B.Mirror Desk: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today brought ministers, members of parliament and civil society leaders together at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon to confront a problem that is growing faster than the law: the use of artificial intelligence to harass, defame and put women in danger online.
The meeting is part of Bangladesh’s work to establish the Dhaka Dialogue, a government-led platform introduced at the 10th Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa on 20 April 2026. The Dialogue is intended to close gaps in shared definitions, political attention, legal and technical capacity, evidence, and partnership, gaps that no single government or company can fill alone.
Foreign Secretary Ambassador Asad Alam Siam moderated the session. He set out the five levels at which the Dialogue is designed to work.
The Dialogue commits to develop shared language, standards and voluntary guidelines for States on prevention, investigation and remedy; common definitions and typologies so that countries can report and compare cases; and benchmarks for platform accountability, including transparency and the labelling and provenance of synthetic media. It would keep the issue on the international agenda through regular high-level meetings and a network of political champions among heads of government, ministers and parliamentarians. It will help States particularly across the Global South to draft and review laws, train police, prosecutors and judges in digital evidence and AI forensics, strengthen survivor helplines, and gain access to tools that can detect and take down synthetic content without sacrificing freedom of expression, privacy or minority rights. Then it would convene governments, UN entities, technology companies, civil society, academia and survivor networks, seek voluntary safety-by-design commitments from AI developers and platforms, and work with regional organisations so the agenda can be adapted locally.
Five speakers addressed the gathering.
Hon’ble State Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E. Ms. Shama Obaed Islam, MP, described the Dialogue as a flagship of the Ministry, one that links Bangladesh’s foreign policy with the everyday safety of women online.
Hon’ble State Minister for Social Welfare H.E. Ms. Farzana Sharmin Putul, MP, spoke about the role national social protection systems and survivor support can play when abuse moves from the street to the screen.
Hon’ble Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs H.E. Mr. Md. Asaduzzaman, MP, drawing on his years as Attorney General, set out the gaps in law and evidence that still make it hard to investigate and prosecute AI-enabled abuse including the difficulty of proving harm when the image or voice is synthetic.
H.E. Ms. Barrister Jahrat Adib Chowdhury, MP, speaking from her background in Bangladesh’s telecom industry, argued that technology platforms must build safety in from the start, not add it after harm is done, and that transparency around synthetic media should be a baseline expectation.
H.E. Ms. Sanjida Islam Tulee, MP, founder of Mayer Daak, drew a line between supporting families of the disappeared and supporting survivors of digital and AI-facilitated abuse. She called for institutions that believe survivors from the moment they come forward, and for helplines and reporting systems that do not send them from office to office.
An open discussion followed. Participants exchanged views on legislative gaps, platform accountability, the handling of synthetic content, and how different countries support survivors.
Next, the Ministry will invite an initial group of interested Member States to join as Friends of the Dialogue, and will stand up a technical working group to draft a first reference document on shared definitions and standards to be adopted by consensus among the Friends.