United Nations to support Bangladesh reforms undertaken by Yunus-led interim government

Dhaka: The United Nations will support Bangladesh in its reform initiatives, including police and election reforms, undertaken by the interim government, a top official of the world body said on Sunday.

The chief of the UN in Bangladesh, Gwyn Lewis, met Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus here and discussed a wide range of

issues, including reforms, corruption, floods, the Rohingya crisis, and the UN-led investigation into the July-August violence, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

Lewis expressed her support for the reform initiatives undertaken by the interim government and thanked Yunus for “taking up the extraordinary role”, the paper said.

Yunus, 84, recently announced the formation of six commissions to reform the judiciary, election system, administration, police, anti-corruption commission and the constitution.

The Nobel laureate took oath as the head of the interim government on August 8, three days after

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India following widespread protests against her government.

Yunus said this was the “most unifying moment” for the whole nation and the main job of his government was to “set an example” for everyone.

“This is a great opportunity for the country to reform the economy and fix almost every institution,” he said.

The chief adviser said the government has made police reform a top priority and added that the government was also committed to setting up an integrated national IT system, which will ease hassles and cut corruption in the country.

Yunus said the government has also formed a commission to make major

reforms in the electoral system so that free and fair voting can be held.