Bangladesh calls for UN push to solve Rohingya crisis
Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has urged UN agencies to take coordinated action to resolve the prolonged Rohingya crisis. criticizing Myanmar for using its internal conflicts to delay the repatriation of the persecuted Rohingya population.
During four separate meetings with UN officials in New York on Friday, FM Hasan Mahmud emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts by UN agencies, especially in regions affected by conflict, according to a statement from Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
Approximately 1.3 million Rohingya currently reside in Bangladesh, having fled a violent military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine State in 2017. Most of these refugees live in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, with around 35,000 relocated to Bhasan Char island since late 2020.
In discussions with Julie Bishop, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Myanmar, Mahmud stressed that Myanmar's internal conflicts should not be used as an excuse to delay the repatriation process. He highlighted the detrimental impact of the delayed repatriation on the refugee camps in Bangladesh, where crime rates, including human trafficking, drug smuggling, and terrorism, have increased.
Mahmud also met with Dennis Francis, the current President of the UN General Assembly, where he reiterated these concerns. Additionally, he discussed the issue with Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, mentioning that since February, about 750 members of Myanmar's border police and army have sought refuge in Bangladesh, most of whom have been repatriated or are in the process of being returned.
'Not only that, offshoots of the conflicting groups in Myanmar have also caused casualties in Bangladesh. It is absolutely necessary to prevent the recurrence of these,' Hasan Mahmud said, added the Foreign Ministry statement.
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