UN general assembly holds high-level forum on Bangladesh’s flagship resolution ‘Culture of Peace’
Held on a virtual platform due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was addressed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres
President of the 74th session of the United Nation's (UN) general assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande convened the general assembly's annual high-level forum on Bangladesh's flagship resolution on "Culture of Peace" on Friday.
Held on a virtual platform due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was addressed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said a press release.
Ambassadors of member states and high representatives of several UN entities also addressed the event.
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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, the 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, "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 she participated as a panelist in a side event titled "Education, Covid-19 and the Culture of Peace" organised by the renowned US Think Tank the International Peace Institute (IPI). It was addressed by the president of the general assembly.
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. Ambassadors, academia and civil society representatives also attended the event.
