The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is poised to establish a mission branch in Bangladesh, with the foundational draft agreement currently under discussion, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain confirmed today.
“It is still at the draft stage,” Hossain told reporters at the foreign ministry this afternoon when questioned about the conditions under which the OHCHR office would be established in Dhaka. He elaborated, “Once the draft exchange is complete and we reach a final agreed draft where not even a word needs to be changed, we will sign it. At that point, we will be able to share the details with you. Until then, it is better not to discuss it while it remains in draft form.”
The Adviser revealed that Bangladesh and OHCHR have exchanged the draft with revisions four times. The latest changes made by Dhaka are currently under review by the OHCHR. Hossain further noted that, in principle, both Bangladesh and OHCHR have agreed to establish the office in Dhaka for an initial period of three years, with a review scheduled after two years.
The plan to open an OHCHR mission branch in Bangladesh recently received policy-level approval during a meeting of the Advisory Council.
Meanwhile, addressing a question regarding the proposed name for the next UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, Hossain stated, “We will need to provide the agrément (official consent). We have not yet processed the agrément. Let the process proceed, and then we will respond.” Currently, Gwen Lewis serves as the UN Resident Coordinator in Dhaka.
