The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) wants to extend full cooperation to Bangladesh’s overall reform process, including legal and judicial reforms and constitutional amendments, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Tuesday.
He shared this following a courtesy meeting with UNDP Resident Representative Stephen Rodriques, who called on him at his office in Home Affairs Ministry at the Secretariat.
The meeting featured detailed discussions on mutual interests, including constitutional reforms, assistance for Rohingya refugees, enhancing police capacity, institutional and technical support to prevent rumours and misinformation, the proposed National Human Rights Commission Act, and the prevention and redress of enforced disappearances.
During the meeting, the UNDP resident representative said, “We want to cooperate in implementing the goals, priorities, and work plans of the current government.”
Congratulating Salahuddin, Rodriques added, “We are delighted to learn that you have been nominated as the president of Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment. We are interested in providing necessary assistance in this process if you desire.”
Salahuddin highly praised UNDP’s continuous assistance in various fields, including the socio-economic development of Bangladesh, and called for further increasing this cooperation in the future.
Referring to UNDP’s support for the displaced Myanmar nationals (Rohingyas), UNDP representative said the organisation is working to improve internal living standards in the camps through environmental protection, such as landslide prevention, and various social development activities.
In response, Salahuddin said, “We want appropriate development and modernisation of the existing infrastructure in Rohingya camps, but for the greater interest, we do not want to construct any new infrastructure there.”
Rodriques informed that UNDP is providing training to Bangladesh Police on various issues, including the preservation of civil rights, conflict and dispute resolution, to enhance their professional skills and capacity.
Salahuddin also emphasised the importance of UNDP’s cooperation in enhancing police skills and capacity.
Regarding the prevention of information technology abuse, the resident representative noted, “Currently, various rumours, misinformation, and hate speech are spreading on digital platforms. We are working with Information and Broadcasting Ministry, and Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry to effectively prevent these. We want to provide technical and institutional support in this area to ensure swift redress in case of any violation.”
On this matter, Salahuddin 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 query regarding the proposed human rights commission law, he said the draft of “National Human Rights Commission Act 2026” has received final cabinet approval and is expected to be passed in the next session of the National Parliament.
He added that in formulating the law, opinions were gathered from various stakeholders, including UNDP, different international organisations, foreign missions, development partners, newspaper editors, and lawyers, while also considering the country’s social psychology and religious sentiments.
It is expected that the legislation will be recognised as a modern and acceptable law.
Salahuddin further claimed that no incidents of enforced disappearances or extrajudicial killings have occurred in the country since the current government assumed office.
Sharing his own experience of being subjected to enforced disappearance, he said that the draft of “Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Act 2026” has also received policy approval from the cabinet.
Emphasising the importance of portraying Bangladesh’s accurate image in the international media, Rodriques noted that international media does not always depict the true picture of the country.
He described Bangladesh as a liberal and religiously tolerant country, adding that UNDP is keen to work on projecting this positive image.
Present during the meeting were Dr Ziauddin Ahmed, additional secretary of Political and Immigration Wing of Home Affairs Ministry; Rebeka Khan, joint secretary of Political-1 Branch; and Saif Islam, programme management and partnership support specialist of UNDP Bangladesh, among others.
