The government has appointed internationally renowned human rights advocate Irene Khan as Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the United Nations, granting her the rank of state minister.

The Cabinet Division issued a gazette notification on Wednesday confirming her contractual appointment.

According to the notification, Irene Khan will receive the rank, salary, allowances and other benefits of a state minister while serving as Bangladesh’s permanent representative and ambassador to the UN.

She will succeed Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, the current permanent representative to Bangladesh’s UN Mission. Foreign ministry officials said Chowdhury is set to become the country’s next foreign secretary.

Khan has served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression since Aug 1, 2020, becoming the first woman to hold the mandate since it was established in 1993.

An internationally recognised advocate for human rights, gender equality and social justice, she also teaches at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

She was secretary general of London-based Amnesty International from 2001 to 2009, becoming the first woman to lead the global human rights organisation. During her tenure, Amnesty expanded its work on economic, social and cultural rights alongside political and civil rights, and launched its first global campaign to end violence against women and girls.

From 2012 to 2019, Khan headed the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the rule of law and sustainable development.

She previously served as a visiting professor at the State University of New York Law School in 2011 and as chancellor of the University of Salford in the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2015.

Khan began her professional career with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where she worked for 21 years in headquarters and field operations, including as chief of mission in India.

She has also served on the World Bank Gender Advisory Council, the UNAIDS High Level Panel on HIV Prevention and Human Rights, and the UN Global Compact Advisory Council. She has been a governing board member of the Overseas Development Institute in the UK, BRAC and Uganda-based Barefoot Law.

Born in Bangladesh, Khan studied at University of Manchester and Harvard Law School. She has received several international honours, including the Sydney Peace Prize, for her contribution to human rights.

The government will establish Employment Exchange Centres across Bangladesh to strengthen domestic labour market management, improve skills development and expand job opportunities, Tarique Rahman has said.

Responding to a question from Tangail-6 MP Robiul Awal in parliament on Wednesday, the prime minister said the centres would be created in line with the government’s election manifesto.

He also said the government is working to reopen the Malaysian labour market, expand opportunities in Thailand, South Korea and Japan, and revive or widen labour markets in Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates through diplomatic efforts.

The government is also actively negotiating to set up visa centres in Dhaka for European nations like North Macedonia, Serbia, Mauritius, and Portugal to ease the migration process for skilled Bangladeshi workers, he said.

He added that the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) will introduce more demand-driven language courses and increase the number of training institutions.

The Prime Minister’s Advisor on Information and Broadcasting Zahed Ur Rahman has described remarks made by Nahid Islam, the convenor of the National Citizen Party (NCP), regarding the bomb attack at the party’s rally in Savar as “political.”

His comments came on Tuesday at a press briefing at the Secretariat, where the government briefed the media on the progress of various activities.

Nahid had alleged that the bomb attack on the NCP rally took place with the assistance of the administration. Asked about the allegation, Advisor Zahed said:

“Yesterday’s incident was deeply unfortunate. We strongly condemn it. The government’s primary responsibility is to investigate the incident, identify those involved, and bring them to justice.”

Referring to Nahid’s comments, he added: “I would simply say that there is something commonly known as a political statement, and he made a political statement. He has every right to do so.”

However, Zahed also said: “We expect a more responsible comment from the leader of a political party that played a very significant role in our mass uprising.”

Around 9:45pm on Monday, a crude bomb exploded during the NCP’s “July March” rally at Tarapur Eidgah Ground in Savar, leaving three people injured.

Later that night, Salamat Ullah Rony, Member Secretary of the NCP’s Dhaka North District unit, filed a case on behalf of the party.

According to the complaint, unidentified suspects orchestrated the explosion “with the intention of killing NCP leaders and ordinary attendees at the rally.”

No one has been arrested in connection with the incident as of now.

Zahed said, “The government will investigate the incident. It has not even been 24 hours since it occurred. It is not always possible to complete everything immediately.”

He added, “The government is making every possible effort to arrest those responsible, and we hope to do so soon. There is a process, there is an investigation, and various efforts are under way.”

The advisor further said that, despite the state’s or the government’s best efforts, untoward incidents can still occur.

“The important question is whether the government takes such incidents seriously and takes appropriate action. I can assure you that this government is doing exactly that.”