Today, the Plenary of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution proclaiming the 06 July yearly as the “World Rural Development Day”. The resolution was initiated by Bangladesh, and was tabled by a core group comprising of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines and Thailand. Total 30 countries co-sponsored the resolution, which was adopted by consensus by the member states of the UN, without any voting. This is indeed the first UN General Assembly resolution steered by Bangladesh after the assumption of the Interim Government; which marked the new government’s commitment to cater the needs of those who are in need, through effective use of multilateralism, by ensuring equal access to opportunities in all areas of the SDGs, leaving no one behind.
The Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN in New York conducted the negotiations on the draft resolution, in close coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka. The 06th of July has been chosen as the Day in commemoration of the date of establishment of the “Center for Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP)” on 06 July 1979, as a recognition of the organization’s assistance role in sustainable rural development endeavors in its member states in the Asia-Pacific region.
Today, during the plenary session of the UNGA, Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, New York, presented the resolution before the UN General Assembly. He underscored the importance of sustainable and inclusive rural development in attaining the 2030 SDG goals globally, including in areas like poverty alleviation, food production, socio-economic development, ecosystem restoration and improved livelihoods. Ambassador Muhith expressed optimism that the proclamation of the World Rural Development Day would create global awareness about the importance of collaborative actions on integrated, sustainable and inclusive rural development, and would accelerate worldwide movements and actions to enhance socio-economic progress for rural populations with the view to meet the 2030 SDGs.
The resolution calls upon all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations, individuals and other relevant stakeholders, including civil society, farmers’ organizations, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, the private sector and academia, to observe World Rural Development Day by presenting and promoting, as appropriate in national and regional contexts, concrete activities with regard to the sustainable development of rural areas and communities. It also requests the UN Secretary General to bring it to the attention of all relevant stakeholders including member states for the appropriate observance of the Day.