The United Nations has no intention in interfering in the domestic political affairs of Bangladesh as requested by BNP, according to diplomatic sources.
The message was conveyed by UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav Jenča to BNP Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam when he met the UN official in New York last week.
Diplomatic sources in Dhaka and New York said the UN is also embarrassed over claims made by the BNP that its delegation went to New York on the secretary-general’s invitation.
A diplomatic source said the United Nations has turned down the BNP’s request to send a UN-mediation team before the upcoming national election.
BNP is ready to take part in the upcoming polls if there is level-playing field, said the official before adding that the party sought UN mediation among rival political parties to ensure a conducive environment.
“But, it was turned down by Jenča as the UN cannot act on its own. For political mediation, it needs the request from the host government,” the official told Bangla Tribune.
Before the 2014 election, the then-UN assistant secretary-general Oscar Fernandez-Taranco came to Dhaka on a mediation mission at the invitation of the government, but that’s not the case this time, added the official.
According to a second official, the UN has also declined the BNp’s request to send a UN election monitoring team.
“If UN headquarters wants to send an election monitoring team, it needs approval from the UN General Assembly or Security Council and at least six months are needed to process it,” the official told Bangla Tribune.
The BNP was told that the UN neither has a mandate from the General Assembly nor the Security Council to send a polls monitoring team to Bangladesh, added the official.