The implementation of the Convention will not

only contribute to the reduction of corruption in

Bangladesh, but will also help us to recover the

ill-gotten gains of corruption stored abroad. Those who

engage in corruption must confront the reality that

there is no safe haven for them. The world is united in

the struggle against corruption, and today Bangladesh

pledges itself an active partner in that endeavour.

One of the most critical elements of a functioning

democracy is an independent judiciary. In Bangladesh,

the lower judiciary and criminal prosecution were

traditionally under the executive branch of the

Government, contrary to the constitutional principle of

separation of powers. While judicial independence has

been part of the political manifesto of successive

governments over the past 15 years, each has

repeatedly reneged on its public promises in this

regard. Recognizing the importance of an independent

judiciary to the rule of law, the Caretaker Government

within its first month in office initiated the necessary

steps to fully separate the executive and judicial

branches of the Government. We have also revamped

the Bangladesh Public Service Commission and the

University Grants Commission in order to restore the

apolitical nature of those important institutions.

Political parties are among the core constituents

of democracy. Their accountability and true democratic

character remain critically important for democracy to

function. In response to demands of the people, the

main political parties have themselves initiated various

reforms, and the revamped parties will interact with the

revitalized institutions of the Government to move our

nation forward.

Bangladesh reaffirms its unflinching commitment

to universal and inalienable human rights. Any society

committed to democracy requires the recognition and

enforcement of human rights, and in Bangladesh the

fight against corruption and the strengthening of the

rule of law go hand-in-hand with the protection of

human rights. The Caretaker Government has,

therefore, taken the decision to establish a national

human rights commission to ensure that our laws and

public institutions reflect international standards and

norms of human rights. It is unfortunate that successive

Governments have shied away from taking this

important step.

Bangladesh remains resolute in its relentless

campaign against international extremism and

terrorism. We recently acceded to the International

Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear

Terrorism. Bangladesh is now a party to all terrorism-

related United Nations conventions, a testament to our

commitment to fighting terrorism in all its forms. On

the domestic front, we have taken stern measures

against militant groups and their patrons. In particular,

we categorically reject the claims of those who cloak

themselves in the rhetoric of Islam to justify terrorism.

Bangladesh is steadfast in its commitment to curb

religious fundamentalism in all its manifestations.

Our experience in re-instilling confidence in the

Government has a wider relevance to the international

community. The problems that we are facing today are

not unique to Bangladesh. After all, in the developing

world democracy does not necessarily ensure good

governance. Many countries face similar problems of

political violence, mis-governance and corruption. This

is particularly true for post-conflict and transition

societies, where the politics of mistrust is pervasive.

We feel that a greater understanding of our challenges

and, more importantly, of our efforts to re-build

political and social institutions, can serve as

benchmarks for others facing similar situations. For

example, Bangladesh represents an effective model of

civil-military cooperation in crisis prevention. Our

experience in crisis management could be relevant for

many crisis-torn, nascent democracies.

One way in which we can share our experiences

in governance is through our robust presence in United

Nations peacekeeping operations. We have consistently

been one of the top troop-contributing countries in the

world, and our peacekeepers have earned accolades for

their contributions. We are confident that Bangladesh

will continue to play a leadership role in multi-

dimensional peacekeeping efforts, and we are ready to

provide comprehensive deployment packages in future

peace operations. We also remain active in the United

Nations peacebuilding endeavours in post-conflict

societies.

We warmly welcome the Secretary-General’s

timely initiative to restructure the Department of

Peacekeeping Operations. The world is witnessing a

natural evolution from the monitoring of peace to

multidimensional tasks of peacebuilding,

democratization and development. As one of the largest

troop-contributing countries (TCCs), we strongly feel

that the TCCs should have equitable representation and

play a greater role in deployment and other strategic

decisions.

The United Nations is in the midst of a

continuing evolution. It is our collective responsibility

to make the United Nations more relevant to the

present day world, to fulfil the promise Dag

Hammarskjöld spoke of when he said, “The day will

come when men will see the United Nations and what

it means clearly.” The Secretary-General’s report on

system-wide coherence presents several useful

recommendations in this connection. However, we feel

that the reform exercise should focus on the

requirements of achieving the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs), and we recognize that the

speed of reform must be gradual.

We must reflect upon what is needed by the

United Nations, in terms of financial and human

resources, to foster development. Keeping in mind that

developing countries differ greatly in their political,

administrative and social structures, the reform

exercise must take this diversity into account and allow

individual countries to determine the structure of the

United Nations presence at the country level, the

representation of different United Nations agencies and

their country programmes. We must not undermine the

identities of individual United Nations agencies,

including their mandates, independence and

institutional integrity.

Earlier this week, we discussed the exceedingly

important issue of climate change. World leaders

reaffirmed our shared commitment to address the issue

of global warming. Bangladesh is particularly

vulnerable to global warming, given that as much as 30

per cent of our land will be submerged if the Bay of

Bengal rises by just one metre. The adverse effects of

global warming, deforestation and increased salinity

are already evident in Bangladesh. Floods have become

an annual calamity, and this year our people have

suffered particularly severe losses owing to flooding.

While the resilience of our people and the quick

mobilization of our limited domestic resources helped

us to overcome the crisis this year, we envisage that

this may become harder in the future. We therefore

urge enhanced international cooperation to meet the

challenges of global warming and its consequences.

There is a growing acknowledgment that trade

liberalization can be an effective tool for economic

development. For the least developed countries

(LDCs), the trade-to-gross domestic product ratio

averages about 58 per cent, while it is roughly 25 per

cent for many Organization for Economic Cooperation

and Development countries. These statistics show that

the LDCs are far more dependent on trade than their

developed counterparts. Bangladesh, along with many

other LDCs, is facing significant tariff and non-tariff

barriers in accessing developed markets. Global trade

regimes must provide unimpeded access to all products

of LDCs, so as to ensure that the fruits of progress are

shared by all.

While representing a nation of 140 million

people, squeezed into an area roughly the size of New

York State, I must underscore the importance of

migration to our development efforts. For many in

Bangladesh and other developing countries, temporary

labour migration provides a livelihood option and a

route out of poverty. If we are to reduce poverty by

half by 2015, we must strengthen our efforts to ensure

the free movement of labour. The international

community is recognizing the critical linkages between

migration and development. It is encouraging that the

Global Forum on Migration and Development, held in

Brussels this July, accorded migration its due priority.

We must also intensify our efforts to defend the rights

of migrant workers. We would also like to see

momentum in the liberalization of Mode IV services.

We call for renewed international efforts — at the

World Trade Organization and in other forums — to

facilitate the free movement of labour services.

Let me conclude by reiterating my Government’s

unswerving commitment to democracy and the

protection of human rights. We have pledged to put

Bangladesh on a higher trajectory of good governance,

rule of law and development. We are determined to

hold a free, fair and meaningful election within the

timeframe stipulated by our independent Election

Commission and to keep our country firmly on the path

of democracy. My Government is fully committed to

ensuring that our reform initiatives are comprehensive

and irreversible. Bangladeshis now stand united for a

prosperous future for their country and the world.