Distinguished Professor Ali Riaz has published a commentary on Bangladesh’s diplomatic stance on the Ukraine crisis at the United Nations. On March 3, a Special Emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the Russian invasion occurring in Ukraine. Bangladesh abstained in the vote. Riaz, in his commentary titled Dhaka’s abstention in Ukraine vote is an anomaly argues that the position taken by Bangladesh was inconsistent with its previous stance about sovereignty and territorial integrity issues of smaller nations.
Drawing on data since Bangladesh became a member of the UN in 1974, Riaz showed that the country had always voted and moved resolution in UN Security Council (1979–1980, 2001–2002) and Special Emergency sessions between 1980 and 2021. In the 11th Special Emergency session in 2022, Bangladesh’s vote on the Ukraine question was neither with the majority nor the principled stance it has espoused for decades.
