During the non-cooperation movement of 1971, then Secretary General U Thant of the UN called the genocide and torture of Pakistani forces in Bangladesh as a “scandalous chapter of human history.” Independent and sovereign Bangladesh emerged in 1971 under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, through an armed struggle.
In the first constitution of Bangladesh, the UN declaration (adopted on December 10, 1948) of universal human rights was weaved into each and every chapter and paragraph, and on September 17, 1974, Bangladesh formally joined the UN as its 136th member. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered the first speech at the UN in Bangla.
At various international forums, Bangabandhu would often say: “The world is divided into two parts -- dry and exploited. I am in favour of exploitation.” In accordance with the UN human rights law, the article remained in Bangladesh’s constitution even after Bangabandhu. But the human rights and values of Bangladesh have not been given importance and publicity as well.
When the government was formed in 1996 under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, the foreign policy of Bangladesh’s Liberation War was starting to gain traction. As a result of the CHT Peace Accord in 1997, Bangladesh was starting to be seen as a bastion of humanitarianism. As a result of this agreement, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won the Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize in UNESCO in 1998.
In the inaugural session of the Asia-Pacific Peace Conference in 2011, Sheikh Hasina said: “The constitution of the country was prepared under the direct control of the Father of the Nation, expressing strong commitment to the establishment of internal and global peace ... In the light of the constitution, we have always been vocal against imperialism, colonialism, racism.”
The PM’s philosophy on humanity continues to spread wide throughout Bangladesh, while the numerous initiatives and government projects she has looked out for are now being promoted to our country’s most marginalized.
However, Bangladesh’s handling of the Rohingya crisis is perhaps our nation’s greatest act of humanitarianism to date. Regarding which the PM said in Parliament last year: “It is not a matter of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists -- here we see people as human beings and give them shelter for no other reason than for being human.”
The Commonwealth Conference held in London in April supported our country’s proposal on the issue of Rohingya. In the UN’s 73rd session held in October, Bangladesh was elected a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
It seems the world is finally starting to pay attention to the Rohingya crisis, in no small part to all the efforts our country. Alan Jacob, opinions editor of the Daily Khalij Times, recently wrote: “Where the world powers like China, India, and Russia did not stand for Rohingya, the daughter of Bangabandhu stood firmly on behalf of the Rohingya. She has opened the eyes of the world’s leadership by seeing this humanity, generosity.”
With the economic development Bangladesh has witnessed under the auspices of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s innovative thinking and leadership, a truly “human-centric” Bangladesh is not far away, especially now that her diplomatic wizardry on the Rohingya crisis has created new frontiers for Bangladesh’s foreign policy.
If our country keeps going forward the way it has been for the last ten years, true social and economic progress will be within an arm’s reach.
Mohammad Monirul Huque is a gender and development researcher.
