OIC delegation to visit Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camps

A delegation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will visit the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar. The delegation will visit the camps for four days from Wednesday to acquire first-hand information on the state of human rights violations faced by the Rohingyas in Myanmar. During the visit to Cox's Bazar, the officials from the OIC General Secretariat will discuss humanitarian needs and other issues of concern with the relevant authorities in Bangladesh and present their report to OIC Secretary General Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen. A detailed report both on the human rights situation of the Rohingyas in Myanmar and their urgent humanitarian needs will be presented to the upcoming OIC Council of Foreign Ministers scheduled to take place in May this year in Dhaka. The delegation consists of members of the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC), one of the principle statutory organs of the OIC - dealing with human rights issues, and officials from relevant departments of the OIC General Secretariat including the Minorities, Information and Humanitarian Affairs. The visit is undertaken, in coordination with the government of Bangladesh, to ascertain the human rights and humanitarian situation of the Rohingyas in Myanmar, according to OIC statement. Despite repeated requests by the IPHRC, Myanmar authorities did not allow to undertake a fact-finding visit on the human rights situation faced by the Rohingyas in the Rakhine State. In the absence of a positive response from the Myanmar Government, the IPHRC has decided to visit the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar for the report purpose. IPHRC has routinely pronounced its strong concerns and condemnation on the state of human rights violations faced by the Rohingyas in Myanmar at all relevant UN forums. The OIC has repeatedly called upon the Myanmar government to allow the Rohingyas to return to the country safely and with dignity. Meanwhile, Indonesian President Joko Widodo is likely to arrive in Dhaka on a two-day official visit this month to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues including the Rohingya issue. The two countries are now in discussion to finalize the visit, a foreign ministry source said. The Indonesian president, during the visit, will have meetings with President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In September last, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi visited Dhaka and discussed the Rohingya issues.