Staff Correspondent:
Permanent Representative of the country to the UN, Fatima said that Bangladesh has been fostering peace in local and global context since it's independence.

She recalled Bangladesh’s historic leadership role in mooting the notion and steering the General Assembly resolution on ‘Culture of Peace’.

She quoted from the maiden speech of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the United Nations in 1974, "Peace is imperative for the survival of mankind. It represents the deepest aspirations of men and women throughout the world”.

That is also what shaped Bangladesh’s enduring commitment to the cause of global peace and inspired us to propagate a culture of peace, she added.

Ambassador Fatima also highlighted the continued relevance of culture of peace in addressing global challenges, particularly during the pandemic.

She pointed out that many of the pandemic response initiatives of the UN resonate with the call under the culture of peace.

She made specific recommendations for internalising a culture of peace to complement the international community’s efforts to forge global solidarity in overcoming the pandemic.

Later in the day, Ambassador Fatima participated as a panelist in a side event titled “Education, Covid-19 and the Culture of Peace” organized by the renowned US Think Tank the International Peace Institute (IPI).

The event was addressed by the President of the General Assembly.

In her remarks, Ambassador Fatima spoke about the pandemic’s severe consequences for children, particularly from the developing countries.

She alerted not to allow the pandemic to become a generational crisis and urged to leverage the culture of peace to address this largest disruption of education in history.

She also shared Bangladesh’s efforts in continuing education and learning during the pandemic. Other panelists included high officials from UNICEF and UNESCO.

A large number of Ambassadors, academia and civil society representatives also attended the event.

Fatima was addressing a UN dialogue on Bangladesh’s flagship resolution “Culture of Peace”

President of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande convened the General Assembly’s annual High-Level Forum on Bangladesh’s flagship resolution on ‘Culture of Peace’.

Held on Thursday on a virtual platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was addressed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres. It was also addressed by Ambassadors of a large number of the Member States and High Representatives of several UN entities.

The theme for this year’s event was “The Culture of Peace: Change our world for the better in the age of COVID-19”.