Bangladesh

I wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election. I am confident that you will carry forward the able legacy left by your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping. Our warm tribute is also due to the Secretary-General as he strives to reinvigorate our Organization. We meet in the wake of the High-level Plenary Meeting, where bold decisions were made to promote implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. Our problems transcend national boundaries. Solutions need a global consensus. All of us must emphatically reaffirm the central role of the United Nations in the cooperative management of the worldís problems. We are constitutionally committed to uphold the Charter and its legitimacy based on the rule of law. In a globalizing world, no nation is an island. None can prosper alone. The United Nations remains the only bastion of peace, justice and development in the world. Reform of the United Nations is vital. We must focus on its effectiveness and ability to deliver quickly. Its agenda and mandate must be meaningful. Its administration must be reformed. Its budget must be purged of waste. Its major organs need to be reconstituted and revitalized to serve purposeful priorities. Expansion of its major organs is necessary but must be tailored to the efficacy of the Organization. The dynamics of todayís world have been created by immense forces of change. Among them are advances in science and technology and widespread awareness of individual rights. The resulting globalization and progression of humanitarian law have given rise to a world where the very concept of sovereignty is being challenged, where the dimensions of security are in a flux, where the nature of conflict has seen a seismic shift and where social exclusion has added complex uncertainty. The need for constructive engagement, dialogue, tolerance and understanding is imperative. Development and the rule of law must take centre stage. New challenges confront us today. While terrorists sow panic and xenophobia in our societies, deprivation, hunger, disease and environmental degradation continue to fuel insecurity and destabilization. The recent bombings in London and Egypt shocked us all. They have hardened our resolve to face this menace unitedly. Bangladesh condemns terrorism in all its forms. We have acceded to all anti- terrorism conventions of the United Nations and relevant regional organizations. We support the early conclusion of a comprehensive United Nations convention on terrorism. I would like to underscore our conviction that terrorists do not belong to any one country or religion. In Bangladesh, sustained efforts are being made to pursue the twin objectives of responsibility at home and a contribution abroad. Despite enormous constraints, we have made good progress to advance democracy, development and human rights. We recognize that those goals are linked with one another. We have moved slowly but surely to shore up a democratic ethos. The late President Ziaur Rahman led Bangladesh out of the morass of a failed democracy in 1975. He introduced a multi-party system, freed the press and opened up the economy. In 1990, a popular uprising against an entrenched military dictatorship brought the first real push towards sustained democracy. We have not looked back. Three consecutive free and fair elections have been held under a neutral caretaker Government. That unique constitutional innovation has ensured the peaceful transfer of power on an alternating basis. Democracy has become firmly rooted in Bangladesh. A key element of the last election, in 2001, was the participation of more than 70 per cent of the electorate. Women voters outnumbered men. They voted not for symbols but for issues. 32 A quiet revolution is under way in Bangladesh in the field of development. The progress is visible on six key fronts: stable growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) at a rate of 5 per cent or more for over two decades; higher per capita income; food security; increased resilience in the face of natural disasters; improvement of the human development index; and better social and health outcomes. Our performance in those areas compares favourably with the results in our own region and elsewhere. A set of pragmatic, targeted policy approaches have made that progress possible. We have completed a full-fledged poverty reduction strategy paper through an extended consultative process. It sets out a road map to meet country-specific MDGs. The fundamental principle of the poverty reduction strategy paper is to promote employment- generating economic growth and to invest significantly in priority sectors such as education, health and social safety-net programmes. It is a matter of some satisfaction that Bangladesh has achieved two of the MDGs: the elimination of gender disparity in primary and secondary schools and access to safe drinking water. We are close to achieving two more goals: the reduction of extreme poverty and under-five child mortality rates. Bangladesh is committed to upholding the dignity of individuals and promoting human rights. Bangladesh is a party to all United Nations human rights conventions. We are moving steadily to strengthen good governance through strong democratic institutions, establish the rule of law and eliminate intolerance in our society. Deeply entrenched pockets of poverty continue to exist around the world. The most vulnerable are the least developed countries. Their products should be granted immediate duty-free and quota-free access globally. As reaffirmed at Monterrey, the specific allocation of 0.15 to 0.2 per cent of the GDP of developed countries must be earmarked for official development assistance to least developed countries. Financing for development is a critical issue. Innovative initiatives in that regard, which have been the subject of discussion, need to be pursued in earnest. The devastation caused by natural disasters affects all countries, rich and poor alike. How can we meet the challenge of effective relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction, as well as pre-disaster warning and preparations? That continues to the responsibility of the United Nations. We are profoundly shocked at the huge toll of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf coast of the United States. Natural disasters do not distinguish between rich and poor countries, and the human misery and suffering caused are the same. We, in Bangladesh, have weathered many severe floods and cyclones, and the toll in terms of life and property has been huge. We can therefore feel the torment that the affected people have undergone, and we offer our heartfelt sympathies. We know that the American people can overcome the disaster and move on with their lives. All countries, including Bangladesh, must seek ways and means to contribute effectively to the United Nations, whether through peacemaking, peacekeeping or peacebuilding. Active participation, innovative ideas and best practices in shoring up development together can enhance our combined capacity to address the worldís problems, especially those that no one country can tackle alone. We, in Bangladesh, are particularly proud of our contribution to peacekeeping on many simultaneous fronts across the globe. In all, we have contributed more than 39,000 troops to 24 missions and are currently among the largest contributors. Sixty- seven of our blue-helmeted soldiers have died in that cause. Our commitment to peacekeeping remains unflinching. We also fully support the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission. A priority concern for us is our close identity with Africa. Through our peacekeeping efforts, we have established special bonds of friendship. The New Partnership for Africaís Development is particularly encouraging. We believe that South-South cooperation has specific relevance in that context. Bangladesh reaffirms its support for the early establishment of a sovereign independent State in Palestine, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions. The road map for peace in the Middle East needs to be implemented fully and urgently. With respect to Iraq, we believe that the present situation should be resolved by preserving the interests of the Iraqi people, in particular their territorial integrity, and by ensuring the long-term peace, security and stability of the region. Bangladeshís constitutional commitment to general and complete disarmament is the reason for our progressive support of international and regional 33 treaties and agreements covering all the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) weapons. We are a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We give precedence to human over weapons security. Each year we come to the Assembly to reaffirm our faith in the United Nations. This sixtieth anniversary year is of profound significance. We must provide a renewed mandate to the United Nations to meet the challenges of the new millennium ó to rid the world of poverty and injustice, to usher in the rule of law, to promote the cause of development, to eradicate terrorism and, above all, to promote peace and security. We can prevail only if we act responsibly and together. Support for the United Nations and its legitimacy remains a paramount priority.