UN General Assembly
2017

In the 1971 war of liberation against Pakistan, we endured an extreme form of genocide. In the nine-month war, some 3 million innocent people were killed and more than 200,000 women violated. The Pakistani military launched the heinous Operation Searchlight on 25 March, marking the start of the 1971 genocide. This genocide involved the targeted elimination of individuals on the grounds of religion, race and political belief. Intellectuals were brutally killed. To pay homage to the victims of the genocide, our national parliament recently declared 25 March Genocide Day. In Bangladesh, we have already undertaken the daunting task of bringing the key perpetrators to justice through the International Crimes Tribunal. I urge the international community to take collective action to prevent the recurrence of such heinous crimes as these anywhere anytime. I believe that acknowledging past tragedies such as the 1971 genocide could guide us to achieving “never again”.