We must keep faith in the ability of the UN to shape a secure future for us: FM

We must keep faith in the ability of the UN to shape a secure future for us. During the last 75 years, the UN may not be able to deliver you up to the expectation. However, during past global crises, the United Nations delivered its mandates and stood firm to meditate conflicts, eradicate diseases, provide education, ensure security, improve living conditions and save lives by providing a whole raft of global public goods. It may not be able to take you to Haven but my dear friends, it kept you away from Hell and the Third World War and the nuclear disasters.

Foreign Minister Dr Ak Abdul Momen made the remark at the BUP International Model United Nations Conference 2020.

He started by commending Bangladesh University of Professionals for organising the event and congratulated all the delegates and the executive board members.

About Covid-19 pandemic, he said, "Like the rest of the world, Bangladesh is left to fight the pandemic's shocks on multiple fronts- health, economy, exports, and human mobility. Fortunately, we have hitherto managed the crisis well compared to the rest of the world.  As per Bloomberg report, in managing the Covid, Bangladesh in average the 20th in the world and top in south Asia."

"Despite having a large informal economy and dense population, our pragmatic policies and early interventions proved effective in keeping the virus under control and eventually flattening the curve while putting minimal strain on the economy. The economic stimulus packages worth USD 14.44 billion, which is equivalent to 4.7% of our total GDP, announced by Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina early into the pandemic, minimized the impact of the pandemic and cushioned our business, employment, and productivity from its negative fallouts."

The FM then talked about the history of UN and the pandemic that hit in the 1900s.

"The challenges of our time, such as climate change, forced displacement, conflict, ultra-nationalism, terrorism, inequality, cyber-attacks, and now the pandemic, transcend borders. These global challenges require us to fix the areas where multilateralism is failing, address these weaknesses, and scale up global preparedness," said the minister.

Foreign minister also talked about climate change, "No doubt, the COVID-19 has aggravated all the global challenges, and exposed some of the glaring weaknesses of the current international order. But it is certainly not the only challenge that we face. For generations, climate change has been causing major upheavals globally and threatening to annihilate our existence.

"We must, therefore, protect the planet. Climate actions must reflect equity and be guided by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances and in line with applicable State commitments to the Paris Agreement and the 2030 agenda."

About the Rohingya issue, he said, "Millions of people, nearly 80 million people have been uprooted from the sweet homes and traditional jobs and have become refugees loitering across nations. In our backyard, in the Rakhine State of Myanmar nearly 1.1 million Rohingya were forcibly uprooted from their homes as venom of hatred and ignorance, and spread of intolerance and disrespect for others is all pervasive. It is time to end such hatred and intolerance. We need to inculcate a mindset of tolerance, a mindset of respect for others irrespective of color, ethnicity, race and religion to have a world of sustainable peace and stability. If such mindset is created, there won't be any campaign for "Black Life Matters" or the Rohingya would not have been kicked out of their own land."

He concluded the statement with, "During the challenging time we are facing today, we believe that the UN would foster reinvigorated global action to ensure the future we want and leave even a brighter future for generations to come. Let us keep our hopes alive, let us keep dream alive, and work together for a better world."