UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s Written Message on International Youth Day, 12 August 2018

The hopes of the world rest on young people.

Peace, economic dynamism, social justice, tolerance – all this and more, today and tomorrow, depends on tapping into the power of youth.

Yet more than 400 million young women and men live amidst armed conflict or organized violence.

Millions face deprivation, harassment, bullying and other infringements of their rights.

Young women and girls are particularly vulnerable.

The world’s young people need safe spaces — public, civic, physical and digital spaces where they can freely express their views and pursue their dreams.

We must invest so that young people have access to education, training and decent jobs to achieve their full potential.

The United Nations is strongly committed to listening to the voices of young people – and opening pathways for meaningful participation in decisions that affect them.

This September, we will launch a new strategy to step up our work with and for young people.

In making the world safe for young people, we make the world better for all.

I wish all a happy International Youth Day!

Interview with Ms Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Youth Envoy

Dhaka, 11 August 2018: Ms Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Youth Envoy has taken part in a number of interview with Bangladeshi media outlets during her visit to Bangladesh from 4 August to 11 August 2018. The UN Envoy has also visited Rohingya refugees camp in Cox’s Bazar.

Note to the Correspondents: Visit of the United Nations Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar to Bangladesh

Dhaka, 17 July 2018: United Nations Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener conducted her first official visit to Bangladesh from 14 to 16 July. In Dhaka, she met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Director General of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, Major General Md. Saiful Abedin, Foreign Secretary Md. Shahidul Haque, the diplomatic community, and the UN country team. In Cox’s Bazar, she held discussions with the population in the Kutupalong camp, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam, and Senior Coordinator Sumbul Rizvi and the members of the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG). She is grateful for the work of the humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organisations in the challenging environment.

Following the joint visit of the Secretary-General and the President of the World Bank to Bangladesh earlier this month, the Special Envoy discussed the plight of the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and expressed her sincere appreciation to the Government and people of Bangladesh, in particular the host communities, for the efforts to accept and provide assistance to the people seeking refuge from violence. The Special Envoy underlined the need for greater international assistance to the refugees and host communities in addressing the harsh conditions they continue to face and also in terms of mitigating the risk of monsoons. Continue reading →

End of mission statement by Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

Dhaka 8 July 2018

I am pleased to present my end of mission statement as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. Thank you for your attendance and the opportunity to address you this afternoon.

Since December 2017, the Myanmar Government has not allowed me to visit Myanmar to carry out my work mandated by the Human Rights Council.  Following renewal of my mandate in March, I had also requested the Government of India to facilitate a visit to India so I could meet with Myanmar refugees in New Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Mizoram, but received no response.

Before I proceed further, let me take this opportunity to thank the Government of Bangladesh for always welcoming me and facilitating my visit.  The UN entities in Bangladesh, particularly the Resident Coordinator’s Office, have been extremely helpful in facilitating my visit, and I am grateful to the Inter Sector Coordination Group and those who provided support in Cox’s Bazar. As the Government denied my access to Myanmar, I was only able to meet people in Bangladesh, the neighbouring country that hosts over one million refugees from Myanmar. In Dhaka, I met with Government, UN agencies and INGOs, and in Cox’s Bazar I met Rohingya refugees in a number of camps and settlements as well as the Government, UN, humanitarian and protection actors and NGOs. I also thank the UN Country Team in Myanmar for speaking with me. I took many photos of what I saw, and will upload them on Flickr, the link will be on my Special Rapporteur webpage. Continue reading →

Secretary-General’s remarks at joint Press Conference with President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim (unofficial transcript)

2 July 2018 Dhaka, Bangladesh:

SG: Ladies and gentlemen of the media, a very good evening, and thank you very much for your presence.

I have been, in the past, twice in North Rakhine State. So, I was perfectly aware that the Rohingyas’ world can remain one of the most if not the most discriminated community in our planet.

I remember visiting their villages, they couldn’t move from the villages without permission. They couldn’t marry without permission. They were harassed by the police, by the administration; very limited access to education and to health services; an extremely, extremely discriminated community that’s stateless; that had no nationality. Nationality being rejected by the Government of Myanmar and that had not even a country that could call theirs.  Even if, of course, they live in Myanmar and they felt themselves as Myanmarese citizens.

But knowing that, and knowing that what has happened with the reasons why such a large number of people fled the country was a series of atrocities that have difficult parallels in recent history.

Mass killings, gang rapes, torture, villages razed to the ground, burned. Even knowing all that, it is impossible to go to their to the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, the biggest refugee camp in the world, without feeling our heart completely broken. With the testimony of the women, children and men that we meet, when they tell us the story of their tremendous suffering and the horrible discrimination.

Continue reading →

UN chief applauds Bangladesh for ‘opening borders’ to Rohingya refugees in need

1 July Sunday, Dhaka: On mission in Bangladesh, the Secretary-General praised the country for keeping its borders open and receiving those in need of international protection.

“In a world where so many borders are closed, [the people and Government of Bangladesh] have opened their borders and received their brothers and sisters coming from Myanmar and from the terrible events there,” said Mr. Guterres in the capital Dhaka on Sunday.

Mr. Guterres noted the progress made by Bangladesh since its independence and highlighted the country’s integration of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its national planning frameworks, as an “example that many others can follow.”

He called for greater political will to realize the commitments made through the 2015 Paris climate change agreement and urged countries to raise their ambition to limit temperature rises.

The Secretary-General and the World Bank Group President also visited the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum which was the house of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman, the first President of Bangladesh and father of the current Prime Minister. He and other members of his family were assassinated there in August 1975 by a group of soldiers.

Later in the evening, the Secretary-General and his delegation were hosted for an official dinner by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.  Continue reading →

Transcript of Secretary-General’s remarks at press encounter with President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, 2 July 2018

It is impossible to visit these camps without breaking our hearts with the suffering of the Rohingya people.

First of all, listening to the terrible stories of massive violence – of killings, of rape, of torture, of house or villages burnt – it is probably one of the most tragic stories in relation to the systematic violation of human rights.

I was in North Rakhine State twice in my past capacity as High Commissioner for Refugees, I have no doubt that the Rohingya people have always been one of, if not the, most discriminated people in the world, without any recognition of the most basic rights starting by the recognition of the right of citizenship by their own country – Myanmar.

But, on the other hand, it is also terrible for us to see more than 900,000 people living in these terrible circumstances. When I see the young boys and girls, I remember my own grand-daughters and I imagine what it would be see my grand-daughters living in these conditions.

It is unacceptable that these people who have suffered so much in Myanmar now have to live in the difficult circumstances that these camps inevitably represent. And so, I believe we need to combine a word of deep gratitude to the Government and people of Bangladesh for the fact that they have opened their borders when so many other borders are closed in the world. They have received so generously these people and have provided them with basic protection and support. Continue reading →

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s Message for World Refugees Day – 20 June 2018

What would you do if you were forced to leave your home?

Today, more than 68 million people around the world are refugees or internally displaced as a result of conflict or persecution.

That is equivalent to the population of the world’s 20th largest country.

Last year, someone was displaced every two seconds.

Mostly, in poorer countries.

On World Refugee Day, we must all think about what more we can we do to help.

The answer begins with unity and solidarity.  Continue reading →

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: Press Stakeout on US-DPR Korea Summit, 11 June 2018., New York, 11 June 2018 — Full text and Video

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your presence.

I usually come before you to express deep concerns about unfolding developments and trends around the world.

Today, a bit of good news.

I want to address a promising development for global peace and security.

The world is closely watching what will take place in Singapore in a few hours’ time.

I commend the leaders of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United States for pursuing a diplomatic solution.

I also thank all those who contributed to creating the conditions for this key moment.

The two leaders are seeking to break out of the dangerous cycle that created so much concern last year.

Peace and verifiable denuclearization must remain the clear and shared goal.

As I wrote to both leaders last month, the road ahead will require cooperation, compromise and a common cause. Continue reading →

TV Talk Show on International Day of UN Peacekeepers 2018

In marking the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, a TV talk show was arranged by         Bangladesh Television (state run). The senior officials from AFD, MoFA and UN Information Centre took part in the Talk show which was aired on 29 May 2018. National Information Officer of UN Information Centre participated in the special event and said that Bangladeshi peacekeepers’ contribution in UN peacekeeping over thirty years is remarkable . He mentioned that UN has expressed its gratitude to  Bangladesh for the contribution in UN peacekeeping missions during the last 30 years. Both male and female Bangladeshi peacekeepers have been contributing in Peace missions and many of them, under the UN Blue Helmet, have sacrificed their lives for the cause of global peace.