The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is set to establish a mission branch in Bangladesh, currently under discussion, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said today.
“It is still at the draft stage,” he told reporters at the foreign ministry here this afternoon when asked under what conditions the OHCHR office would be established in Dhaka.
Hossain added, “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 informed that Bangladesh and OHCHR have exchanged the draft with revisions four times, and the draft is currently under review at the OHCHR end following the latest changes made by Dhaka.
Hossain noted that Bangladesh and the OHCHR have, in principle, agreed to establish the office in Dhaka for three years, with a review scheduled for the second year.
The plan to open an OHCHR mission branch in Bangladesh recently received policy-level approval at a meeting of the Advisory Council.
Cox’s Bazar Life Desk/BSS
