Dhaka engages with key UN officials on Rohingya repatriation on UNGA sidelines

Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain has met with key UN officials in New York on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to discuss the ongoing Rohingya crisis and global migration issues.

In a meeting with UN Special Envoy on Myanmar Julie Bishop on Tuesday (NY time), the foreign adviser raised concerns about the protracted Rohingya crisis that has placed a significant burden on Bangladesh, according to a message received here today.

The discussion focused on the international community’s role in addressing the crisis and exploring possible solutions that could facilitate the safe and dignified return of Rohingyas to their motherland Myanmar.

The meeting underscored the need for a stronger global response and sustained pressure on Myanmar to create conducive conditions for repatriation.

Adviser Hossain urged the UN and international community to remain actively engaged in finding a durable solution that ensures the rights and safety of the Rohingya people.

Since August 25 in 2017, Bangladesh has been hosting over a million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and most of them arrived there after a military crackdown by Myanmar, which the UN called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and other rights groups dubbed it as “genocide”.

In the last seven years, not a single Rohingya went back home. Myanmar agreed to take them back, but repatriation attempts failed twice due to trust deficit among the Rohingyas about their safety and security in Rakhine state.

In a separate meeting on the same day, foreign adviser Hossain held talks with Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope.

The Rohingya crisis was also a focal point of this discussion, with both sides exploring avenues to facilitate the protection and well-being of the displaced people as well as ways to enhance international cooperation on migration management.

Pope praised Bangladesh for its leadership as a champion of the Global Compact for Migration and acknowledged the country’s efforts to manage migration in a safe, orderly, and humane manner.

She also reiterated IOM’s commitment to supporting Bangladesh in its ongoing efforts to manage migration challenges, including those posed by the Rohingya influx. (BSS)