Staff Reporter:
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed yesterday urged the international community to step up dip-lomatic pressure and sustained engagement to resolve the Rohingya crisis and ensure the safe, dignified and permanent return of the refugees to Myanmar.
“The crisis must remain high on the international agenda and should not be pushed into the back-ground by other global conflicts or political crises,” he said while addressing a roundtable titled “The Rohingya Crisis: Emerging Challenges & Reframing Response Strategies”.
The Institute for Global Cooperation Foundation (IGCF) organized the discussion at the auditorium of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in Dhaka.
He said, “The Rohingya issue must always remain on the international radar of the United Nations and should not be overshadowed by any other global political conflict or crisis.”
The minister said a lasting solution to the crisis could be achieved through stronger cooperation from the global community and international organizations, particularly with the direct support of the United Nations and leading countries.
The Home Minister called on international human rights organizations, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and all other relevant stakeholders to play a more effective role in resolving the crisis.
“Our main goal is one and only one—to ensure that nearly 15 lakh, or 12 lakh according to UNHCR, forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals (FDMNs) sheltering in Bangladesh can return to their own country with full dignity and security,” he said.
For this, continued support from the international community and a strong political role by leading countries are extremely important, he said.
Bangladesh has been hosting more than 15 lakh displaced Rohingyas for nearly nine years, provid-ing them with shelter, food, land, healthcare and basic protection on humanitarian grounds, the minister said.
But the prolonged crisis is now creating growing security and social challenges, he added.
Criminal activities, arms and drug smuggling, human trafficking, gender-based violence and the activities of armed groups have increased in the camps over the years, posing serious challenges to Bangladesh’s internal security, the minister said.
According to the minister, local communities living around the camps and the surrounding envi-ronment have also come under severe pressure.
IGCF Chief Executive Officer Chowdhury Adnan Rahman delivered the welcome address, while Professor Dr Bulbul Siddiqi of the Department of Political Science and Sociology at North South University moderated the discussion.
Prime Minister’s Public Administration Adviser Md Ismail Zabihullah attended the event as the guest of honour and highlighted the importance of administrative coordination in addressing the Rohingya issue.
UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh Ivo Freijsen, BIISS Director General S M Ridwanur Rahman, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Refugee Cell Chief and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Mohammad Nazmul Abedin, Dhaka University Professor Dr Sazzad Siddiqi, chairman of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, Professor Dr Niloy Ranjan Biswas of the Department of International Relations, IUB, Professor Dr Kazi Mahmudul Rahman, Jahangirnagar University Professor Dr Nurul Huda Sa-kib, ULAB Assistant Professor Avanti Harun, ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir and Prothom Alo Special Correspondent Rahid Ezaz, among others, took part in the discussion.
