UN adopts Bangladesh’s ‘Culture of Peace’ resolution

The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously adopted Bangladesh’s flagship resolution on the ‘Culture of Peace’, co-sponsored by 112 member countries. The Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith, introduced the resolution on Thursday (May 2) local time, according to a regular UN press briefing. The Permanent Mission says this year’s resolution carries special significance because it marks the 25th year of the declaration of the ‘Culture of Peace’ and its programme. The resolution was first adopted in 1999, during the first tenure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It says that every year Bangladesh presents the ‘Culture of Peace’ resolution to the UN General Assembly, which identifies eight specific areas to promote a culture of peace and non-violence and urges all to take action accordingly. Apart from this, Bangladesh has been convening a high-level forum on the culture of peace since 2012 under the leadership of the President of the General Assembly. Presenting the proposal, Ambassador Muhith said, today the world is facing increasing conflicts and disregard for human dignity. To overcome this increasing conflict and violence, the spirit of harmony and sympathy must be revived, the spirit of equality and equal dignity of all human beings must be upheld and above all, peace must be made more profitable than war. This year’s resolution requested that the President of the General Assembly convene a day-long high-level forum to properly observe and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the declaration of the Culture of Peace. Apart from this, the resolution invites the member states of the General Assembly, international and regional organisations of the United Nations, civil society, the private sector, various educational institutions, and other stakeholders, including the media, to observe this anniversary appropriately through education and public awareness expansion. Muhith said, “Discrimination, racial intolerance, and subjugation force us to engage in a destructive war. That is why we have made the promotion of peace a fundamental principle of our foreign policy.” Consideration of the resolution was preceded by a general debate in the General Assembly on the culture of peace. Other member states also reiterated their commitment to the declaration of a culture of peace and the implementation of the programme. The delegations thanked Bangladesh for its historic leadership in establishing the concept of a culture of peace at the United Nations.
Published on: 2024-05-03 06:59:27.213953 +0200 CEST