Diplomatic Desk:
UNDP wants to fully cooperate in Bangladesh’s overall reform process, including legal and judicial reforms, constitutional amendments, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said.
He informed the minister of this cooperation when the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Stephen Rodrigues paid a courtesy call on him at his office in the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday morning (August 25, 2026).
Held in a cordial atmosphere, the meeting discussed in detail various issues of mutual interest, including constitutional reform, assistance to Rohingya refugees, capacity building for the police, institutional and technical assistance to prevent rumors and disinformation, the proposed National Human Rights Commission Act and the Prevention and Redress of Disappearances Act.
The UNDP Resident Representative said in the meeting, “We want to cooperate in implementing the goals, priorities and action plans of the current government.” He congratulated the Minister and said, “We are happy to know that you have been nominated as the Chairman of the Special Committee on Constitutional Amendments. If you wish, we are willing to provide necessary assistance in this process.”
The Home Minister highly appreciated UNDP’s continuous support in various fields including socio-economic development of Bangladesh and called for further expansion of this cooperation in the future. Referring to UNDP’s support for displaced Myanmar citizens (Rohingya), the Resident Representative said that UNDP is working to improve the quality of life inside the camps through environmental protection (such as landslide prevention) and various social development activities in the camp area. At the time, the Minister said, “We want appropriate development and modernization of the existing infrastructure of the Rohingya camps, but for the larger interest, we do not want to build any new infrastructure there.”
The Resident Representative said that UNDP is providing training on various issues including protection of civil rights, conflict and dispute resolution to enhance the professional skills and capabilities of the Bangladesh Police. The Minister also emphasized the importance of UNDP’s cooperation in enhancing the skills and capabilities of the police.
Regarding the prevention of misuse of information technology, the Resident Representative said, “Currently, various rumors, misinformation and hate speech are spreading on digital platforms. We are working with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology to effectively prevent these. In this regard, we want to provide technical and institutional support so that quick remediation can be ensured in case of any violation.” The Minister said in this regard, “The Cyber Security Act has already been passed. You can provide logistical support for the successful implementation of this law.”
In response to a question regarding the proposed Human Rights Commission Act, the Minister said that the draft of the ‘National Human Rights Commission Act 2026’ has received final approval from the Cabinet and it is expected to be passed in the next session of the National Parliament. He said that the opinions of various stakeholders including UNDP, various international organizations, foreign missions, development partners, newspaper editors and lawyers have been taken into account in the formulation of the act. In addition, the social mentality and religious sentiments of the country have been taken into consideration. It is hoped that it will be recognized as a timely and acceptable law.
In the meeting, the Minister also said that no disappearance or extrajudicial killing has taken place in the country since the current government took office. At that time, sharing his own experience of being disappeared, he said that the draft of the ‘Prevention and Remedies of Disappearances Act 2026’ has also received in-principle approval from the Cabinet.
Stressing the importance of presenting the correct image of Bangladesh in the international media, the Resident Representative said that the international media does not always portray the true picture of Bangladesh. He said that Bangladesh is a liberal and religiously tolerant country and UNDP is also keen to work towards implementing this positive image.
Additional Secretary of the Political and Immigration Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed, Joint Secretary of the Political-1 Division Rebecca Khan and Programme Management and Partnership Support Specialist of UNDP Bangladesh Saif Islam were present during the meeting.
