Bangladesh got additional 20 posts in the UN

News Desk: 20 additional posts have been given to Bangladeshis at the UN headquarters. The visit of the Chief of Army Staff to the United States has opened the door to this unprecedented opportunity for Bangladesh in the UN peacekeeping mission.

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Nazmul Haque of the Bangladesh Army has been appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Office of Military Affairs at the UN Headquarters. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday (May 21st) that during a visit to the United States in February, Army Chief General Aziz Ahmed met with a number of key officials, including the UN Under-Secretary-General. During the meeting, he requested for sending more contingents from Bangladesh to the UN mission and appointing more officers from the Bangladesh Army to various higher and important posts at the UN headquarters. At that time, the senior leadership of the United Nations expressed a positive commitment in this regard and as a result, Brigadier General Nazmul Haque of the Bangladesh Army has been appointed to this important post at the UN Headquarters. Prior to this, there was no opportunity or request for appointment of any officer from Bangladesh for this post, which was only achieved by Bangladesh for the first time after the request of the Chief of Army Staff. According to ISPR, this appointment in one of the key roles at the UN headquarters is undoubtedly a matter of great honor for Bangladesh.

Eligible military officers are selected for this position through fierce competition among the nominees of a significant number of countries that send peacekeepers to the United Nations. Brigadier General Nazmul was the first Bangladeshi military officer to be appointed to such a high and important post at the UN headquarters. Shortly after the Army Chief's visit to the United States, Brigadier General Manzur of the Bangladesh Army was appointed as the Sector Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). During his visit to the United States, Army Chief General Aziz Ahmed proposed to the Central African Republic (CAR) to further increase the manpower of Bangladeshi peacekeepers and their deployment is ongoing. The Central African Republic has already received a final proposal to upgrade Banbat's Level-1 Hospital to Level-2 Hospital with an increase of 50 personnel from the Bangladesh Special Forces Company (BANSFC) and Light Quick Reaction Force (LQRF).

There is also a possibility of deploying Quick Reaction Force (QRF) of Bangladesh Army and Bridge Engineer Company in the same mission. In addition, the United States and Bangladesh have received a proposal from the United States to deploy a special force to the Central African Republic. The army chief has promised to deploy a strong quick reaction force and an aviation unit to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, which will be deployed soon. A six-member Aeromedic Evacuation Team (AMET) and 13 additional military police personnel have already been deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR). At present, 15 contingents of Bangladesh have been included in the United Nations Capability Readiness System (UNPCRA), which has created opportunities for the deployment of new contingents in UN peacekeeping missions. The assessment and advisory inspection activities of these contingents of the UN delegation are in process. Two contingents have already been deemed eligible as UNPCRS, Rapidly Deploy Level (RDL) and 25% of the occupants in Bangladesh are receiving maintenance reimbursement. The army chief has decided to increase the number of women peacekeepers at the United Nations from 1.91 percent to 6 percent this year. Notably, Banbat’s female engagement team in South Sudan has earned the Force Commander’s praise for their unique general contribution. During his visit to the United States, the Army Chief also discussed with senior UN leaders the issue of long-term reimbursement. As a result, a significant amount of outstanding reimbursement has recently been paid by the United Nations.

Besides, four contingents of Bangladesh engaged in Mali are getting risk premium. Due to the initiative of the Chief of Army Staff, Bangladesh has been the first country to ensure that all peacekeepers have been vaccinated against corona vaccine before being deployed to UN missions and those who have already been deployed in various missions are being vaccinated under UN supervision. It may be mentioned that Bangladesh is currently serving as the top peacekeeper in 9 UN peacekeeping missions.