UN urged to include more Bangladeshis in peace operations

UN urged to include more Bangladeshis in peace operations

National Desk :    |    ০২:৫৯ পিএম, ২০২৫-০৪-২১

Desk News :  Lt Gen (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury says Bangladesh, now third in UN peacekeeping contributions behind Nepal and Rwanda, aims to regain the top spot

Lieutenant General (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, home adviser in the interim government, has requested the United Nations to recruit more Bangladeshi personnel, including police and armed forces members, for peacekeeping missions around the world.

He made the appeal during a meeting with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, under-secretary-general of the UN Department of Peace Operations, at his office at the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Bangladesh Secretariat on Sunday afternoon.

According to the ministry’s Director (Public Relations) Faisal Hasan, the meeting covered a range of topics including Bangladesh’s contributions to peacekeeping, its current position, future plans, capacity building and training of officers and troops, deployment of female police platoons, potential participation of BGB and Ansar members, and the possibility of sending Formed Police Units (FPUs) to South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

The Rohingya crisis was also discussed in detail.

Welcoming the under-secretary-general at the beginning of the meeting, the home adviser said: “Bangladesh was once the top contributor to UN peacekeeping missions. Over time, the country’s position has slipped to third, with Nepal and Rwanda now occupying the first and second positions, respectively.”

He added: “We aim to regain our top spot in contributing to UN peacekeeping forces. Under the UN's peacekeeping framework, we want to deploy BGB personnel to manage borders and prevent transnational crimes in various countries.

“There is also significant scope for sending trained Ansar members. In this regard, we earnestly seek the UN’s cooperation.”

Recognizing Bangladesh’s contributions, the under-secretary-general said: “Bangladeshi personnel, including police officers, have demonstrated commendable intelligence, competence and professionalism in UN peacekeeping missions.”

He added: “Bangladesh remains among the top troop-contributing countries and efforts are underway to ensure more Bangladeshi officers serve in key leadership positions.”

He also acknowledged the global role of UN peacekeeping missions in promoting peace and prosperity.

The home adviser also said: “We have a female platoon ready for deployment in the UN peacekeeping mission.”

He added: “In this regard, we need the cooperation of the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO), so that they can carry out the necessary screening and assessments and ensure the platoon is deployed as soon as possible.”

He recalled that in 2013, Bangladesh responded swiftly to a UN request and successfully deployed two FPUs from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Sudan. Despite the impressive performance, Bangladesh currently has no FPU stationed there.

He further said: “Although the United Nations has maintained a mission in the Central African Republic since 2014, there is still no representation of any Bangladeshi Formed Police Unit (FPU) there.”

The adviser urged the under-secretary-general to consider deploying Bangladeshi FPUs in both countries.

He also highlighted the UN's ongoing support for sheltering and rehabilitating Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Referring to the recent visit of the UN secretary-general to Bangladesh, he said it has renewed hope among the people regarding a solution to the Rohingya crisis.

He urged the UN to take more timely and effective initiatives to ensure the repatriation of the Rohingya to their homeland in Myanmar.

Also present at the meeting were Additional Secretary (Political & ICT) of the Public Security Division Khandaker Md Mahabubur Rahman, and Joint Secretary of the Political-1 Branch Md Jasim Uddin Khan, along with other officials.