Whenever any human rights organization like Amnesty International, Transparency International or Human Rights Watch makes allegations of extrajudicial killings, indiscriminate arrests, media silencing or lack of justice, the government rejects such allegations and denies any conspiracy. Puts it. They accuse the organizations concerned of being biased.
This is hardly effective. The international community considers the story of these organizations to be more credible than that of the government. It will be a challenge for the External Affairs Minister to pull the government out of this culture of denial, interact with international human rights organizations and build a credible reputation abroad.
Apart from these seven challenges, the Ministry of External Affairs will have to get involved in two other issues, whether it wants to or not. One of these is the foreign labor market, for which the government has a separate ministry. But it is the responsibility of the Ministry of External Affairs to solve the irregularities and problems occurring in this area. The second challenge is human trafficking, which is a matter under the Ministry of Home Affairs. But on this issue also the Foreign Minister will have to face all kinds of pressure.
Best wishes, Foreign Minister.
* Mohammad Tauheed Hussain is former Foreign Secretary
*This column appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir and Rabiul Islam.