YouSaid · the spoken record

Rahman

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS RAHMAN

lines on the record: 122
first: 1991-09-24
most recent: 1995-09-24
sittings or episodes: 4
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Given the fluidity and rapid evolution of events in some of these crises, it is our hope to comment on them at length during consideration of the specific item. “Let me say in conclusion that there is no doubt in our mind that the United Nations remains the only forum where we can meet the challenges of the future by drawing upon our combined solidarity and willingness to confront them together. Bangladesh reaffirms its firm and unwavering commitment to this world body and the pursuit of its great goals.””
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
““At plenary meetings the General Assembly will have occasion to address in greater depth some of the most pressing and critical political issues on the agenda, including the ongoing conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which prospects for a negotiated solution have considerably brightened on the basis of the Contact Group’s Peace Plan and the Geneva Declaration of Principles of 8 September 1995; the continuing peace efforts in the Middle East and the new interim agreement between Israel and Palestinian leaders as a follow-up 15 to the Oslo Agreement; the status of democracy and human rights in Haiti; and the review of the work of international tribunals established in former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Bangladesh has actively contributed to the peace-keeping mission of the United Nations and has always favourably responded in providing troops. We have closely examined and positively responded to the request for the provision of stand-by troops. We are also favourably inclined to support a rapid-reaction capability for providing humanitarian assistance.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The plight of the least developed countries assumes special relevance and importance in this 1995 mid-term review year of the least developed countries’ Programme of Action for the 1990s. Their continuing crises calls for immediate remedial action especially in increasing official development assistance, writing off debts and assuring greater trade access on preferential terms. “Bangladesh has followed closely and supports strongly the evolution and development of the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Peace. We agree with the priority emphasis that has been placed on preventive diplomacy and conflict-prevention measures and recognize especially their cost- effectiveness. We believe that regional efforts and regional agencies should be utilized more frequently and their capacity strengthened.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We are opposed in principle to creating new centres of privilege or distinctions that can distort the principle of sovereign equality. “Bangladesh welcomes the consensus achieved in the outcomes of the major conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen and Beijing on population, social development and women, which supplement the results of the Earth Summit, the children’s Summit and the Vienna Conference on Human Rights. Together they have forged a meaningful and comprehensive social agenda that has reinforced poverty eradication and people-centred sustainable development. It must be emphasized, however, that social development is dependent on economic growth, which can be fuelled only in an international economic environment which is conducive to it. “The global society is only as strong as its weakest link.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Catchwords of cost- effectiveness, financial stringency, trimming management, redundancy, waste and inefficiency seem intended more to constrain control and reduce the United Nations role than improve its capability of responding to the needs of the international community. “Our position with regard to Security Council reform has concentrated more on strengthening the transparency and efficiency of the Council’s mandate than on enlargement of the permanent membership. While we fully support enlargement of the overall size of the Council to reflect the growth in membership of the United Nations, we believe that an increase in permanent members should be considered only on the basis of the most stringent criteria, and on the basis of global recognition and consensus.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“While we support the idea that the broad objective of the reform is to strengthen the response and efficiency of the United Nations system in promoting the goals of development, security, justice and equality and to improve accountability and responsibility, we reject pursuit of reforms of a purely mechanical or managerial nature. It seems ironic that the yardstick for determining what should or should not be pruned has been applied selectively in the past, with peace-keeping operations approved by the Security Council proliferating at the cost of development programmes.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“While it is likely that for some time to come the bulk of United Nations revenues will come from assessments and voluntary contributions, Bangladesh supports exploring the possibility of providing independent revenue sources for the United Nations through various international transactions and taxation. “Bangladesh supports the reform efforts that have been initiated to revitalize and restructure the main organs of the United Nations and to achieve a more dynamic interrelationship for them. We intend to participate actively and constructively in the open- ended, high-level Working Group on United Nations reform which is to review the Secretary-General’s Agendas for Peace and Development, respectively, and the report submitted by Member States and independent commissions.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
““Bangladesh has consistently held that the current financial difficulties were primarily a cash- flow imbalance due mainly to the failure by some Member States, in particular some major contributors, to fulfil their Charter obligations in full and on time. These Member States must give practical effect to their commitment to the United Nations by paying their assessed contribution in full and on time, including all arrears. Capacity to pay remains the fundamental tenet in determining Member States’ contributions. To proceed on the basis that simply a revision of the scales of assessment would provide a panacea to all financial ills is simplistic and misleading. It will neither change the aggregate amount of revenues available 14 to the United Nations nor guarantee better cash flows or prompt payment.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“It has been charged with mismanagement, inefficiency, corruption, excessive costs and over-staffing. Its growing membership, in the wake of decolonization, has been termed irresponsible, obstructive and divisive, and it has been accused of indiscriminately exercising the so-called tyranny of the majority'. This tarnished image, propagated by a few but rejected by many, has left deep scars that have diminished the United Nations. “It is against this background that I now turn to some of the priority concerns facing Bangladesh. “First and foremost is the financial crisis that threatens to undermine the United Nations. The Secretary-General has declared that the United Nations is already technically bankrupt. The financial situation has to be placed on an adequate and sustainable footing and its deterioration urgently reversed.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Pollution, eco-damage, devastating diseases, speculative dealers and money- launderers, organized crime, arms smugglers and terrorists have eaten into all societies, vitiated values and crippled development. Rapid technological and transnational processes are reducing the ability of States to act on their own or to regulate domestic policies affecting the movement of goods, services, labour and capital. Tensions over resources are a case in point. Forty per cent of the world’s population live on the banks of rivers or lakes shared by two or more countries. Dams and irrigation projects cause serious tension and actual conflict. “Ironically, at a time when the United Nations is in greater demand then ever before and its capacity stretched to the limit, a serious campaign of vilification has been launched against it.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
““On another plane, fears are surfacing that the bipolar world of the past 50 years could now assume a North-South configuration, not between opposing political and social systems, but between rich and poor nations. Anxiety is increasing in the South that their interests are being marginalized; that development resources are being diverted or are dwindling; that their potential to act as partners in revitalizing the world economy is being ignored; and that new constraints and conditionalities are being selectively imposed. “Globally, new forces are emerging that no State acting alone can control but which threaten the legitimacy of all States.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
““Within States, nations have come under siege from multiple threats, retarding their capacity to act effectively or independently. Political instability has fuelled an economic breakdown, and economic backwardness has created political upheaval in a never-ending vicious circle. Long-suppressed national, ethnic and cultural rivalries have resurfaced, unleashing bigotry, extremism and violence. They have generated powerful centrifugal forces that have not only threatened to but actually breached established boundaries. Demagogues, political separatists and fringe groups are being encouraged and supported by external forces to challenge the legitimacy of Governments and their capacity to govern.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“13 “The end of the cold war had fuelled hopes that the United Nations, freed from nuclear and ideological confrontation, would devote its full attention to building a peaceful and more equitable world; tackle the challenge of world poverty; advance regional conflicts to resolution; distribute the benefits of peace dividends; and move towards fulfilling the unrealized premises of the Charter, especially with regard to collective security. “These hopes were belied. The world of the 1990s is more dangerous in many ways than the cold- war era. There is greater tension in more places, a further degradation in the quality of life and many more complex issues of law and ethics, management and practical cooperation. Negative impulses have assumed a variety of dimensions within States, between groups of States and globally.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
““Let me also commend our Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his dedicated and untiring efforts to promote the effectiveness of this world body. “In this fiftieth anniversary year, the United Nations has reached a critical turning-point in appraising its past and in charting a viable course for its future, based on the renewed commitment, trust and consensus of its Member States. “The world of today is obviously quite different from that of 1945. Then, the United Nations, in the wake of the devastating global conflagration that was the Second World War, was called upon to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war'. In the wake of the cold war, the United Nations is now called upon to consolidate and secure an uncertain and amorphous peace.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“I have the honour to make the following statement on behalf of His Excellency Mr. A. S. M. Mostafizur Rahman, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, who, though present in New York, is unable to attend this Assembly for reasons of health. “I warmly congratulate Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral on his unanimous election as President of this historic fiftieth anniversary session of the United Nations General Assembly. His election is a tribute, not only to him personally, but to his great country, Portugal. I am confident that he will do great honour to the legacy of his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Amara Essy of Côte d’Ivoire, to whom we owe deep appreciation, not least for his sponsorship of the establishment, on 14 September, of the Open-ended High-level Working Group on the strengthening of the United Nations system.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We hope that will remain a cardinal point for the future as well. I may say in conclusion that Bangladesh remains fully committed to the United Nations as the only forum that can deal with the cooperative management of the world’s problems and where we can successfully meet the challenge of the future by drawing upon our combined solidarity to confront it together.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We feel that continuing pressure must be maintained on the former Yugoslavia to recognize Bosnia and Herzegovina and effectively realize a just and negotiated settlement. If present efforts of the Contact Group fail to result in a political settlement we fully support the convening, under United Nations auspices, of an appropriately structured international conference on Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are glad that there have been exhaustive attempts at a peaceful resolution of the problem of Haiti. Bangladesh has pledged its fullest support to this end, guided by two key principles: commitment to the preservation and restoration of democracy wherever it is threatened in the world, and willingness to serve in peace- keeping operations under United Nations command mandated by the Security Council.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“At the heart of the issue is the dismemberment of a sovereign Member of the United Nations, justified on the basis of pragmatic reality. The arms embargo imposed on the Bosnians crippled them from the outset, making any agreement artificial. Serbian aggression and genocide appalled the world, yet too little was done to stop it. Bangladesh believes that much more needs to be done to ensure justice, including strengthening the mandate and numbers of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), lifting the arms embargo, extending exclusion zones and ultimately making the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina a safe haven. The international community has repeatedly affirmed the inviolability, territorial integrity and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In our own region we are anguished by the continuing strife in Afghanistan, and urge all Afghan leaders to resolve differences through peaceful dialogue based on accords signed in Istanbul, Mecca and Tehran. We fervently hope that they can reach a broad-based consensus leading to the formulation of a durable government through free and fair elections. We welcome efforts, including those of the Secretary-General of the OIC, the United Nations and special representatives aimed at bringing about a comprehensive and peaceful settlement in Afghanistan. The tragedy of Bosnia and Herzegovina continues. Plans, deadlines, hopes for settlement have proved infructuous. The latest plan drawn up by the Contact Group of representatives from the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union has been rejected by the Bosnian Serbs.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We are deeply concerned over the vicious cycle of starvation, factional fighting, breakdown of central authority, economic stagnation and exodus of refugees in various parts of Africa, exemplified by the situation in Rwanda. We are committed to supporting the Security Council’s effort, especially through peace-keeping operations, to break this cycle through a comprehensive programme of action that could provide vital relief assistance, consolidate cease-fires, curtail violence and bring about national reconciliation. We welcome the efforts of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League to promote and supplement these efforts.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We believe that a historic momentum has been initiated since the Madrid Peace Conference in 13 October 1991, the signing of the Declaration of Principles between Israel and Palestine in September 1993, the Cairo agreement on Gaza and Jericho and the common agenda agreed between Jordan and Israel this year. We welcome these vital steps in the peace process, and hope they will lead to a viable and durable settlement. We hail the establishment of a united, democratic and non-racial Republic of South Africa, a long-cherished goal, and applaud all parties for their relentless and courageous endeavour to this end. Our special tribute goes to President Nelson Mandela and Mr. de Klerk. Bangladesh looks forward to consolidating our relations with South Africa in more concrete ways, bilaterally and in all multilateral forums.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Bangladesh’s consistent and categorical position on the Middle East question and the issue of Palestine needs no reiteration. We believe the Palestinian cause to be founded on justice. We have always stood for a comprehensive solution, which must be based on serious a commitment by Israel to abide by Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978); the principle of returning land for peace; restoration of Arab sovereignty over occupied lands; and recognition of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinians, including a State of their own.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Resources for peace-keeping should not be at the expense of resources for development activities of the United Nations. Fifthly, decisions on peace-keeping operations should include provisions for the safety of personnel, appropriate standardized compensation of all personnel and timely payments. Intimately connected to the process of peace-building in both its political and economic dimension are efforts to reform and revitalize the main organs of the United Nations — the General Assembly and the Security Council. Bangladesh has been an active participant in this exercise and will continue to play a constructive, moderating and flexible role to promote the realization of these efforts for greater democratization, efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy. I turn now to some of the critical political issues on our agenda.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“This must keep in view the real constraint identified by the Secretary-General, that traditional assumptions relating to the consent and cooperation of parties, upholding of agreements and minimum use of force have all been under challenge in recent peace-keeping developments. Secondly, there is a need for impartiality, full transparency and continuous consultations with troop- contributing countries so that mandates can be constantly reviewed, updated and amended. The role of the General Assembly must be enhanced in this regard. Thirdly, there should be clear-cut political directions and a clearly defined command and control structure for each operation. Fourthly, contributions to peace-keeping operations are mandatory and arrears must be paid in full.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We strongly add our voice in concert with those who seek to make peace operations a more effective instrument of collective security and to enhance the structural framework for performing and managing peace-keeping, including strengthened staff, stronger logistic capability and greater coordination, standardization and support for training. In the formulation of critical follow-up guidelines to strengthen peace-keeping we would like to pinpoint the following matters. First, there is a need to define clear-cut mandates with definite time frames, objectives and rules of engagement and with secured financing.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“A strengthened nuclear non-proliferation regime has gained in significance with important advances in nuclear disarmament. A critical concern is the objective of extending the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) either indefinitely or for limited periods, contingent on progress on the other objectives of the Treaty, nuclear disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear technology. Bangladesh is committed to support the continuation and strengthening of the NPT, and we look forward to actively participating in the 1995 review and extension Conference. Bangladesh has purposefully contributed to United Nations peace-keeping efforts, and stands proud of its record as the fourth largest contributor of troops, dispersed over 10 conflict areas.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The United Nations Centre for Disarmament Affairs has initiated over the past five years a vital process of dialogue and interaction that has opened up useful prospects and potential. These provide an analytical base that strongly supports the goal of promoting regional security arrangements under Chapter VIII of the Charter. Disarmament and arms control are the major vehicle to reduce the threat of destabilization, economic decline and tensions leading to war. A new momentum has been generated that needs to be pushed and sustained. Progress towards negotiating a comprehensive nuclear test ban, the signing of the chemical weapons Convention, the establishment of a Register on conventional arms — these are important milestones on this road.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“From 1987 to 1992, the cumulative peace dividend resulting from reduced military expenses and cut-backs in arms amounted to some $500 billion in both developed and developing countries. Little of this dividend was channelled into development. Reduced reliance on military security must also be buttressed through monitoring, regulating and limiting the growing traffic in arms, especially the clandestine arms trade. 12 Thirdly, regional efforts and regional disarmament are vital imperatives to stabilize peace. Regional groups can and must harness durable structures of stability at the base, through confidence-building measures and broad-based socio-economic cooperation. For the first time, in the wake of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) process, Asia has begun to look hard at steps towards Asian security.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Yet today, the real heart of our concern is the recognition that any viable solution must be directed towards promoting development as a fundamental impetus for, and long-term measure of, peace. Among Bangladesh’s major priorities are the following. First, of key importance is the preservation of the security of smaller and weaker States and the strengthening of the rule of law. The enhanced role and contribution of the International Court of Justice now assumes much greater relevance. Secondly, the reduction of military expenditures is essential for development and peace. Escalating arms expenditures continue to consume too large a share of productive resources and capacities.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“It calls for balancing long-term interests that will not only address continuing emergencies and immediate conflicts but will face up to the underlying silent crisis of development. The absence of peace in our world is a continuing reality. It is manifest in an immense array of conflicts, no two of which are alike. They call for solutions that must be adapted to widely differing circumstances in new and creative ways. Past, present and potential conflicts haunt us. Many nations bear the burden of recent devastation and ethnic strife. No one is safe from the threat of nuclear overkill and nascent nuclear proliferation. The ongoing arms race, the potential of a return to antagonistic spheres of influence, and the threat of regional hegemony all carry within them the dangers of conflict and destabilization.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Strengthening the rule of international law is imperative, inasmuch as it offers certainty, predictability and the assurance of the legitimate interests of all States. This continues to be the only real protection for smaller and weaker States, especially in areas where the absence of law can mean a serious potential for conflicts such as the scarcity and sharing of water, maritime jurisdiction, transboundary pollution and environmental damage, and so on. In this context, we welcome the entry into force, on 16 November 1994, of the International Convention on the Law of the Sea. A critical yardstick for all these concerns is the issue of limited resources and the need for new and additional resources. At the heart of the matter is the need for a commitment to enhance the entire development cause rather than particular interests.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Today, even food availability is determined by access to employment and financial resources. Rectifying the situation of jobless women and combating poverty among women are major priorities. Reducing damage to the ecosystem and mitigating the consequences of natural disasters continue to be a great burden for all concerned. Unchecked consumption of resources, production patterns triggered by developed countries and the real plight of the poor need to be dealt with through remedial action rather than analysis. There has been an increase in the movements of people across borders as migrants, persons seeking asylum, refugees or displaced persons. Much closer introspection is required to analyse and solve this crisis. A key factor would be the promotion of socio-economic development and the protection of migrants.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The plight of the least developed countries assumes special poignancy at a time when the world economy has yet to show convincing signs of recovery, macroeconomic coordination is weak and poverty is inexorably deepening. The unabated development crisis calls for urgent remedial action, especially to implement quickly the 1990s Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries. A proper response to these problems requires accelerating growth, writing off debts, wider and preferential access of exports to markets of developing countries markets, enhanced flow of foreign direct investment and supportive action in the area of services and labour. The phenomenon of widespread and increasing unemployment and underemployment in both developing and developed countries needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Peace and development are intrinsically interlinked, and peacemaking and peace- keeping must go hand in hand with peace-building. Resolving social issues must be based on the recognition of the centrality of the individual, the acceptance of human equality, and the worth and dignity of the human person. Yet social development is predicated on progress in economic development. Together with environment and population, it forms the logic of comprehensive sustainable development. These 11 are not separate concerns, but integrated within a composite whole. The core of development and its main impetus will remain accelerated economic growth fuelled by the input of additional resources and by resource generation. The growing divide between rich and poor among and within nations is of central concern.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The Secretary-General has set the stage with his proposals put forward in An Agenda for Peace and in An Agenda for Development. The structure and shape of this world agenda that is leading us into a new century has been given more refined substance by a variety of concentrated suggestions: the outcome of world conferences and the follow-up to them, making possible legislation and new and innovative proposals. They form a continuum that is closely integrated and interrelated. Bangladesh has been an active participant in this concerted build-up. Certain key imperatives strike us as particularly important. The end of the cold war should not mark the end of competition to support development around the world. The global society is only as strong as its weakest link. The world cannot prosper if the poorest continue to decline.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We earnestly hope that India, our partner in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and our neighbour, would agree to a fair sharing of common rivers, including the Ganges. We hope our common friends would recognize the implications of the situation and encourage the support of an early and equitable solution. National efforts in the absence of global cooperation have only limited prospects of improving the human condition and ensuring peace, justice and development. Recognizing this fact, we are engaged in perhaps the most comprehensive exercise ever undertaken to streamline our Organization, to reform and restructure its main organs and, together, to forge a more meaningful agenda, one that is action-oriented, cost-efficient and adequately funded.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The rate of repatriation is still slow, and we hope that with the policy of mass registration carried out by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) the pace of repatriation will pick up and all the refugees will return to their country. There has been some improvement in our relations with our largest neighbour, India, on the issue of the return of Chakma refugees and on that of economic interactions. However, the critical issue of sharing Ganges waters remains unresolved. Meanwhile, one dry season has followed after another without any water flowing to the Ganges and this is having a cumulatively disastrous effect on the economy and environment of one third of our country and on the socio-economic survival of 40 million people.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The Prime Minister stated that the options of unilateralism and bilateralism might seem tempting in the short run but in the long-term interests of the SAARC spirit we need to display more commitment for multilateralism and for building a better regional consensus. Bilaterally, we have taken important steps to strengthen constructive relations with all our immediate neighbours in pursuit of our policy of friendship, cooperation and peaceful coexistence with all countries of the world. The exodus of 250,000 Myanmar refugees to Bangladesh since 1991 has imposed an enormous socio-economic and environmental burden on our country.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Bangladesh continues to sustain the momentum and viability of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), not only to promote its fundamental socio- economic mandate but also to create a more receptive climate for broad-based confidence building, to reduce tension in the region and to contribute to the resolution of outstanding differences through dialogue and negotiation. A major endeavour of Bangladesh, as the current Chairperson of SAARC, has been to consolidate cooperation between members so that they may, in the words of our Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, turn into partners of development to combat poverty in the region and meet the most important challenge to security from hunger, disease, ignorance and prejudice.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We firmly believe that the restoration and consolidation of democracy worldwide within States and among States is a vital bed-rock for peace. We are indeed happy that the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, in Vienna, upheld the right to development as a basic human right and as a vital catalyst in mutually reinforcing the interrelationship of democracy, development and human rights. Widespread poverty and economic deprivation seriously vitiate the protection and promotion of human rights in many societies, despite the best of intentions. These realities need to be recognized for a realistic evaluation of human rights in developing countries. For national efforts to succeed, it is essential to create an atmosphere of peace within our own region.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Like all democracies we have our share of domestic differences, but we remain fully committed to working out our differences through democratic dialogue and the rule of law. Fragile democratic institutions and traditions in new democracies need strong and sustained international support. Our experience has demonstrated vividly that without improved standards of living and a vision of the future that can sustain hope, democracy will wither. Equally, without people’s participation the potential for socio-economic progress cannot be achieved. 10 It is also clear that, to survive within States, democracy needs to be sustained through democratization among States so that it can expand universally as an essential foundation for cooperation.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We believe that the recent successfully concluded Cairo International Conference on Population and Development has strengthened our efforts in dealing with three critical, interlinked issues — namely, a holistic approach to development, of which population policies are but one essential element; informed choice in accordance with the laws and culture of each society; and the vital issue of garnering and allocating additional resources. Preparedness and planning for disasters helped us contain the consequences of the devastating cyclone of 1994 without recourse to outside help. Bangladesh was able to save countless lives by timely evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people and to get on with rehabilitation and reconstruction measures on its own. Democracy has taken firm root in Bangladesh.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We have achieved near self-sufficiency in food production, and the overall gross-domestic-product growth rate has reached 5 per cent. The incidence of absolute poverty has decreased and some headway has been made in advancing our human-development policy. We can reasonably be proud of our efforts to stabilize population growth and contain and mitigate the impact of natural disasters. A concerted and determined family-planning programme has yielded positive results. Population growth has fallen from 3 per cent to 2.03 per cent, accompanied by progress in reducing family size; declining infant, child and maternal mortality rates; and expansion of the immunization programme to cover 74 per cent of all children.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“These perspectives are all linked together by the unifying theme of the alleviation of poverty. The cardinal emphasis is on the connection between structural adjustment and alleviation of poverty — that is, the quantity and quality of programmes favouring the needs of the poor and most vulnerable. Our efforts at reform and consolidation have led to some positive results. Bangladesh is enjoying today perhaps the longest period of macroeconomic stability in its history. The budget deficit has been reduced. Imports and exports have increased. Foreign-exchange reserves are comfortable, inflation is at an all-time low, and there is increased self-reliance in financing our annual development plans. Today we are financing 38 per cent of our development projects from our own resources.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Individual self-reliance must be bolstered by collective self-reliance through South-South cooperation in concrete and practical areas of cooperation such as food production, manpower planning, trade, investment and joint ventures. The critical catalyst, however, remains a reactivation of a constructive North-South dialogue leading to a more conducive external environment that can supplement individual efforts. Reaching out to the attainment of these goals, Bangladesh has a development policy that embraces a fourfold perspective: addressing structural and macroeconomic reform; stimulating the market economy; increasing the quality and amount of productive investments; and concentrating on human-resources development, particularly the empowerment of women.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“There are signs that, while social and environmental issues are being highlighted, vital economic and development imperatives are being sidelined, although both are integrally related and mutually reinforcing. Indeed, there is a crisis in development policy, which manifests itself in stagnation, absence of dialogue, selectivity and insufficient interest, participation and commitment. It is against the backdrop of those prospects and problems that I now turn to the position and priorities of our Government. There is strong recognition in Bangladesh today that to promote representative and constitutional government, strengthen human rights and ensure socio- economic emancipation a country must increasingly depend on itself.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“On another plane, fears are surfacing that the bipolar world of the past 50 years could now assume a new configuration, a North-South polarity, not between opposing political and social systems but between rich and poor nations. Anxiety is increasing in the South that its interests are being marginalized; that there is a diversion of resources away from the South; that its potential to act as a partner in revitalizing the world economy is being ignored and new constraints, aid conditionalities, rigid adjustment measures, standards of human rights and good governance, environmental criteria and military scrutiny are being selectively imposed.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“New global forces have emerged that no State acting alone can control but which threaten the legitimacy of all States. Pollution, ecological damage, the spread of communicable diseases and the massive speculative transfers of monies by electronic means have been the cause and manifestation of a host of cumulative ills. These have been exacerbated by corrosive new threats — organized crime, drug lords, traffickers in women and children, arms smugglers, money launderers and terrorists — that eat into all societies, vitiating values and crippling development. Furthermore, rapid technological progress and transnational processes are reducing the 9 scope of nation States to act on their own, to regulate domestic policies and the international movements of goods, services, labour and capital.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Within States resurgent micronationalism and factionalism based on narrow self-interest, ethnic and cultural rivalries, bigotry and extremism have contributed to unprecedented human misery. Political instability has fuelled economic breakdown, and economic backwardness has fired political upheaval in a never-ending vicious circle. Poverty, unemployment and social exclusion pushed by the population explosion, rapid urbanization, environmental degradation and a crisis in values, together with rising expectations, have led to social dislocation, alienation and sometimes violent confrontation. Demagogues, political separatists and fringe elements are being encouraged and supported by powerful external groups to challenge the capability and legitimacy of Governments to sustain socio-economic reform, peaceful progress and political stability.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)