Bangladesh and the United Nations
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Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
have a strong relationship. Bangladesh is one of the largest troop contributing countries in the world.


Diplomatic representation

Bangladesh is represented in the
United Nations Headquarters The United Nations is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States, and the complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1951. It is in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neig ...
, New York City, by the
Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations is the diplomatic mission of Bangladesh to the United Nation in New York City. It is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. History Ambassador Rabab Fatima presented her credentials to the Sec ...
which is headed by the
Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations is the head of Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations. The Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations is the foremost representative of Bangladesh to ...
. Rabab Fatima is the present Permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nation. Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations in Geneva represents the interest of Bangladesh to United Nations organs based in Geneva. Bangladesh is represented in Vienna by the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations in Vienna.


History

The United Nations and its agencies bought relief to Bangladesh in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation war. The UN provided aid to Bangladeshi refugees of the war. During the 26th session of the General Assembly of the United Nation, the Provincial government of Bangladesh sent an envoy to United Nations on 21 September 1971. In October 1971, a Bangladeshi representative spoke at the UN Plaza and declared the "point of no return" had been reached in the Bangladesh Liberation war. Bangladesh had the first official delegate to the UN on 4 December 1971. The
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
,
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
, and
World Food Program The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
provided aid to the refugees. The United Nations established the United Nations East Pakistan Relief Operation (UNEPRO) on 17 July 1971. The operation was headed by John R Kelly at the beginning and later he was replaced by Paul Mckee Henry. On 16 November 1971, the operation was completely taken over by the United Nations from the civil administration of East Pakistan due to mismanagement. This harmed the morale of civil servants in the East Pakistan administration. After the Independence of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971, the United Nations created United Nations Relief Operations in Dhaka (UNROD) on 21 December 1971 and was managed by Robert Jackson, which was upgraded to
United Nations Relief Operations in Bangladesh United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
(UNROB). The operation was ended on 31 December 1973. The General Secretary of the United Nations,
Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (; 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and president of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for th ...
, visited Bangladesh on 9 January 1973. The United Nations provided support for rebuilding facilities like the Chalna Port (renamed to
Mongla Port The Port of Mongla is a link sea port, located at Mongla Upazila, Khulna Division, Bangladesh.It is a sea port of Khulna city which is located near to the north. It is the second largest and second busiest seaport of Bangladesh. Mongla port lie ...
) after it was damaged in the
Bangladesh Liberation war The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
. The UN helped repatriate Bengalis who were detained in Pakistan to Bangladesh in 1973. Bangladesh failed to become a member of the United Nations in 1972 and 1973 because China used its veto on behalf of Pakistan to prevent full membership being granted to Bangladesh. On 17 September 1974, Bangladesh became a full member of the United Nation.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengalis, Beng ...
, the president of Bangladesh, gave a speech in the Bengali language at the General Assembly on 25 September 1974. In 1975, Bangladesh was elected vice-president of the General Assembly of the United Nations. From 1976 to 1978, it also on several terms served as an elected member of the
United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...
(ECOSOC) latest being for the term 2020–2022. In 1979, Bangladesh was elected to the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
. As a member of the security council, Bangladesh voted against the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan, criticized Israeli settlements, and called for the return of American hostages from Iran. From 1980 to 1982,
Osman Ghani Khan Osman Ghani Khan (1923-2000) was the former chairman of the United Nations Board of Auditors, a Bangladeshi civil servant, economist, Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and the former Member of Parliament of Pabna-2. Education Khan passed hi ...
then CAG of Bangladesh elected as Chairman of the United Nations Board of Auditors for two successive terms. In 1980, Bangladesh served as the Coordinator of the Least Developed Countries. Bangladesh served another term in ECOSOC from 1981 to 1983. From 1982 to 1983, Bangladesh was the Chairman of the
Group of 77 The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of 134 developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 fou ...
. In 1985, Bangladesh was elected, for the first time, to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. From 1983 to 2000, Bangladesh served as a member of the Human Rights Commission. In 1985,
Abu Sayeed Chowdhury Abu Sayeed Chowdhury (31 January 1921 – 2 August 1987) was a jurist and the President of Bangladesh. Besides that, he held the positions of the Chairmen of the United Nations Commission on Human rights, the vice-chancellor of the University ...
, former President of Bangladesh, was made the head of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Humayun Rashid Choudhury Humayun Rasheed Choudhury ( bn, হুমায়ূন রশীদ চৌধুরী; 11 November 1928 – 10 July 2001) was a Bangladeshi career diplomat and Speaker of the Jatiyo Sangsad, Speaker of the Bangladesh National Parliament from 19 ...
, a former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, was elected as
President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...
during its 41st session between 1986 and 1987. Bangladesh was elected to the Security Council again in 2000 and from March 2000 to June 2001 served as the President of the Security Council. Bangladesh was the Chairman of the Committee Concerning Sierra Leone during its tenure at the Security Council. During the same period, Bangladesh was also the Chairman of the Working Committee on the Role of Sanctions. From 2006 to 2008, Bangladesh served in the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Bangladesh joined the Peace Building Commission as a founding member. Bangladesh was elected to the
United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
on 13 October 2018. It was elected for a term of three years from 2019 to 2021. Bangladesh received 178 votes in the election to the council. Bangladesh had previously served three terms in the United Nations Human Rights Council.


Peacekeeping

Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Force The Bangladesh Armed Forces and the Bangladesh Police have been actively involved in a number of United Nations Peace Support Operations (UNPSO) since 1988. Currently Bangladesh is the largest contributor in the UN peacekeeping missions. Banglad ...
is one of the largest contingent force of the United Nations and in December 2017 it had 7246 personal deployed in peacekeeping operations. Bangladesh first sent its soldiers to peacekeeping operations in 1988. Bangladesh peacekeepers have been deployed in a number of countries such as East Timor, Lebanon, South Sudan, Namibia, Haiti, Liberia, etc. Since 1988 to 2017, over 150 thousand Bangladeshi soldiers have participated in UN peacekeeping. from 1988 to 2017, 135 soldiers were killed in peacekeeping operations. In 2017, Bangladesh provided the third largest number of personal from Asia to United Nation.


Initiatives


Mother language day

Bangladesh successfully campaigned to establish the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO in 1997. The
International Mother Language Day International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formally r ...
was declared to be 21 February, which was the day Bengalis were killed in Police firing in East Pakistan (today Bangladesh) while protesting to make Bengali a state language of Pakistan as part of the Bengali language movement in 1952.


See also

* Records o
the United Nations East Pakistan Relief Operation (UNEPRO), Relief Operations in Dacca/Bangladesh (UNROD/UNROB) (1971-1973)
at the United Nations Archives * UNICEF Bangladesh


References

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