Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaking at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit on 24 September 2019
Bangladesh has been at the forefront of activities at the UN on the important pillar of the UN architecture-peace and security. Bangladesh delegation took the lead in introducing the normative agenda item “Culture of Peace” at the General Assembly and followed up with the flagship resolution entitled “Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace”. Bangladesh takes pride in presenting this resolution at the General Assembly since the idea was first mooted in 1997. On 13 September 1999, the Assembly adopted the norm-setting resolution “Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace”. The Assembly proclaimed the year 2000 as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the decade 2001-2010 and the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence. For the last 20 years, Bangladesh delegation to the UN had been facilitating this resolution every year, and each year it got adopted unanimously. This year 100 Member States cosponsored this important resolution. Over the years the Member States have shown their commitment to promote the Culture of Peace across various initiative of the UN. This year is a special occasion for the resolution as it will be the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.
The President of the 73rd UNGA, H.E. Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, will convene a day-long high-level forum on 13 September 2019 at the UN to appropriate and befittingly observe the occasion. Bangladesh delegation as facilitator of the resolution is working closely with Office of the PGA in materializing the event. This year the theme of the event is “The Culture of Peace: Empowering and Transforming Humanity”. Through our regular participation and engagement, we continue to show our overarching commitment to the values and principles enshrined in the UN Charter and to work alongside the international community in promoting and protecting peace. We shall emphasize that the Government of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina remains committed to promoting global peace through “Culture of Peace”.
H.E. Mr. Md. Shahriar Alam, MP, Hon’ble State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh participated and delivered the statement at the General Debate of the UN High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace held on 05 September 2018 at the General Assembly Hall under the theme “The Culture of Peace: A Credible Pathway to Sustaining Peace”.