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Dhaka: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) wants to provide full support to Bangladesh’s overall reform process, including legal and judicial reforms and amendments to the Constitution, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said.
He made the remarks when UNDP Resident Representative Stephen Rodriguez paid a courtesy call on him at his office at the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Secretariat on Tuesday (August 25).
The meeting discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, including constitutional reform, assistance to Rohingya refugees, strengthening police capacity, institutional and technical support to prevent rumors and misinformation, the proposed National Human Rights Commission Act, and the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Act.
During the meeting, the UNDP resident representative said, “We want to support the implementation of the current government’s goals, priorities and action plans. We are pleased to learn that you have been appointed chairman of the special committee on constitutional amendments. If you wish, we are interested in providing the necessary assistance to this process.”
The home minister highly praised UNDP’s continued assistance to Bangladesh in various fields, including socioeconomic development, and called for further expansion of such cooperation in the future.
Referring to UNDP’s support for displaced Myanmar nationals, or Rohingyas, Rodriguez said the organization has been working to improve living conditions inside the camps through environmental protection initiatives, such as preventing landslides, as well as various social development programmes.
The minister said, “We want appropriate development and modernization of the existing infrastructure in the Rohingya camps, but in the greater interest, we do not want to build any new infrastructure there.”
The UNDP representative said the organization is providing training to Bangladesh Police on various issues, including protecting civil rights and resolving conflicts and disputes, to enhance their professional skills and capacity. The minister also stressed the importance of UNDP’s cooperation in strengthening police skills and capacity.
On preventing the misuse of information technology, Rodriguez said, “Various rumors, misinformation and hate speech are currently 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 swift remedies can be ensured when any violation occurs.”
The minister said, “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 about the proposed Human Rights Commission Act, the minister said the draft ”National Human Rights Commission Act 2026” had received final approval from the Cabinet and was expected to be passed in the next session of Parliament.
He said opinions had been sought from UNDP, various international organizations, foreign missions, development partners, newspaper editors, lawyers and other stakeholders in drafting the law. He added that the country’s social psychology and religious sentiments had also been taken into consideration.
“We hope it will be recognized as a timely and acceptable law,” he said.
The minister further said, “Since the current government took office, there have been no incidents of enforced disappearance or extrajudicial killings in the country. The draft ‘Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Act 2026’ has also received in-principle approval from the Cabinet.”
Emphasizing the importance of presenting Bangladesh’s accurate image in the international media, Rodriguez said, “The international media does not always portray the true picture of Bangladesh.”
He said Bangladesh is a liberal and religiously tolerant country and that UNDP is also interested in working to promote 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 Wing Rebecca Khan, and UNDP Bangladesh Programme Management and Partnership Support Specialist Saif Islam, among others, were present at the meeting.
