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15 March 2023
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s Message on the International Day to Combat Islamophobia
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11 March 2023
Cut in funding for Rohingyas is devastating: UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis talks to Prothom Alo
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Press Release
08 March 2023
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s message on the International Women’s Day
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The Sustainable Development Goals in Bangladesh
The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. These are the goals the UN is working on in Bangladesh:
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21 February 2023
United in diversity: UN country office congratulates Bangladesh on International Mother Language Day
We are particularly honoured to mark this day here in Bangladesh as the 21st February is also a worldwide tribute to the people of Bangladesh who have courageously fought for recognition of the Bangla language.
To commemorate the Bangladeshi martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this very day in 1952, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) unanimously proclaimed the 21st February International Mother Language Day in 1999. This is a significant contribution of Bangladesh to the world. On this day we mark our linguistic and cultural diversity, the core of our identity, and aim “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world”.
Looking back at history, it is important to reflect on the significance of Mother Language Day to respect and protect all languages of the world. Unfortunately, about every two weeks a language disappears, and when a language disappears, the entire world loses a part of its traditions, memories, and experiences that make our societies so culturally and intellectually diverse.
According to recent UNESCO estimates, at least 43% of the more than 6,000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Due to globalisation processes, many languages, particularly indigenous ones, are on the verge of extinction. As fewer than a hundred of the world's languages are used in the digital world and only a few hundred widely-spoken languages have been taught in schools, this trend is likely to increase in the future. To tackle this, UN agencies encourages multilingual education to be based on the mother tongue or first language. This not only serves to keep languages alive but has a range of additional benefits in terms of learning outcomes. To emphasise the importance of this, last year was the beginning of the International decade of action on Indigenous Languages 2022-2032. This Decade highlights the revival and promotion of indigenous and mother-tongue languages. Preserving language is at the heart of preserving identity, culture and diversity, and hence the Sustainable Development Goals.
In Bangladesh, the Bangla language is flourishing. Events such as Dhaka LitFest and the annual Ekushe Book Fair promote writing and reading in Bangla. The development of educational resource materials for teaching at primary grades in Bangladesh’s indigenous languages has started, initially with the five languages of Chakma, Garo, Marmar, Sadri, and Tripura. Additional languages will be added each year to eventually cover all the languages of the country.
On 21 February, we remember the Bangla language movement martyrs Abdus Salam, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Abul Barkat, Abdul Jabbar, and Ohiullah for sacrificing their lives to speak their mother tongues. We should not forget the significance of this day.
Embracing and protecting our linguistic diversity must be reinforced by not allowing anyone to use language as a tool to provoke conflicts and any forms of discrimination. It is important to respect all languages: big and small, widely and less spoken, indigenous and foreign. The diversity of languages is vital in intercultural dialogue to build inclusive societies.
On behalf of the staff of the UN in Bangladesh, representing hundreds of foreign and indigenous languages of different states and parts of the country from Teknaf to Panchagarh we wish the people of Bangladesh a happy International Mother Language Day. The day the country courageously fought for, and the legacy of which should not be forgotten.
Happy International Mother Language Day!
The op-ed written by UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis and UNESCO Officer-in-charge Dr Susan Vize was published by Prothom Alo and the Daily Star on 21 February
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Story
26 January 2023
UN team visit sites of Flash Flood Humanitarian Response in Sunamganj District of Sylhet Division, Bangladesh
About 5,000 people live in Anwarpur, a village full of lush greenery and blue water in the northeast of Tahirpur Upazilla, in Sunamganj District, Bangladesh. A place close to three great rivers, Surma, Kushiyara, and Sari-Gowain, and prone to natural disasters including floods, cyclones, and riverbank erosion among others. In the summer of 2022 flash floods hit the region massively making women and children suffer the most.
To assist those affected by flash floods, the Central Emergency Respond Fund (CERF) allocated a total of $5 million to its six-month large-scale Flash Flood Humanitarian Response Plan to provide lifesaving support to vulnerable communities in the worst-hit districts. The priority areas of the plan were food security and livelihoods, water supply and sanitation, and the protection of displaced women and children.
In November last year, the UN team in Bangladesh visited the flood-affected areas to see how the projects are being implemented and talk to people affected by floods. With the participation of representatives of different UN agencies, the team visited child protection centers in Shantiganj, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hand washing facilities in Anwarpur village along with food distribution centers, multi-purpose safe centers for women, and hospitals in other areas of Sunamganj.
"We didn’t know about rainwater harvesting. Now we try to save rainwater for our use," a 24 year old mother of two children, Shefali Akhter, from Anwarpur village told the UN team.
Following the floods, 8 out of every 10 children living in Anwarpur village have been diagnosed with undernourishment and over 84 children were identified with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), 70 of whom were admitted to the Upazila health complexes for treatment.
A 1.5 year old child Anjuman was admitted to the hospital for 12 days after being diagnosed with severe malnutrition. "She was always sick since her birth, but I didn’t know what was wrong with her. After sessions [with specialists supported by CERF], and nutrition checkups done by the NGOs, she was diagnosed with Severe Acute Malnutrition and admitted to the hospital. They provided us with money for hospitalisation and medicines," Anjuman's mother shared her experience. As well as Anjuman's mother, Happy, Khushnahar, and many other women from this village, said their lives have been improved because of the support provided by CERF. "It is all very new to us, we are still trying to adapt to these healthy habits, and the continuation of these kinds of projects are necessary," these women said.
Being a part of the response plan, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) supported local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) by providing referral support and consultation to high-risk pregnant mothers, as well as basic medicines against high fever, acute diarrhea, skin diseases, urinary tract infections, and injuries. It deployed social workers in most flood-affected districts and assisted to raise awareness about proper handwashing and ensure access to safe water. In collaboration with Department of Social Services (DSS) and Department of Women Affairs (DWA) UNICEF distributed a total of 4,575 non-food items (family, dignity, and recreational kits) to support children, women, and girls affected by floods.
Among the activities funded by the CERF was assistance to pregnant women in flood-affected areas. Social workers supported by the CERF fund were taking care of pregnant women providing them with all necessary services.United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) supported midwives in the flood-affected areas, those who were taking care of pregnant women providing them with the required equipment - nine babies were born in November last year with the help of midwives.
At Veemkhali and Derai in the Sunamganj region, the UN Women, the UN entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, provided medical aid and psychological support and helped to raise awareness about gender-based violence among young girls.
In the rural Haor Region, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provided emergency assistance to smallholder farmers who suffered losses in flash floods. The assistance efforts targeted vulnerable smallholders in three severely affected districts in the northeastern part of the country: Sylhet, Sunamganj, and Netrokona. Fazilat Begum, 56, from Sunamganj district, lost a calf in the floods and then struggled to afford feed for her remaining cow. “My only calf drowned in the flood but somehow the cow survived, although it struggled because it developed malnutrition,” she said. The emergency livestock feed provided by FAO helped Fazilat’s remaining cow to regain its strength.
The World Food Programme (WFP) were working to support flood-affected villagers. The agency distributed food, nutrient supplements, and monetary allowance for the villagers.
Overall, the response activities funded by CERF have been implemented by UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP, FAO, and UN Women together with local humanitarian partners and the government of Bangladesh.
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Story
05 December 2022
Every Drop Counts: Increasing water security in coastal areas of Bangladesh
Sutarkhali Union is on the coastal side of Bangladesh which exposes it to constant climate hazards such as cyclones, tidal surges, riverbank erosion, salinity intrusion, and more. Salinity intrusion especially affect the community in multiple ways as there is crop production damage leading to unstable livelihoods and a shortage of drinking water.
"We are dependent on the ponds as the only source of drinking water. So, during the dry season or when there is salinity intrusion in the water, we have no access to safe drinking water,” says Rahima, a resident of the Union.
Reports suggest that many people residing in the coastal areas consume higher amounts of salt than required which may cause severe health hazards in the long run. Moreover, women who are primarily in charge of households are being tasked to walk long distances up to almost 3km a day, under the scorching heat or pouring rain to bring drinking water from far away ‘sweet water’ ponds as they call it, which is harmful to their bodies.
“It worries me when I leave three of my children at home all alone to bring water. It takes me more than 2 hours, as I rush back home to cook and feed them,” says Madhobi as she shares her daily struggle.
The Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC) project led by the Local Government Division of the Ministry of Local Government Rural Development and Cooperatives, is a joint 4-year initiative of the Government of Bangladesh, UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the European Union, and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
The project uses UNCDF transferred Performance Based Climate Resilience Grants (PBCRG) to climate-vulnerable local governments as additional financing and complements the general grant resources provided by the Government to all Union Parishads (UPs). The specific purpose of PBCRG is to help UPs make investments to strengthen resilience to climate and disaster impacts, covering infrastructure and public services for the poor.
To ensure safe drinking water for local people in the saline-prone Suterkhali Union of Dacope Upazila of Khulna district, the LoGIC project is supporting the local governments to implement some adaptive technologies. Rainwater harvesting is a cheap and nature-based technology with no negative impact on the environment. It can ensure a supply of drinking water for several months if enough water is stored properly.
However, considering that there may be variability in rainfall, the LoGIC project diversified the use of technology to ensure a year-round supply of drinking water. The project installed a treatment plant to supply pure drinking water free from microbes, an excessive amount of salts, or other solutes harmful to human health. Moreover, this water treatment plant is a suitable solution in places where people are not culturally accustomed to drinking rainwater.
In the Sutarkhali Union, a sweet water pond that preserves rainwater was re-excavated with PBCRG support to increase water availability in the community. The water treatment plant was set up to benefit approximately 1,200 people from 300 households, particularly women. The project had a planned cost of USD19,000, of which USD17,500 was provided by UNCDF/LoGIC, and then the rest was co-financed by the local government and the government’s public health engineering department. The water treatment plant produces 5000 liters of clean drinking water every single day which caters to the requirements of the local salinity-affected communities.
“By channeling additional resources based on the requirements of the community in a coordinated approach, the LoGIC has implemented a low-cost, nature-based technology. Women no longer have to walk long hours to bring water and the community no longer suffers from health hazards from drinking saline water,” says Masum Ali, the chairman of the Union.
Moreover, an ATM has been set up in the plant where the users pay Taka 0.40 per liter by using a smart card to buy water. In one year, the plant has earned USD1,200 by selling water to the beneficiaries and has a saving of USD120 after meeting all expenditures.
The LoGIC played a catalytic role for this community to build resilience against climate change by working with the community and the UPs to bring out sustainable solutions.
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Story
04 October 2022
The LDC Graduating Cohort of 2026: Working across countries and UN agencies to support a smooth transition
In November 2021, Bangladesh, Lao PDR, and Nepal officially qualified to graduate out of the least developed countries category by 2026. This was an important development milestone for the three countries marked by reaching threshold criteria in per capita gross national income, human assets index, and economic and environmental vulnerability index for two consecutive three-year cycles.
The three countries differ significantly in terms of their economies, geographies, and histories. Yet, they share the common prospect of graduating out of the LDC category in the aftermath of the greatest global pandemic in living memory, followed by the cascading effects and impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine, against the backdrop of the intensifying triple planetary crisis.
Bangladesh is among the countries that extensively use the international support measures for LDCs to increase exports and produce pharmaceuticals for domestic and international markets. Given the dependence of exports on duty-free-quota-free market access, the Government and private sector of Bangladesh would like to prioritize advocacy and negotiations for continuation of the trade and intellectual property related support measures and preparing the country to access better trade deals.
Nepal, on the other hand, has not been able to fully utilize available international support measures due to the supply side constraints, and so its losses in trade and erosion in concessional aid are expected to be low in the short to medium term. However, Nepal may experience constraints on diversifying exports due to high tariffs, loss of flexibility in the implementation of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement, limited flexibilities to promote infant industries and other. To offset these challenges, the Government of Nepal and the private sector prioritize international support to accelerate economic transformation, bring foreign direct investment, and access to development finance, particularly climate finance.
For Lao PDR, the case is of relatively limited exports taking place under LDC-specific market access arrangements as most trade is covered by regional agreements, but LDC provisions are important for some key sectors and a growing demand for new export markets. Key challenges for Lao PDR in managing a smooth transition relate to securing sufficient development finance, in particular climate finance, and strengthening integrated planning to support economic transformation and sustainable long-term development. Rising inflation and emerging complexities around the price of food, energy, and finance over the course of 2022 have subsequently added to the difficulties and challenges for these three countries.
In this context, the UN in the three countries is supporting respective governments in addressing country-specific needs associated with graduation within their Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks. A key imperative for LDC graduation is to ensure that the transition is smooth and sustainable in the face of shocks and a changing global context. For this, the three graduating countries are formulating nationally owned, time-bound, and action-oriented Smooth Transition Strategies.
Relevant expertise, knowledge, and capacity to support the development, and later implementation, of these strategies sits across different parts of the UN development system- at national, regional, and global levels. This includes dedicated specialists in UNDESA—including with its secretarial support to the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), which advises the Economic and Social Council of the UN General Assembly on a wide range of issues relevant for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development including the LDC graduation process, —OHRLLS, UNCTAD, and ESCAP, as well as in-country technical capacities in agencies such as ITC, ILO and UNDP and the overall in-country coordination of systemwide efforts supported by the strategic economic and development analysis and planning capacity of RCOs led by UN Resident Coordinators.
The reform of the UN has created the opportunity to take a significant step forward in the efficiency with which this distributed capacity can be used to support government efforts. In particular, to facilitate the process and help land such support among in-country stakeholders, as Resident Coordinators of the three countries, thanks to new ways of working, we have been able to convene integrated cross-country support that is showing the potential to make a difference at this key moment for the three countries. This has included regular discussions across the RCOs of the three countries to coordinate approaches, share practice and facilitate peer learning, and support the three countries in leveraging a common voice, aligning their positions for international negotiations.
Challenged by COVID-19, but nonetheless almost two years of effective background work, and a first virtual meeting among government representatives in 2021, this led to physically bringing the three governments together for a joint South-South Exchange. The three RCOs, with support from the UNDESA and in collaboration with the UN-OHRLLS and UNESCAP organized the conference on formulating smooth transition strategies in Bangkok in August 2022. Among the participants were Government officials who would lead and draft the transition strategies, and representatives from the private sector and civil society. Experts from UN Development System, multilateral organizations, representative from the Republic of Korea and Viet Nam, academia, and think-tanks also joined. The topics discussed ranged from challenges and priorities of each country to specific thematic issues common to all countries. These included issues like leaving no one behind, market access, intellectual property rights, export diversification, climate action, the criticality of investments into human capital, development finance, and domestic resource mobilization. This broad and inclusive participation and agenda showcased promising practice and possible pathways ahead, but also highlighted the many trade-offs that must be addressed to ensure a sustainable, irreversible, and quality LDC graduation.
LDC graduation not only brings changes to the trade and finance landscape, but it also directly affects people – workers in the sectors most impacted, and unskilled workers across the board. Particularly affected are women in the informal sector and in factory jobs and, importantly, the prospects for future employment opportunities which underscores the criticality of investments into human capital looking ahead. It is, therefore, an imperative to ensure that LDC graduation is inclusive and that the smooth transition strategies incorporate the interests of all stakeholders, including workers and an outlook that stretches beyond the immediate concerns. To that end the South-South Exchange included discussions on leaving no one behind, inclusive institutions, environmental and labour standards, and human rights as key drivers for sustainable economic growth. Also on the agenda was climate change and the potential for climate action to be supported by concessional climate finance to drive sustainable development of these LDCs. Government representatives of all three countries actively engaged in these discussions. During final presentations, they committed to work on the issues on inclusive development, increased investment in human capital, labour and human rights, and environmental standards for an informed smooth transition strategy.
The discussions unpacked some of the needs of the three countries for policy, capacity, and technical support, and they clarified areas where joint advocacy could be leveraged to create space for advanced engagement and broader development cooperation. The event also provided the opportunity for the private sector representatives of the three countries to engage directly with each other. There is also interest among the three governments to continue the peer exchange and learning through virtual discussions.
Importantly, the work also serves to demonstrate what can be achieved with more coordinated and integrated support from across the UN system, also when capacities do not sit directly in-country. The preparations for a smooth LDC graduation cut across the mandates of many parts of government and of the UN development system, offering the potential to spur integrated and transformational ways of working, and to address some of the most pressing and challenging multidimensional development challenges facing countries today.
The next steps in the process will involve each country identifying the needs for technical, financial and policy support in more granular detail, and mobilizing country-specific support through the UN and other development partners. The UN’s support to the three countries will require to be tailored to the needs identified in these ongoing discussions and be fully anchored within the respective UN Sustainable Development Frameworks. Our offices will carry on the collaboration across the three RCOs and with UNDESA at the technical level to facilitate exchange between the three Governments. We will continue to coordinate our advocacy and messaging both internally and in international fora. Delivering as One-UN can go beyond country teams and across borders and indeed, also coherently align UN efforts vertically from HQ through regional to country-based support in line with the ambitions of the UN development system reform.
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Story
05 September 2022
Volunteers Gaining Skills to Save Lives
“In July, torrential rain caused several landslides in different camps. When faced with something similar happening in our camp, we moved people in the community from the vulnerable areas to temporary communal safe shelters. These types of lifesaving activities amazed me most.”
Nasima, a 35-year-old Rohingya woman, shared her experiences of working in the recent monsoon response for her community in Camp 20, a refugee camp for the Rohingyas in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar. “I never thought that I would ever carry out such brave work in adverse weather, even a couple of years back. I did not have such courage then. It was only after I underwent training and became a volunteer of the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) in 2018 that I developed the courage to do this.”
From July to August this year, Nasima directly assisted 20 families during pre- and post-monsoon response. She also referred 30 families who needed support to other service-providing agencies in the camp.
“During any emergency like flood, cyclone or fire incidents, we have to work very hard. In July, when it rained a lot, I checked every day for any damage, landslide, or flood. I reported back immediately to Site Management Support (SMS) volunteers whenever I noticed anything.”
At least 200 families were affected by the flash flood in Camp 19 in July. DMU volunteers immediately relocated the affected families to safe places. They provided direct support in landslide and flood-affected shelters. They also assisted in emergency soil removal and rescue and moved the affected population to safe communal shelters.
DMU Volunteer Nasima is conducting door-to-door awareness session in the Rohingya camp.
“I never thought that I would ever carry out such brave work in adverse weather, even a couple of years back. I did not have such courage then. It was only after I underwent training and became a volunteer of the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) in 2018 that I developed the courage to do this.”
The IOM Site Management Site Development (SMSD) Programme scaled up its emergency response activities to address the damages caused by the heavy rain. The volunteers played a very important role in ensuring better emergency response during the monsoon season.
“Previously, I was scared of cyclones, floods, landslides and other natural disasters. I used to keep myself and my family members from going out when it rained or when there are risks of floods or landslides. But now, I come out from my house not only to save my kids and belongings but also to save my neighbors and members of the community who fall into distress due to the calamity,” Nasima said confidently.
As a first responder, Nasima received trainings on cyclone preparedness, fire safety and response, search and rescue, first aid, and other disaster risks reduction-related trainings. The trainings she received helped her build her capacity and strengthened her understanding of dealing with emergencies. “Before undergoing the training, I had little understanding about any natural calamity and how we should respond to it. Now, I am more confident about my role. I am capable to serve my community and I want to continue my work. Many people in my community know me already through my role. They come to me with the hope that their problems will be heard and solved. I feel very happy and proud to be able to help them.”
IOM teams are alerting the refugees who are living at landslide risk-prone areas in Rohingya camps.
Nasima is among of the 761 DMU volunteers composed of 208 women and 553 men. They are based in their respective camps which are among the 10 IOM-managed camps in Cox’s Bazar, namely Camps 9, 15, 18, 19, 20, 20 Extension, 22, 23, 24, and 25. People from her community were previously not aware of her role as a volunteer. However, they are motivated when they see her perform her role and approach her whenever there is any need.
The volunteers are among the first responders who arrive immediately after an emergency and provide initial support to the affected community until professional emergency responders arrive. They also disseminate messages on cyclone awareness and early warnings, landslide risks, fire safety, and monsoon awareness in the community during normal times.
In 2018, IOM SMSD, coordinating with the SMSD Sector, other Site Management (SM) partners, American Red Cross and the national Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP), established the community-based groups called ‘Safety Volunteers’. These volunteer groups subsequently expanded and became DMU in 2019.
Jeno Beno, IOM SMSD’s Area Operations Coordinator for Teknaf said, “The DMU volunteers working together with the IOM SMS teams are a crucial part of our operations both in emergency preparedness and response activities. Thanks to their commitment, their readiness to learn and to be trained.” Beno added, “Rescuing distressed people after landslide incidents, putting fires off, or saving people affected by the flood are part of their response activities. You have to be strong and committed to carry out these responsibilities.”
Cox's Bazar is one of the most disaster-affected districts of Bangladesh. It is exposed to tropical cyclones and associated storm surges, flash floods and landslides. The Rohingya refugee camps both in Kutupalong-Balukhali Extension (KBE) and Teknaf are under heightened risks due to the environmental degradation and further heightened by the congested population of the camps. The DMU activities in IOM-managed Rohingya camps are now carried out with the support of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).
Nasima, a 35-year-old Rohingya woman, shared her experiences of working in the recent monsoon response for her community in Camp 20, a refugee camp for the Rohingyas in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar. “I never thought that I would ever carry out such brave work in adverse weather, even a couple of years back. I did not have such courage then. It was only after I underwent training and became a volunteer of the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) in 2018 that I developed the courage to do this.”
From July to August this year, Nasima directly assisted 20 families during pre- and post-monsoon response. She also referred 30 families who needed support to other service-providing agencies in the camp.
“During any emergency like flood, cyclone or fire incidents, we have to work very hard. In July, when it rained a lot, I checked every day for any damage, landslide, or flood. I reported back immediately to Site Management Support (SMS) volunteers whenever I noticed anything.”
At least 200 families were affected by the flash flood in Camp 19 in July. DMU volunteers immediately relocated the affected families to safe places. They provided direct support in landslide and flood-affected shelters. They also assisted in emergency soil removal and rescue and moved the affected population to safe communal shelters.
DMU Volunteer Nasima is conducting door-to-door awareness session in the Rohingya camp.
“I never thought that I would ever carry out such brave work in adverse weather, even a couple of years back. I did not have such courage then. It was only after I underwent training and became a volunteer of the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) in 2018 that I developed the courage to do this.”
The IOM Site Management Site Development (SMSD) Programme scaled up its emergency response activities to address the damages caused by the heavy rain. The volunteers played a very important role in ensuring better emergency response during the monsoon season.
“Previously, I was scared of cyclones, floods, landslides and other natural disasters. I used to keep myself and my family members from going out when it rained or when there are risks of floods or landslides. But now, I come out from my house not only to save my kids and belongings but also to save my neighbors and members of the community who fall into distress due to the calamity,” Nasima said confidently.
As a first responder, Nasima received trainings on cyclone preparedness, fire safety and response, search and rescue, first aid, and other disaster risks reduction-related trainings. The trainings she received helped her build her capacity and strengthened her understanding of dealing with emergencies. “Before undergoing the training, I had little understanding about any natural calamity and how we should respond to it. Now, I am more confident about my role. I am capable to serve my community and I want to continue my work. Many people in my community know me already through my role. They come to me with the hope that their problems will be heard and solved. I feel very happy and proud to be able to help them.”
IOM teams are alerting the refugees who are living at landslide risk-prone areas in Rohingya camps.
Nasima is among of the 761 DMU volunteers composed of 208 women and 553 men. They are based in their respective camps which are among the 10 IOM-managed camps in Cox’s Bazar, namely Camps 9, 15, 18, 19, 20, 20 Extension, 22, 23, 24, and 25. People from her community were previously not aware of her role as a volunteer. However, they are motivated when they see her perform her role and approach her whenever there is any need.
The volunteers are among the first responders who arrive immediately after an emergency and provide initial support to the affected community until professional emergency responders arrive. They also disseminate messages on cyclone awareness and early warnings, landslide risks, fire safety, and monsoon awareness in the community during normal times.
In 2018, IOM SMSD, coordinating with the SMSD Sector, other Site Management (SM) partners, American Red Cross and the national Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP), established the community-based groups called ‘Safety Volunteers’. These volunteer groups subsequently expanded and became DMU in 2019.
Jeno Beno, IOM SMSD’s Area Operations Coordinator for Teknaf said, “The DMU volunteers working together with the IOM SMS teams are a crucial part of our operations both in emergency preparedness and response activities. Thanks to their commitment, their readiness to learn and to be trained.” Beno added, “Rescuing distressed people after landslide incidents, putting fires off, or saving people affected by the flood are part of their response activities. You have to be strong and committed to carry out these responsibilities.”
Cox's Bazar is one of the most disaster-affected districts of Bangladesh. It is exposed to tropical cyclones and associated storm surges, flash floods and landslides. The Rohingya refugee camps both in Kutupalong-Balukhali Extension (KBE) and Teknaf are under heightened risks due to the environmental degradation and further heightened by the congested population of the camps. The DMU activities in IOM-managed Rohingya camps are now carried out with the support of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).
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Press Release
19 March 2023
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s Message on the International Day to Combat Islamophobia
The world’s nearly 2 billion Muslims reflect humanity in all its magnificent diversity.
But they often face bigotry and prejudice for no other reason than their faith.
Beyond structural, institutional discrimination and the wholesale stigmatization of Muslim communities, Muslims suffer personal attacks, hateful rhetoric, and scapegoating.
We see some of the worst impacts in the triple discrimination against Muslim women because of their gender, ethnicity, and faith.
The growing hate that Muslims face is not an isolated development: it is part of the resurgence of ethno-nationalism, neo-Nazi white supremacist ideologies, and violence targeting vulnerable populations including Muslims, Jews, some minority Christian communities and others.
Discrimination diminishes us all. And it is incumbent on all of us to stand up against it.
We must strengthen our defenses by pushing for policies that fully respect human rights and protect religious and cultural identities.
We must recognize diversity as richness and ramp up political, cultural, and economic investments in social cohesion.
And we must confront bigotry by working to tackle the hate that spreads like wildfire across the internet.
For well over a millennium, Islam’s message of peace, compassion, and grace has inspired people the world over.
Every great faith and tradition summons the imperatives of tolerance, respect, and mutual understanding.
At the heart, we are dealing with universal values: they animate the United Nations Charter and lie at the core of our quest for justice, human rights, and peace.
Today and every day, let us strive to realize these values and counter the forces of division by reaffirming our common humanity.
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Press Release
12 March 2023
Cut in funding for Rohingyas is devastating: UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis talks to Prothom Alo
Gwyn Lewis joined as the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh in May 2022. Prior to her assignment in Dhaka, she had served as Director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the West Bank from 2019. She has over 20 years’ experience in international development, peace and humanitarian assistance. In an interview with Prothom Alo’s Raheed Ejaz and Ayesha Kabir taken on 25 February, she spoke in detail on the Rohingya crisis, freedom of expression, the elections and more.
Since independence the UN has been one of the major actors in Bangladesh's development. Presently, which are the major areas of assistance and cooperation?
The UN has been here for a very long. The first UN organisation in Bangladesh was UNHCR, the UN refugee agency in 1971. A lot of people here talk about the UNICEF support they received at school or the World Food Programme assistance with food. So the UN is a part of the history of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is on its way to graduate out of least developed country category and the relationship has changed. We have a cooperation framework with the government where we focus on development areas of support. There are five areas at the moment. One is around economic development, particularly LDC graduation. Another is on environment and climate and how the UN can support in terms of mitigation and adaptation and reinforcing the government’s planning. We do a lot of work on the social side: education, through UNICEF and UNESCO, health support, through WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF. We also do work on social protection and social work. We have a pillar on gender and gender-based violence and working towards equality and addressing violence against women and girls. Finally we have a pillar on governance, reinforcing institutions and providing support to the ministries.
We have work on the humanitarian side, in close relationship with the ministry of disaster risk management. We do work on preparedness, anticipating disasters and immediate response for disasters. We are trying to reinforce that because the number of climate disasters that Bangladesh is facing is unfortunately going to be bigger and more recurrent.
The final piece is supporting the Rohingya refugees who are in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. UNHCR and IOM lead the response and the majority of the support to the Rohingya refugees comes through the UN partners and the NGOs on the ground.
The Rohingya crisis has been continuing for the last six years and we don’t see any sign of repatriation. Do you think the UN system can play a more active role in resolving these crises?
The UN system is made up of member states, and this is particularly relevant when it comes to the political side of the support. For the UN the work is really about leveraging the capacity and governments’ support to resolve issues like the conflict in Myanmar. There was a very positive move at the end of December – the Security Council resolution called for calm in Myanmar and for moving towards dialogue and addressing some of the more humanitarian issues. It also recognized Bangladesh’s role in supporting the Rohingya. The Security Council move helped in keeping the issue alive on the political stage. The work that the Special Envoy for Myanmar is doing is challenging, leveraging whatever political pressure can be brought to bear. It is challenging because the Myanmar junta is becoming more and more isolationist. The ASEAN five-point consensus is not getting as much traction as we would have liked. The UN is very often left to negotiate on humanitarian issues. It is about governments in the region and internationally engaging and putting pressure on the authorities in Myanmar. The UN has a very important role to play but it is about how the member states are engaging in those discussions.
We are worried about the lack of attention towards the Rohingya refugees in terms of funding. We are doing our best to raise the issue of financial support, because of the lack of attention and also competing crises -- whether the Ukraine crisis or the earthquake in Turkey. Global attention is going to there, which is also fair because people there are dying and suffering. But it also means a lot of the funding is moving away from the Rohingya response. That is very worrying.
WFP has said it will be slashing funds for refugees. That spells bad news for the Rohingyas in Bangladesh, and for Bangladesh. What is your stand on that?
WFP had to announce a ration cut and that is devastating. We, as a community, are very worried. I personally am worried. We will not be able to provide the 2100 kilo calories that are needed per person. Currently, with a full ration, we are not addressing all the nutrition needs of a person, only the basic calories needs, and reducing their ration from 12 dollars to 10 dollars will have a significant impact. Food doesn’t just keep you nourished. You are more vulnerable if you have underlying health issues. It has a greater impact on children and pregnant women. So we are trying to make a strong advocacy push with all of the donors and trying to find new donors, for example the Gulf countries to provide support.
We are launching an appeal for funding the Rohingya crisis in Geneva on 7 March. State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, will be at that event. We need to raise 125 million USD for food for the Rohingyas. When you are trying to compete and fund-raise, it is a challenge. It is very worrying because the refugees in Cox’s Bazar can’t work and are very dependent on the international community for their basic needs.
When you met the prime minister recently, she requested the UN to engage more in Bhasan Char. How are you engaging there, what with the fund crisis?
We are absolutely tight on funding, you are correct. Bhasan Char is a project that the Bangladesh government initiated and they created housing and facilities including buildings for schools and buildings for health centres on the island. The agreement is, we will do what we can to move up to 90,000 people on to the island. That process is ongoing. Right now there are close to 30,000 refugees on Bhasan Char. It is a very complex process. It has to be a voluntary movement. When they move, there is a process to make sure they have housing. It is not as quick as the government hoped initially, but it is ongoing.
The good news is, we have been able to provide full rations on Bhasan Char. But it is challenging to maintain fundraising for both Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. We want to provide the same services. We don’t want to send refugees to Bhasan Char and then they will not be able to send their children to school or have access to health services. It is about 30 per cent more expensive to provide food to Bhasan Char. We are committed to provide humanitarian support same as in Cox’s Bazar camps. We are not able to build buildings or provide maintenance. Anything that is infrastructure or transportation on or off the island, we rely on the government to maintain.
Special rapporteurs have reminded Bangladesh about its commitment to freedom of speech, media freedom and right to assembly. Do you think the country is on the right track? If not, what are the flaws?
The Special Rapporteurs are independent experts. They come on the invitation of the government to discuss climate change, human rights, human trafficking or there was a recent visit regarding leprosy. There is a Bangladeshi Special Rapporteur Irene Khan who works on Freedom of Opinion and Expression. They would be much better placed to talk about these specific technical areas. The work that we do in my office is to facilitate those visits, provide them with support.
The prime minister has said she is committed to free and fair elections. We support and promote that. It is very important that the government is inviting special rapporteurs who are providing constructive feedback on these issues.
Outside of the special rapporteurs, does the UN have a stand on freedom of speech, media freedom, freedom of expression?
Of course, it is very much embedded in the UN Charter. It is very much something we believe, a part of our principles. This is an important ongoing dialogue with the government. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has spoken and given feedback on the Digital Security Act and the Data Protection Act. To facilitate those processes, we consult with experts to provide advice about freedom of expression, freedom of media. I recently chaired a roundtable with the information ministry to talk about the freedom of media in Bangladesh and brought together stakeholders from the government and civil society to have an open dialogue about concerns that people have in the country.
Apart from the certain provisions of the Digital Security Act, the UN raised concern about the proposed Data Protection Act and submitted some proposals for amendments. What is the latest status of your suggestions?
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) went through the law and provided comments. That was back in June. We have been following up. As far as I know, there have been no comments or feedback sent back to OHCHR on DSA specifically. I know what law minister Anisul Huq has been saying in the media, that these comments will be taken into consideration, but we haven’t got anything back from the government as yet. On Data Protection, the comments were submitted in July. We appreciated that there was a dialogue that we didn’t see in the case of the DSA. But there hasn’t been any feedback yet. The DSA has been passed into law, but the minister has said things can be changed despite that fact. He said the implementation on the ground would be adapted based on the requirements or issues. But we haven’t seen anything formally changed.
Have you had any discussions ahead of the parliamentary election? Any awareness programme or providing resources to the election commission?
I met the election commissioner a couple of weeks ago and talked about what support they needed. They mentioned voter awareness, capacity development for people who would be manning the polling stations. We are at the preliminary stage of that conversation and are still trying to articulate that support and waiting for the more formal request from the election commission.
We are approaching the next general election and the international community stresses on free, fair and credible elections. The EU has decided to send an election observation mission. In previous elections UN actively engaged with the government in the electoral process including the voter ID. What is your plan for the forthcoming election?
There needs to be a request from the government, if they would like election observers. The only other time that it doesn’t come from the government is in a different context. For example, if there was a crisis, a war, and something is decided in the Security Council or the General Assembly, which isn’t in the case of Bangladesh. I have talked to the election commission about what support the UN can provide. It is really up to the election commission and the government to decide if they want to request support.
Do you work with the civil society or the non-government sector in this area?
A UN agency, say UN Women, could work with civil society if it had something to do with ensuring women’s participation in the election or inter-party dialogue with women’s groups or something to that effect. Another example is when we chaired a roundtable on freedom of media, we invited civil society to make sure that there is consultation and feedback. Consulting with civil society is something that we recommend strongly when there are any policy changes or decisions including dialogue on the election. To reiterate, the support that we provide would have to be requested by the government. That is very much a part of UN policies.
The interview was published by Prothom Alo in Bangla and English on 11 March 2023.
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Press Release
08 March 2023
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s message on the International Women’s Day
On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the achievements of women and girls across all walks of life, in all corners of the world.
But we also recognize the enormous obstacles they face — from structural injustices, marginalization, and violence, to cascading crises that affect them first and worst, to the denial of their personal autonomy and rights over their bodies and lives.
Gender-based discrimination harms everyone – women, girls, men, and boys.
International Women’s Day is a call to action.
Action to stand with women who are demanding their fundamental rights at great personal cost.
Action to strengthen protection against sexual exploitation and abuse.
And action to accelerate women’s full participation and leadership.
This year’s theme stresses the need for technology and innovation to advance gender equality.
Technology can expand pathways to education and opportunities for women and girls.
But it can also be used to amplify abuse and hatred.
Today, women make up under a third of the workforce in science, technology, engineering, and maths.
And when women are under-represented in developing new technologies, discrimination may be baked in from the start.
That is why we must close the digital divide and increase the representation of women and girls in science and technology.
Women’s exclusion from the digital world has shaved an estimated $1 trillion from the GDP of low- and middle-income countries in the last decade — a loss that could grow to $1.5 trillion by 2025 without action.
Investing in women uplifts all people, communities, and countries.
Let us work together – across governments, the private sector and civil society –to build a more inclusive, just, and prosperous world for women, girls, men, and boys everywhere.
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Press Release
06 March 2023
UN agencies implement Rohingya refugee response activities following allocation of CERF funding
The agencies together with the government of Bangladesh and their partners are providing refugees with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders, food assistance, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, and protection. The projects are also aimed to provide support to women, girls, and people with disabilities.
In November 2022, the CERF allocated USD 9 million to six UN agencies including the UN Migration Agency (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Women and the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide life-saving services to over 943,000 Rohingya refugees staying in camps in Cox’s Bazar district and on the island of Bhasan Char, and over 17,800 members of the host community in Ukhiya and Teknaf.
IOM and UNHCR are distributing LPG to refugee households in camps in Cox’s Bazar. As a result, a total of 856,851 refugees have started receiving Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders. The distribution of LPG protects refugees’ health and living conditions, as it reduces smoke inhalation and protection risks related to the collection of firewood from forests. The projects supported by IOM and UNHCR in Cox's Bazar are also providing services to the most vulnerable groups including women, children, elderly and refugees living with disabilities, including community outreach programmes and awareness-raising activities.
UNFPA received 250,000 USD to support the Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and gender-based violence (GBV) integration interventions in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char. The main objective of the UNFPA project is to strengthen the protection and response of over 335,000 Rohingya refugee women and girls from any form of GBV. The UNFPA supported interventions to be implemented by the end of 2023 including procurement and distribution of reproductive health kits, commodities, medicines, and supplies such as family planning methods as well as post-rape management kits, strengthening SRH/GBV referral services, building the capacity of health workers on clinical management of GBV and intimate partner violence, facilitation of basic sexual reproductive health services within women-friendly spaces by the deployment of midwives as well as provision of GBV case management within health facilities.
UNICEF and partners are preventing and responding to the pressing child protection and GBV concerns in Bhasan Char through an integrated approach that blends service provision with community awareness and empowerment activities. Children have access to Case Management, Psychosocial support and Life Skills-based learning. UNICEF will also provide water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services for over 48,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char.
UN Women is enhancing access to lifesaving, essential GBV services and support among survivors and those at risk of GBV in the Rohingya refugee camps. The agency already has 5 multipurpose women’s centres in the camps, and the CERF funding will be allocated to livelihood activities and GBV support in these multipurpose centres.
WFP is providing food and nutrition assistance to refugees through food vouchers that could be redeemed for a wide range of dry and fresh food items at WFP outlets throughout the camps. However, due to a funding shortage, WFP has no choice but to cut the voucher value from US$12 per person per month to US$10, starting 1 March. The reduction came at a time when the entire Rohingya population remained dependent on WFP to meet their basic food and nutrition needs and malnutrition among children and women was already high.
Commenting on the allocation of the funds in November 2022, the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, Gwyn Lewis said, "The UN in Bangladesh welcomes the decision of the Emergency Relief Coordinator to allocate these funds to the currently underfunded Rohingya Response to support refugees and the host community in their daily struggle for survival. In consultation with the government of Bangladesh and local NGOs, the money allocated from the CERF will help protect refugees, tackle gender-based violence, and contribute to an environment respectful of refugee rights and well-being."
CERF is a mechanism through which donors pool their contributions in advance, allowing humanitarian agencies to provide initial, life-saving assistance wherever crises strike while they await additional funding.
For further information, visit the CERF official website. For the latest funding updates, visit the OCHA Financial Tracking Service.
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Press Release
22 February 2023
UN experts urge Bangladesh to end judicial harassment of journalists
“We are seriously concerned that the criminal charges and the prolongation of the investigation against Ms. Islam appear to be in direct retaliation for her investigative reporting,” said the experts.
In 2021 Rozina Islam, a journalist employed by Bangladesh’s largest daily newspaper, Prothom Alo, reported on alleged corruption and mismanagement in the health sector and irregularities in the procurement of emergency medical supplies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. On 17 May 2021, Ms. Islam went to the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to meet with senior officials. While there she was detained and accused of having used her cell phone without permission to photograph documents related to government negotiations on the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines. She was later charged under the Official Secrets Act and the Penal Code.
On 3 July 2022, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police submitted its final report to the court stating that no substantial evidence had been found to support the allegations against Rozina Islam. Seven months later, following a petition by the Ministry of Health in January 2023, the same court ordered the police to carry out further investigations. The next hearing is expected to take place on 28 February.
“The protracted nature of Rozina Islam’s case reflects a dangerous trend in Bangladesh and beyond to bring serious charges, often on unsubstantiated grounds, against journalists and editors and then leave the cases hanging unresolved in the judicial process as a way of threatening, intimidating, harassing and silencing them,” said the experts.
“The judicial system should not be instrumentalised to chill critical reporting, undermine press freedom and encourage a culture of self-censorship,” said the experts.
“The government should review its prosecution policy of journalists and the use of the colonial era Official Secrets Act and the more recent Digital Security Act, and it should bring the laws and practices in line with its international human rights obligations,” advised the experts.
Noting that independent, uncensored and unhindered press is a cornerstone of democratic society, the experts called on the Government of Bangladesh to drop the charges against Ms Islam and withdraw other protracted cases against journalists and editors.
The experts noted that women journalists are doubly at risk as they also often face gender-based discrimination, harassment and violence.
“We urge the government to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists and human rights defenders, and we stand ready to provide our technical advice and support to the authorities,” said the experts.
The experts are in communication with the government of Bangladesh on these issues.
*The experts: Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Ms. Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Ms. Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; and Ms. Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.
For more information and media requests, please contact hrc-sr-freedex@un.org
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts, please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) and Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org).
Follow news related to the UN's independent human rights experts on Twitter: @UN_SPExperts
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