ZCZC
BSS-22
UN-GENERAL-ASSEMBLY
UN General Assembly convenes forum on BD’s “Culture of Peace”
DHAKA, Sept 11, 2020 (BSS)- The President of the 74th Session of the United Nations (UN)General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, convened the General Assembly’s annual High-Level Forum on Bangladesh’s flagship resolution on ‘Culture of Peace’ today.
Held on a virtual platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was addressed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, an UN press release said.
It was also addressed by Ambassadors of a large number of Member States and High Representatives of several UN entities.
The theme for this year’s event was “The Culture of Peace: Change our world for the better in the age of COVID-19.”
In her statement, Ambassador Rabab Fatima, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, recalled Bangladesh’s historic leadership role in mooting the notion and steering the General Assembly resolution on ‘Culture of Peace’.
She quoted from the maiden speech of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at United Nations in 1974 that “Peace is an imperative for the survival of mankind.
It represents the deepest aspirations of men and women throughout the world.”
That is also what shaped Bangladesh’s enduring commitment to the cause of global peace and inspired us to propagate a culture of peace, she added.
Ambassador Fatima also highlighted the continued relevance of culture of peace in addressing global challenges particularly during the pandemic.
She pointed out that many of the pandemic response initiatives of the UN resonate the call under the culture of peace.
She made specific recommendations for internalizing a culture of peace to complement international community’s efforts to forge global solidarity in overcoming the pandemic.
Later in the day, Ambassador Fatima participated as a panelist in a side event titled “Education, Covid-19 and the Culture of Peace”, organized by the renowned US Think Tank the International Peace Institute (IPI).
The event was addressed by the President of the General Assembly.
In her speech, Ambassador Fatima spoke about the pandemic’s severe consequences for children particularly from the developing countries.
She alerted not to allow the pandemic to become a generational crisis and urged to leverage culture of peace to address this largest disruption of education in history.
She also shared Bangladesh’s efforts in continuing education and learning during the pandemic.
Other panelists included high officials from UNICEF and UNESCO.
A large number of Ambassadors, academia and civil society representatives also attended the event.
BSS/PR/SRH/KU/1803 hrs