Bangladesh should strengthen its diplomatic activities to earn global recognition for the genocide conducted by the Pakistan army during Liberation War in 1971, Prof Delwar Hossain said yesterday.

Although Bangladesh government's decision of observing genocide day on March 25 [started since 2017] conveys the message of genocide widely, the country needs to strategise and start lobbying seriously to earn the recognition, he said.

The international relations professor of Dhaka University suggested observing the day, collecting relevant documents from home and abroad, starting bilateral negotiations with friendly countries, and lobbying the associate organisations of United Nations.

Prof Hossain made the remarks while delivering a lecture on “Bangladesh's genocide diplomacy” at Asiatic Society of Bangladesh in the capital. Munshi Aftabbuddin and Abdul Hafiz Trust organised the lecture.

To earn the global recognition, he also suggested contacting countries -- like Armenia and Rwanda -- that faced genocide, resisting internal anti-liberation forces, tackling activities of Pakistan and convincing India.

“The discussion on genocide in 1971 has already started in different places. Now, our duty is to focus on how we can uphold our demand to earn global recognition,” said Prof Hossain, also former director of Centre for Genocide Studies at Dhaka University.

The Trust's Chairperson Prof Ahmed Abdullah Jamal and Convenor Abdur Rahim also spoke at the event.