UNDP Willing to Support Bangladesh’s Comprehensive Reform Process
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is willing to extend full support to Bangladesh’s comprehensive reform process, including legal and judicial reforms and constitutional amendments, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Tuesday.
He made the remarks when UNDP Resident Representative Stephen Rodriques paid a courtesy call on the minister at his office at the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday morning. During the meeting, held in a cordial atmosphere, the two sides discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, including constitutional reform, assistance to Rohingya refugees, strengthening the capacity of Bangladesh Police, institutional and technical support to prevent rumours and misinformation, the proposed National Human Rights Commission Act, and the proposed Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Act.
The UNDP Resident Representative said, “We want to cooperate in implementing the goals, priorities and action plans of the current government.” Congratulating the minister on his nomination as chairman of the special committee on constitutional amendments, he said, “We are pleased to know that you have been nominated as the chairman of the special committee on constitutional amendments. If you wish, we are interested in providing necessary assistance to this process.”
The Home Minister highly appreciated UNDP’s continued support for Bangladesh’s socio-economic development and other areas and called for further strengthening such cooperation in the future. Regarding UNDP’s assistance to displaced Myanmar nationals, or Rohingyas, the Resident Representative said the organization was working to improve living conditions in the camps through various activities, including environmental protection measures such as preventing landslides, as well as social development initiatives.
The minister said, “We want appropriate development and modernization of the existing infrastructure in the Rohingya camps, but in the larger national interest, we do not want to construct any new infrastructure there.” The Resident Representative said UNDP was providing training to Bangladesh Police on various issues, including protecting citizens’ rights, conflict and dispute resolution, with the aim of enhancing their professional skills and capacity. The minister also stressed the importance of UNDP cooperation in further strengthening the skills, capacity and professionalism of the police.
Regarding the misuse of information technology, the Resident Representative said, “At present, various rumours, misinformation and hate speech are spreading across digital platforms. We are working with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology to effectively address these issues. In this regard, we want to provide technical and institutional support so that prompt remedies can be ensured in cases of violations.”
The minister said, “The Cyber Security Act has already been passed. You can provide logistical support for the successful implementation of the law.” Responding to a question regarding the proposed human rights commission law, 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 from UNDP, various international organizations, foreign missions, development partners, newspaper editors, lawyers and other stakeholders had been sought during the drafting of the law. He added that the country’s social context and religious sensitivities had also been taken into consideration. He expressed hope that the law would be recognized as a timely and acceptable piece of legislation. The minister further said that no incident of enforced disappearance or extrajudicial killing had taken place in the country since the current government assumed office.
Sharing his own experience of enforced disappearance, he said the draft Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Act 2026 had also received policy approval from the Cabinet. Emphasizing the importance of presenting an accurate image of Bangladesh in the international media, the Resident Representative said international media outlets did not always portray the true picture of Bangladesh. He said Bangladesh was a liberal and religiously tolerant country and that UNDP was also interested in working to promote this positive image.
Additional Secretary of the Political and Immigration Wing of the Ministry of Home Affairs Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed, Joint Secretary of Political-1 Branch Rebecca Khan, and UNDP Bangladesh Programme Management and Partnership Support Specialist Saif Islam, among others, were present at the meeting.
