The United Nations Office at Geneva
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“The UN Human Rights Office and the Government of Bangladesh this week signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to open a mission in the country to support the promotion and protection of human rights,” Shamdasani told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva.
The memorandum was signed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and Asad Alam Siam, Foreign Secretary, on behalf of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
“Since last August, as you know, our office’s engagement with Bangladesh has significantly increased. We have been working with various stakeholders in advancing human rights reforms and conducting a comprehensive fact-finding inquiry into deadly repression of mass protests,” she said.
“The signing of this memorandum sends an important message of the country’s commitment to human rights as a cornerstone of the transition. It will enable our Office to better support implementation of the recommendations made in our fact-finding report, as well as to engage directly on the ground with the Government, civil society and others with our expertise and assistance on the fundamental reforms Bangladesh is undertaking going forward,” she added.
The spokesperson said the new mission would offer training and technical assistance to the authorities across a range of areas, towards meeting the country’s national and international human rights commitments, as well as undertake capacity-building for government institutions and civil society actors.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Jeremy Laurence - +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org or
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STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Office opening new mission in Bangladesh
TRT: 01:13
SOURCE: UNOG/OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: None
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 18 July 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shots : Palais des Nations
- Cut away: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The UN Human Rights Office and the Government of Bangladesh this week signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to open a mission in the country to support the promotion and protection of human rights.”
- Cut away: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Since last August, as you know, our office’s engagement with Bangladesh has significantly increased. We have been working with various stakeholders in advancing human rights reforms and conducting a comprehensive fact-finding inquiry into deadly repression of mass protests.”
- Cut away: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The signing of this memorandum sends an important message of the country’s commitment to human rights as a cornerstone of the transition. It will enable our Office to better support implementation of the recommendations made in our fact-finding report, as well as to engage directly on the ground with the Government, civil society and others with our expertise and assistance on the fundamental reforms Bangladesh is undertaking going forward.”
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