Desk Report:
A delegation led by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative to Bangladesh Stefan Liller called on Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at his official bungalow in Bailey Road on Sunday (April 5, 2026).
During the meeting, the two sides discussed various related issues including law and order and security issues, police reform, independent police commission, National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, Prevention and Redress of Disappearances Ordinance and Rohingya issue in detail.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister welcomed the UNDP delegation and Resident Representative Stefan Liller congratulated the Minister on assuming the responsibility of the new portfolio.
Regarding police reform, the Home Minister said, “We are working on police reform. However, it is not overnight, we believe in continuous or phased development. UNDP can provide necessary assistance to Bangladesh in police restructuring, reform, capacity and capacity building.”
The UNDP Resident Representative assured the necessary assistance in police reform and said that UNDP’s contribution in the formation of the National Human Rights Commission is undeniable. The organization has worked closely with the National Human Rights Commission for the last 15-17 years. He mentioned that UNDP has also provided all possible assistance in the drafting of the commission’s ordinance and efforts have been made to include international best practices in this regard.
Regarding the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, the Minister said that the Human Rights Commission Ordinance has a close relationship with the formation of an independent police commission. Therefore, after necessary scrutiny and selection in line with it, the ordinance in this regard will be presented in the form of a bill in Parliament.
In response to a question from the resident representative about the Prevention and Remedies of Disappearances Ordinance, Salahuddin Ahmed said that this too will be presented in the form of a bill in the National Assembly after further scrutiny. He explained that the ordinance has been given two or three definitions in such a way that it becomes difficult to identify the actual instigators of the disappearance. The minister shared his experience during the disappearance.
Regarding the granting of investigation powers to the Armed Police Battalion (APBN), which is responsible for security in the Rohingya camps, the minister clarified that only the investigating officer can investigate and the APBN is not an investigative agency. However, he assured the delegation that the necessary security measures will be further strengthened in the Rohingya camps.
The meeting was attended by Rebecca Khan, Joint Secretary of the Political-1 Branch of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Sonali Dayaratne, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Bangladesh, Assistant Resident Representative Anowarul Haq, and Romana Schweiger, Adviser on Rule of Law, Justice and Security of UNDP-Bangladesh, among others.
