(Aug. 08, 2012) The Peace and development model tabled by Bangladeshi Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina has been praised by the United Nations. UN representatives and others
met to discuss the model on Monday, during a conference at the Hotel Ruposhi Bangla
in Dhaka . First proposed at last year’s General Assembly in New York, the model aims
to tackle a host of issues through a focus on peace and social empowerment. It addresses
topics such as poverty eradication, equality throughout society and sustainable development.
It also seeks to curb the threat of terrorism. Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told journalists
that recommendations drafted during the conference will be incorporated in time for
its presentation before the next General Assembly in October, when the evaluation
of new global development models will be high on the agenda. Moni said the prime minister’s
peace model speaks not only of economic development, but also social and political
inclusion of all segments of people in a country. Jairam Ramesh, Indian minister for
rural development and a delegate at the conference, said Hasina’s model should be
considered as a template for a new program of Sustainable Development Goals, a successor
to the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the UN in 2000 and set to conclude
in 2015. “It is inclusive and is applicable to all countries of the world, whereas
the Millennium Development Goals that originated in the West were meant only for developing
countries,” Ramesh said at a press conference on Monday.
Bangladesh has seen improvements in several social areas, with maternal and infant
mortality falling by 40 percent and 65 percent respectively over the last two decades,
according to UNICEF. A government-sponsored survey conducted last year also found
an 8.5 percent drop in poverty and nearly 100 percent enrollment for primary school-aged
children. However, general literacy levels still have much room for improvement, as
do several other social problems.