Bangladesh’s UN Moment

Abstract

If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?” asks Anton Chigurh, the main protagonist of the Oscar-winning movie No Country for Old Men -- and eight decades into its own rulebook, the United Nations might reasonably be asked the same question by every refugee, every displaced minority, every small state whose faith in the Charter has yet to be repaid in kind. It is against this question that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s address to the 81st UN General Assembly deserves close attention. Grounded in human security, it presents Bangladesh -- a country of modest material power -- as a potential normative powerhouse.