BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in collaboration with the Rotary International District 3281 Bangladesh, organized a commemorative seminar on “International Day of Peace 2019” on 26 November 2019. At the same event, the book titled “Bangladesh in International Peacebuilding: Discourses from Japan and Beyond” was also launched. H.E. Naoki Ito, Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh graced the occasion as the Special Guest. The seminar was chaired by Air Cdre (Retd.) Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury, ndc, psc, former president, Rotary Club of Ramna and the book launching was conducted by the Editor, Major General A K M Abdur Rahman, OSP, ndc, psc, Director General, BIISS.

  In the opening remarks, Air Cdre (Retd.) Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury, ndc, psc, former president, Rotary Club of Ramna shared that Rotary is deeply involved in the pursuit of peace throughout the world. Rotarians believe peace is not the absence of violence, it means progress, social amity, good governance, health and education. Rotarians are working in all these sectors throughout the world. They believe peace is a right for every citizen of this world and they are promoting it positively.

After the opening speech, Rtn. M. Khairul Alam, District Governor, RID 3281 Bangladesh made his remarks. Then two presentations were made by Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Md. Mainul Islam, OSP, BGBM, awc, psc, former Chief of General Staff, Bangladesh Army, and Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka. In the presentation “United Nations Peacekeeping Operations”, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Md. Mainul Islam gave an overview of the development of the Peacekeeping operation in different phases, the changing nature of conflicts and the shifting roles of Peacekeepers from traditional to multidimensional. He highlighted Bangladesh’s contribution to UN Mission and flagged the need for collective response from all stakeholders to address the complexities of UN Peacekeeping. In the presentation “Bangladesh and World Peace”, Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed reflected on Bangladesh’s journey from “Bottomless Basket” to a developing nation and discussed the ways in which Bangladesh is contributing to world peace at present. The presentations were followed by an open Q/A session.

Following the seminar, the book titled “Bangladesh in International Peacebuilding: Discourses from Japan and Beyond”, was formally launched. The book launching session was conducted by the Editor of the book Major General A K M Abdur Rahman, OSP, ndc, psc, Director General, BIISS.

In his remarks, Major General A K M Abdur Rahman shared that the post-Cold War era was marked by the emergence of various discourses on peacebuilding. This shift has also been reflected in the UN peace operations and manifested by taking in a more comprehensive approach in state-building activities. Over the past few decades, the world has been witnessing a number of great changes in world politics. The war on terror following the event of 9/11, the rise of intra-state conflicts, increasing salience of human rights concept took the centre stage in the discussion on peace and conflict. However, the rise of populism, inequality and violent extremism, the influx of refugees from the global south to the north has added complexities to peace and stability. Therefore, peace has been a key goal of the new sustainable development agenda. These changes closely echo Bangladesh’s commitment to global peace and tenets of foreign policy. In this backdrop, BIISS organized an international conference in collaboration with the Japan Foundation in August 2018. The conference was titled “Bangladesh in International Peacebuilding: Experience from Japan” with a view to exchanging ideas and sharing experiences of Japan in this field, revisiting Bangladesh’s contribution to global peace, and foreseeing the future challenges. It provided an excellent opportunity to enrich Bangladesh’s understanding and contribute to the current academic discourse on peacebuilding. The book Bangladesh in International Peacebuilding: Discourses from Japan and Beyond is a compilation of the revised papers presented at the aforementioned conference.

 

At this stage, Major General A K M Abdur Rahman presented a brief overview of the chapters in the book and invited three other contributors Dr. Rashed Uz Zaman, Professor, Department of International Relations, Dhaka University; Mr. Md Monirul Islam, Additional Police Commissioner and Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC), Dhaka Metropolitan Police; and, Professor Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, Department of International Relations, Dhaka University to deliver their thoughts on the book.  Following the remarks from authors, the Special Guest, H.E. Naoki Ito, Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh, delivered his valuable address. Rtn Alauddin Chowdhury, President, Rotary Club of Ramna, wrapped the session up with a vote of thanks.