In a significant turn of events, four political leaders, including BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul islam Alamgir and Nayeeb-e-Amir of Janaat-e-Islami Syed Abdullah Taher, are joining the UN entourage of Chief Adviser of the post-uprising government Prof Muhammad Yunus.
The other two are BNP chairperson's adviser Humayun Kabir and Akhter Hossain, a senior leader of the July uprising-born political party, NCP.
Dr Yunus leaves for the USA to attend the 80th UN General Assembly on September 22 and is scheduled to return home on October 22.
"As the political parties of the country will govern the country after the February elections, the interim government thinks that it will be an appropriate move to include political-party leaders in the chief adviser's entourage to the UNGA," said Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain Wednesday while briefing the press on the UN trip of the head of interim government.
The Chief Adviser is leading Bangladesh delegation to the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) which begins on September 23 in New York. He is scheduled to reach New York on September 22 on a commercial flight.
This UN session is particularly significant as it coincides with the organization's 80th anniversary, and this year's General Debate is set under the theme 'Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights'.
The agenda will highlight the UN's three foundational pillars - peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights - against the backdrop of global trust deficits, rising protectionism, and growing disregard for multilateral diplomacy.
For Bangladesh, this year's General Assembly carries special weight. On September 30, the United Nations will, for the first time, host a High-level Conference on the Situation of Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar, under the presidency of the UNGA.
The initiative traces back to a proposal made by Nobel-laureate Professor Yunus during last year's Assembly to convene such a high-level event with broad participation. The proposal swiftly gained international consensus and was adopted through a resolution, paving the way for this year's historic gathering.
The decision underscores Bangladesh's sustained diplomatic push to keep the Rohingya crisis on the global agenda, even as new conflicts elsewhere dominate international focus.
Earlier this year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Bangladesh and joined an Iftar in Cox's Bazar with the down-and-out Rohingya refugees tossed off their homes in Myanmar, underscoring his solidarity with one of the world's most protracted humanitarian crises.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com
