The United Nations will support Bangladesh in wide-ranging areas, including police and election reforms, as its interim government rolls out a major restructuring of the country's institutions, the UN's resident coordinator has said.
UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis on Sunday paid a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus at his Tejgaon office where they discussed reforms, corruption, floods, the Rohingya crisis and the UN-led investigation into the July-August carnage.
Lewis expressed her support for the reform initiatives undertaken by the interim government, thanking Yunus "for taking up extraordinary role" as head of the post-revolution administration.
The chief adviser said this was the "most unifying moment" for the whole nation and the main job of his government was to "set an example" for everyone.
"This is a great opportunity for the country to reform the economy and fix almost every institution," he said.
Lewis enquired about the reforms in the security forces, including the police. The chief adviser said the government had made police reform a top of its priorities.
Yunus said the government was also committed to setting up an integrated national IT system, which would ease hassles and curb corruption in the country.
He said the government had also formed a commission to make major reforms in the electoral system so that votes could be held free and fair.
Lewis said the UN-led investigation team had already started working on the murders and mayhem committed during July and August.
She added that UN agencies, WHO and ILO, were looking at ways to help the injured victims and people traumatized by the events.
The official said the UN had provided $4 million for post-flood rehabilitation in the country's eastern and southern regions.
She noted that some 18 million people in Bangladesh had been hit by floods since the beginning of the monsoon, adding that the UN was coordinating aid from the agencies and charities for the flood victims.
Meanwhile, Yunus sought UN help for instituting an early warning system for floods in South Asia.
The two also discussed environmental, climate change and the Chittagong Hill Tracts issues, with Lewis outlining the aid work the UN agencies had done in the three hill districts.
Yunus also sought the UN's help to build a better future for Rohingya children in the refugee camps, saying that "a whole generation of angry young people” was growing up there.
