Photo: Collected
Irene Khan, Bangladesh’s permanent representative and ambassador to the United Nations, has reiterated Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s call for the international community to come forward more strongly to resolve the Rohingya crisis and to take the more than 12 lakh forcibly displaced people back to Myanmar safely.
In his first speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the prime minister had urged political action to end this long-standing crisis. Alongside this, he had also proposed a roadmap for the voluntary and safe repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar and additional humanitarian assistance for the displaced population.
In an interview with the BBC World Service from New York, Irene Khan said, ‘What is actually failing is, first, the international commitment to assist these 12 lakh Rohingyas; second, assisting the government of Bangladesh at a very difficult time for the country; and third, finding a lasting solution for this population.’
Asked whether the international community’s response is failing the Rohingyas as funding declines and the world’s attention shifts elsewhere, she said the shortfall in international commitment in assisting the refugees, supporting Bangladesh and finding a solution to the crisis is the main reason for this.
Describing the Rohingyas staying in Bangladesh as currently the world’s largest settlement of displaced people, Irene Khan said they are having to live in crowded camps in a densely populated country.
She said, ‘Assistance is badly needed, but its amount is going down. At present humanitarian assistance is also declining.’
The ambassador said the Rohingyas have been living in the camps for nine years. Children are growing up there and about 30,000 children are being born in the camps every year.
She further said, ‘Where will they go? Nine years in a camp is a very long time.’
Irene Khan said this is why Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has called on the international community, the United Nations and the parties concerned inside and outside the region to come forward to ensure a solution to this crisis.
She said, ‘The source of the Rohingya problem is in Myanmar and we believe its solution also lies there.’
Mentioning that the Rohingyas are keen to return to their own country, she said they want to go back ‘with safety and dignity’.
Asked what kind of specific commitment Bangladesh expects, Irene Khan called on the United Nations and the international community to bring all stakeholders to the negotiating table.
In this context, she mentioned Bangladesh, Myanmar, the other countries of the region affected by the crisis, and countries that are able to exert influence over Myanmar or can provide the necessary resources.
She said, ‘We want a political process in which the Myanmar government will be reminded of its responsibility, of its legal responsibility, so that it takes back its people. At the same time, assistance is needed inside Myanmar that can create a safe environment for people to return.’
In reply to a question about the United Nations’ capacity to deal with major crises, she said member states have to take more responsibility – especially the countries with veto power in the UN Security Council.
She said, ‘We really need these governments to work together more effectively.’
She also remarked that a huge number of countries in the world, including Bangladesh, believe in the multilateral system and have faith in resolving global problems through diplomacy and dialogue.
On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on 23 September proposed five urgent steps to resolve the Rohingya crisis. He called on global stakeholders to formulate a clear and credible roadmap for the swift, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas. According to him, the time has come to move away from managing displacement and towards ending it. While speaking at a high-level side event titled ‘The Rohingya Crisis: A Renewed Call for a Durable Solution from Protracted Displacement, with Justice and Accountability’ at the UN headquarters, he said, ‘The time has come to move from empathy towards finding the root causes and their solution, from pledges towards action, and from managing displacement towards ending it.’
The prime minister’s five proposals include formulating a clear and credible roadmap for the swift, safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar; ensuring the fundamental rights and security of civilians, including the Rohingyas, by stopping violence against them; ensuring adequate and predictable humanitarian assistance for the Rohingyas and the host community; strengthening justice and accountability mechanisms; and strengthening regional and international cooperation to combat the drug-dependent economy, human trafficking, digital fraud, illegal arms and other cross-border crimes.
