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.
 

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.

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.          

“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 Concerned about the world we live in?
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