<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Applauding Bangladesh's leadership in promoting culture of peace, President of the General Assembly Csaba has highlighted that sustaining a culture of peace in the digital age entails nurturing an inclusive online space that encourages respect and tolerance.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This involves countering online hate speech and discrimination and addressing the risks of misusing new technologies without depriving those who require them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stressing the importance of collective involvement, he underscored that success hinges on robust multilateral cooperation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We can leverage digital media's power to raise global awareness about peace across diverse backgrounds, cultures and religions through dissemination of facts and encouraging healthy debates on various contemporary issues.”-said Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York while speaking at the High-Level Forum on Culture of Peace held at the United Nations Headquarters on Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Convened by President of the General Assembly Csaba Korosi, the forum's inaugural session featured addresses from distinguished speakers, including the Under-Secretary General for Policy, Director of UNESCO's New York Office, and the Head of UN Affairs of ITU.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later a panel discussion was held under the theme, "Promoting Culture of Peace in the Digital Era,” which was chaired by Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar, and participated by member states, observers and the civil society.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apart from Member States, expert speakers including the Secretary General's Tech Envoy, Rector of the University for Peace and representative of Google spoke in the panel discussion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ambassador Muhith emphasized the continued relevance of nurturing a culture of peace amid global challenges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"As stated by our founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in his maiden speech in the UN in 1974, peace is an imperative for the survival of mankind. It represents the deepest aspirations of men and women throughout the world. And this has shaped&nbsp; our enduring commitment to the cause of global peace and security and inspired us to introduce in 1999, the resolution on the Culture of Peace,” he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Referring to the theme of this year’s forum, Muhith said that while digital technologies have offered us unprecedented access to knowledge and opportunities, they have also unleashed a torrent of mis and disinformation, hate speech, xenophobic, intolerant and divisive narratives, amplified by the emergence of deep-fakes.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this context, he referred to the 2017 Rohingya exodus from Myanmar which was aggravated by dissemination of communal and xenophobic hatred against the Rohingya population.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Against this backdrop, he emphasized the critical importance of careful navigation in this digital landscape, particularly for young individuals. Neglecting caution, he warned, could jeopardize harmony we strive to attain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Acknowledging the detrimental impact of the digital divide on peace efforts, the envoy stressed the importance of ensuring equitable access to technology and promoting digital literacy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He urged the empowerment of individuals and communities to utilize digital platforms and technologies such as Artificial Intelligence for sustainable development and peace.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ambassador also highlighted the unique challenges faced by women and girls online and called for the rectification of gender digital divide by establishing a safe and accessible digital platform for all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Muhith concluded by urging the international community to harness technological advancements for peace-building while remaining vigilant against potential misuse in the digital realm.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The forum gathered a large number of member states, UN,intergovernmental and the civil society representatives and all participants of the forum lauded Bangladesh's enduring leadership in promoting Culture of Peace. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>