Bangladesh has taken over the chairmanship of the Bureau of the Executive Committee (ExCom) of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), marking a historic first for the country and a significant achievement in its multilateral diplomacy.
Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva, Ambassador Nahida Sobhan, formally assumed the position of Chair of the four-member ExCom Bureau on Tuesday, according to a message received in Dhaka on Wednesday.
This is the first time Bangladesh has held a Bureau position since the UNHCR Executive Committee began operations in 1959.
Bangladesh emerged as the unanimous candidate of the Asia-Pacific Group and received backing from Algeria and Austria, representing other regional blocs. Ambassador Nahida Sobhan’s nomination was later endorsed by all 110 member states of the Executive Committee, reflecting broad international confidence in Bangladesh’s leadership.
A seasoned diplomat, Ambassador Nahida Sobhan has served in Bangladesh’s missions in Rome, Kolkata and Geneva, and previously held ambassadorial roles in Jordan and as high commissioner to Canada. She has also worked as Director General of the UN Wing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has been closely involved with UN agencies, including UNHCR, in addressing the Rohingya refugee crisis.
Bangladesh’s assumption of the chairmanship comes at a time when the country is hosting around 1.3 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and continues to advocate for their safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation.
The role is seen as recognition of Bangladesh’s growing leadership in humanitarian diplomacy amid rising global displacement and funding challenges in the international refugee system.
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