UN Millennium Summit

Address by

Her Excellency

SHEIKH HASINA

Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

New York, USA

Wednesday, 06 September 2000

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

(In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful)

Your Excellency President Tarja Halonen,

Your Excellency President Sam Nujoma,

Mr. Secretary General,

Distinguished Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalamu Alaikum.

In a short span of human history, the world has changed beyond imagination. And yet, it is striking that many of the challenges we face have been there for a long time. As we embark on our journey for the new millennium, it is hope and aspiration-not fear and anxiety-that will steer us in overcoming these challenges.

Distinguished Presidents,

I am happy to participate in this largest-ever congregation of world leaders. The Millennium Summit provides us with a unique opportunity to express our collective will for better life for our peoples. The Summit will only be worthwhile if it is remembered not as an event to mark the transition to a new millennium, but an event that marks the transition from words to deeds. We have a historic opportunity at this Summit. We cannot allow it to slip away.

I would like to commend Secretary -General Kofi Annan for his Millennium Report "We the Peoples". He provided us with a very useful framework for channeling our actions with the United Nations at the centre of our collective efforts. His proposals in the four broad areas of poverty eradication, prevention of conflicts, environmental regeneration and renewal of the United Nations challenge the world leaders to act upon, and to generate a new political momentum for international cooperation.

We are encouraged by the outcome of civil society organized Millennium Forum in New York. The work of civil society is important to us, and to the United Nations. The strength of the partnership we forge with them will enable us to realize our objectives. The Millennium Forum of the Heads of Parliaments also produced useful inputs for this Summit.

President Halonen, President Nujoma,

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, we need to act decisively to chart a better future for our peoples and to work towards establishing a just, fair, equitable and democratic global system. We need democracy for development and its equitable sharing.

The all-pervasive phenomenon of globalization has not brought benefits for all. The North-South gap has widened. And, within the South, the Least Developed Countries and Africa in particular continue to be marginalized.

Can we afford islands of prosperity in an ocean of suffering and darkness ? Let us resolve that as part of a global village, we should work together so that all can benefit from the process of globalization and we can have a win-win outcome at the end.

Distinguished Presidents,

Peace is a prerequisite for all our efforts at transforming the world at large. Bangladesh believes every nation has an obligation to invest in peace. Threat to peace and security anywhere in the world is a threat to peace and security everywhere.

Bangladesh considers peace as a fundamental human right to be attained, sustained, promoted and carried forward all the time. We recognize that unless we read the human mind of hatred, of intolerance and of suspicion, we cannot have lasting peace. And, as our Father of the Nation mentioned in his speech in 1974, peace to endure must be peace based on justice.

In this context, Bangladesh calls for the enthusiastic promotion of a culture of peace worldwide. We are proud that at our initiative, the United Nations is observing this millennium year as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and this century's first decade as the International Decade for Culture of Peace and Non- violence for the Children of the World.

If peace is a shared responsibility, so is development. Today, no nation can achieve development in isolation. International cooperation is a must for eradicating poverty, hunger and malnutrition and other manifestation of human deprivations. All nations of the world should have equal opportunities to realise their full development potentials.

Let me stress that development to be sustainable should cover political, economic, social, cultural and human development. And only then, it will make a difference for the individual human person.

Distinguished Presidents,

Human development can be ensured in an environment of justice and equality. This can be achieved through determined efforts. Bangladesh is now a party to all the core human rights treaties. We are taking steps nationally for their implementation.

Ending discrimination and protecting the weak and the vulnerable are key to achieving justice and equality. We have put special emphasis on women, children, in particular the girl child, and on group's with special needs. We have promulgated laws and made institutional arrangements to promote their cause. The ten-year review of the pioneering World Summit for Children next year will provide us an opportunity to carry forward this agenda.

We have taken innovative approaches towards poverty eradication putting the people at the centre stage. The success of micro credit programmes has been. phenomenal in Bangladesh along with specific advancement in the areas of primary education, health care, population programme and women's empowerment.

In spite of our achievements, Bangladesh and other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) face difficulties in their efforts for development. These countries need assistance for capacity building, infrastructure development and product diversification. Special measures should be taken by the international community to help the LDCs in their efforts to develop and participate fully in the global economy. The Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in 2001 should address effectively the concerns of these countries. Globalisation and a borderless world are not a panacea for all social and economic ills. While they can reinforce the rich and the powerful, they can also impoverish the weak and the vulnerable. We have to take care to make sure that the new global economy does not locate new types of inequality and unfairness.

President Halonen, President Nujoma,

The United Nations is an essential link in the global efforts to provide everyone a decent life. We must do our best to bring the United Nations closer to the people. Only a global organization like the United Nations can meet the global challenges.

Throughout the 1990s, the United Nations convened a series of global conferences to address major developmental challenges facing the humankind. They addressed problems that were beyond the capacity of individual countries to solve. We need an integrated and well-coordinated approach for implementing. their outcomes. This by itself will provide the United Nations a meaningful agenda to pursue in the coming years.

Distinguished Presidents,

We are happy that the United Nations is looking afresh at the peace operations it undertakes. We consider this a timely initiative. Traditional approach to peacekeeping is not adequate in today's complex and conflicting situations where international involvement ranges from prevention to postconflict peace building. The high-level panel constituted by SecretaryGeneral Kofi Ann~n has submitted its recommendations for making peace operations more effective. As a major troops contributing country over the years and as an elected member of the Security Council, Bangladesh intends to take a proactive role in this regard.

Distinguished Presidents,

In this organization, the powerful and the weak, the large and the small, the wealthy and the struggling, come together as equals to address their problems, to forge cooperation and to further understanding. It certainly is in our interest to strive for a United Nations which can fulfil our common goal-a better world for every human being.

And like all organizations, the United Nations must also change with time to adjust to the challenges it faces. It will have to learn from its mistakes and undertake necessary reforms. Renewal of the United Nations would only come through serious and comprehensive reforms.

Distinguished Presidents,

The security and welfare of people are the core concern of the United Nations. States are meant for the people, not people for the states. We must undertake sustained and concerted efforts to free our people from poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease. While micro-credit and other poverty alleviation programmes have been successful, much needs to be done to eradicate poverty. In this era of plenty, millions still suffer from hunger. We had curbed old diseases like malaria, cholera, tuberculosis, but they now have come back in new forms. The recent outbreak of a malarial type disease called dengue in Bangladesh and other parts of our region clearly outlines the need for concerted global action. Safe drinking water has been provided to millions in Bangladesh, but in the process many have been exposed to dangerous arsenic poisoning. Deadly diseases like AIDS are spreading at an alarming pace. These maladies, which have regional and global dimensions, have to be confronted globally.

Let us all contribute towards a strong and effective United Nations that can respond to the concerns of all. Bangladesh would be happy to see the Millennium Summit generating a new momentum towards a renewed United Nations that can provide enhanced support to our efforts for

* Eradicating poverty

* Empowering people, especially women and children

* Population control

* Establishing participatory democracy

* Strengthening safety nets for the weak and the vulnerable

* Preserving the environment, particularly water resources

* Closing the digital divide

* Realizing a nuclear weapons free world and

* Promoting a culture of peace.

President Halonen, President Nujoma, distinguished colleagues,

I thank you all once again.