US team in Dhaka to talk election, human rights

Staff Reporter  :
Uzra Zeya, the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, and US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday evening to talk on the upcoming election and the human rights situation here.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas received her at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
US Assistant Secretary Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu is accompanying her during the visit.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a tweet mentioned that Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen welcomed US Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya. She is on her maiden three-day visit to Bangladesh. She is scheduled to hold various meetings at government and private levels and visit the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar.
Sources said that she will visit the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday to see the latest updates there as Rohingya issue remains one of the top priorities of her visit.

Apart from this, she will have likely meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and PM’s Private Industries and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman, diplomatic sources said. Apart from these, she might have meetings with Law Ministry and Foreign Ministry.

Additionally, she has also schedules to engage with civil society organisations to discuss freedom of expression and association, as well as the inclusion of marginalised groups such as women, girls, persons with disabilities, and religious and ethnic minorities, according to US Department of State.

Earlier, Uzra Zeya arrived in India on Saturday night. After wrapping up her India trip, she flew to Bangladesh. From there she will return to the US on 14 July.
Political insiders said that Zeya’s visit will have a particular importance surrounding the upcoming parliamentary elections in Bangladesh.
While the government has rejected foreign interventions in internal matters and dismissed any dialogue with the opposition before the elections, the international community, including foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka, has been urging the government to engage in talks with the opposition.

In May, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new visa policy aimed at supporting Bangladesh’s goal of holding free, fair, and peaceful national elections.