81st United Nations Day Today: Bangladesh Among Top Peacekeeping Contributors, With Its Foreign Minister Presiding Over the General Assembly

Today, 24 October, is United Nations Day. The international organisation of the world's nations has entered its 81st year. The UN began its journey on 24 October 1945, when the United Nations Charter came into force.

Learning from the horrors of the Second World War and the failure of the League of Nations, ensuring world peace and security was the main goal behind the founding of the United Nations. Formed after the Second World War to establish peace, ensure international security and increase cooperation among countries, the organisation is today the world's largest multilateral forum.

The organisation, headquartered in Manhattan, New York, in the United States, was named by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The UN currently has 193 member states. The Secretary-General is the organisation's chief executive; the current Secretary-General is António Guterres, a citizen of Portugal.

The UN Security Council is made up of 15 member states in total — five permanent and ten non-permanent. The five permanent members are the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and China; the permanent members have the power of veto. The organisation's six official languages are English, French, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Arabic, although the working languages at the Secretariat are English and French.

After independence, Bangladesh took the initiative to gain UN membership in order to strengthen its position in the international arena. On 17 September 1974, Bangladesh joined as the UN's 136th member state. Since then, the country has played an active role in multilateral diplomacy, international peace and security, and development activities.

Bangladesh's contribution to UN peacekeeping is recognised internationally. The country's participation in this work began in 1988, when it sent officers to the Iran-Iraq military observer mission.

Since then, Bangladeshi military and police personnel have served in various conflict-affected regions of the world to establish peace, protect civilians and restore stability. In 2026, Bangladesh ranks among the top contributing countries in sending troops and police personnel to UN peacekeeping missions.

Another achievement has added special significance for Bangladesh on this year's day. The president of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly is Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, Dr Khalilur Rahman.

He was elected on 2 June 2026 in the General Assembly election with 99 votes, and took over as president on 8 September 2026 for a one-year term. As a result, during this session a Bangladeshi is presiding over the forum of representatives of the world's countries.

Nearly four decades earlier, in 1986, Bangladesh's Humayun Rashid Choudhury had served as president of the 41st session of the UN General Assembly. In that continuity, the current responsibility is another notable chapter in Bangladesh's diplomatic history.

On the occasion of United Nations Day, discussions, cultural programmes and awareness activities are organised in various countries around the world. Alongside highlighting the importance of international cooperation, peace and human rights, the day creates an opportunity to reaffirm the commitment to implementing the core principles of the UN Charter.

Altogether, on its 81st anniversary the United Nations faces challenges of global conflict and security, while for Bangladesh the day is also an occasion of pride in its peacekeeping contribution and the General Assembly presidency. Diplomatic attention will now rest on how the session's work proceeds over the coming year under the leadership of Dr Khalilur Rahman as president.