28 September 2024 DVR Rohingya news Speech of Chief Adviser’s speech at UNGA

Let me congratulate you on your election as the President of the United Nations General Assembly. I would also place on record our deep appreciation to the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, for his unwavering commitment to deliver on the UN mandates and address the global challenges. I particularly applaud his vision in convening the Summit of the Future. The Pact for the Future and the Declaration on Future Generations could help in setting pathways beyond Agenda 2030. Bangladesh believes that the Summit’s outcome will serve as a guiding framework in materializing our shared aspirations and re-thinking collaboration, for posterity. I stand in this parliament of nations thanks to an epochal transformation that Bangladesh witnessed this July and August. The 'power of the ordinary people', in particular our youth, presented to our nation an opportunity to overhaul many of our systems and institutions. The uprising led by the students and youth was initially aimed at ending discrimination. Progressively the movement evolved into a people’s movement. The world eventually saw how people-at-large stood against autocracy, oppression, discrimination, injustice and corruption, both on the streets and online. Our people, particularly youth, gained us independence from an autocratic and undemocratic regime with their exceptional resolve and capability. That collective resolve should define Bangladesh of the future and place our nation as a responsive and responsible State in the comity of nations. This was indeed a movement that primarily brought together people who were long left in politics and development. Who asked ‘prosperity’ to be shared, to be inclusive. The people aspired for a just, inclusive and functioning democracy for which our new generations made supreme sacrifice. We were moved by the wisdom, courage and conviction our youth showed. Even braving bullets, bare chest. Young girls were fiercely vocal against the illegitimate State power. School-going teenagers laid down their lives. Hundreds lost their eyes, forever. Mothers, day laborers and scores of people across cities lent their shoulders, for “their children”. Defying sweat, rain and fear of death, they defeated all the evil designs and machinations of the few who manipulated the State machinery against truth and just aspirations of people for years. The people’s movement left an estimated over eight hundred martyrs in the hands of the autocratic regime. Bangladesh was born because of her people’s profound belief in liberalism, pluralism, secularism. Decades later, our ‘Generation Z’ is making us re-visit and re-imagine the very values that our people Bangladesh stood for back in 1971. As our people also did in 1952, to defend our mother language, Bangla. We believe, the ‘monsoon revolution’ that the world witnessed in Bangladesh in the span of few weeks, may inspire many across communities and countries, to stand for freedom and justice. I would call upon the international community to engage with ‘new Bangladesh’ anew that aims to realize freedom and democracy, beyond letters, for everyone. Mr. President, In a world of poly-crisis, wars and conflicts are leading to erosion of rights and widespread abuses. Seven years on, Bangladesh has been hosting over 1.2 million Rohingyas on humanitarian ground, incurring significant social-economic-environmental costs. The protracted crisis in Myanmar also poses growing risks with national and regional security implications for Bangladesh, both traditional and non-traditional security challenges. We remain committed to supporting the forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar in Bangladesh. We need continued support of the international community towards the Rohingyas in carrying out the humanitarian operations and their sustainable repatriation. Equally important is to ensure justice for the grave human rights violations committed against the Rohingyas, through the ongoing accountability processes in the ICJ and the ICC. We recognize and appreciate the efforts of the Secretary General and the United Nations system in creating a conducive environment for Rohingyas so that they can lead a free and dignified life. That requires creating pathways for the Rohingyas to return to their ancestral home in Rakhine State, with safety and rights. Looking at the evolving ground situation in Myanmar, Bangladesh is ready to work with the international community to create an environment for dignified and sustainable return of the Rohingyas to their homeland. As the scientific community and the world of technology keeps moving on developing ‘autonomous intelligence’ – artificial intelligence that propagates on its own without any human intervention – we all need to be cautious of possible impact on every human person or our societies, today and beyond. Many have reasons to believe that unless autonomous intelligence develops in a responsible manner, it can pose existential threats to human existence.