Dhaka urges UN to scale up efforts for Rohingyas repatriation

Bangladesh has urged the United Nations (UN) to scale up its programmes in Rakhine State of Myanmar to support the forcibly displaced Rohingyas on their return from Bangladesh.

“The most durable solution to the Rohingya crisis lies in their safe, sustainable and dignified return to Myanmar,” said Bangladesh Ambassador Rabab Fatima.

The Bangladesh ambassador was addressing the UN General Assembly on Monday following the briefing by UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Myanamr Dr. Noeleen Heyzer in New York, BSS reports.

Fatima also called upon the Special Envoy to work towards an early implementation of the bilateral return arrangements of the Rohingyas from Bangladesh.

“Five years have passed since the Rohingyas fled home in one of the largest exoduses in recent history. The promise of safe return remains unfulfilled,” the Bangladesh envoy said.

She said not a single Rohingya has been able to return home while 1.2 million of them remain in a state of uncertainty in Bangladesh.

“Those remaining in Myanmar are either languishing in IDP camps or under constant threat of forced displacement and insecurity,” said ambassador Fatima.

The ambassador called upon the UN, especially the Security Council, to respond with urgency to the recurrent and protracted Rohingya crisis including by addressing the root causes of the crisis.

Referring to the efforts of Bangladesh in providing food, shelter, education, health care and protection to the Rohingyas, she called upon the international community to focus on creating the right conditions in Myanmar.

“Efforts on our side alone will not bring about any lasting solution to the problem. What needed are actions and programmes in Myanmar, to create the conditions conducive for the return of this population, in dignity, to their homes,” she said.