Staff Reporter
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Dipu Moni yesterday said that the grand alliance Government would show “zero tolerance” to extra-judicial killing or torture and death in custody.
“We do not condone any such incident and will bring the responsible official to justice,” the Minister made the comment while replying to a question at the Universal Periodic Review of Bangladesh at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Dipu Moni said that the Government has initiated the process to try war criminals as a signal to end the culture of impunity. “We realize that, as long as the matter remains unresolved, it will continue to disrupt and fracture the politics of our nation,” she said.
As many as forty nine member states took floor to comment on the reports on the human rights situation in Bangladesh.
Most delegations appreciated the efforts made by Bangladesh to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and improve the socio-economic situation of the people.
Dipu Moni said, “Poverty is both a cause and consequence of violation of human rights. Eradication of poverty, therefore, is the top priority of the Government”.
In the question-answer session, the Foreign Minister enumerated the steps taken by the Government to protect and promote human rights in the country, including the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission last year.
The Foreign Minister also responded to questions relating to human trafficking, death penalty and rights of religious and ethnic minorities.
Bangladesh Ambassador in Geneva Dr. Debapriya Bhtattacharya responding to questions said that for sustainable enjoyment of political and civic rights, Bangladesh is trying to ensure right to food, employment, shelter and education. Empowerment of women is also being pursued as a complementary strategy.
The Bangladesh delegation at the UPR included, among others, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, Member of National Human Rights Commission Mrs. Munira Khan and. Human rights activists and media personnel from Bangladesh were also present at the meeting.
Earlier, addressing the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, the Foreign Minister called upon the international community to divert the current excessive spending on armaments to development and poverty alleviation.
“We urge all countries, especially the major armament producing and procuring countries, to recognize that we can ill afford to continue such spending when our people are hungry, without basic needs and vulnerable to disease, climate change and natural disasters,” she said.
Dipu Moni said that Bangladesh would like to see early progress on agreements to move ahead with the negotiations on nuclear disarmament, peaceful use of outer space and security assurance for non-nuclear states.
She urged all countries to show more flexibility in the negotiations. The Foreign Minister reiterated Bangladesh’s abiding commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
She said that Bangladesh has always been on the forefront of the fight against landmines.
The Foreign Minister yesterday also met Sergei Ordzonikidze, Director General of the UN offices in Geneva and Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to the Conference on Disarmament.
Courtesy: nation.ittefaq.com
