Bangladesh has requested Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to mobilize the international community to ensure that the planned international conference later this year adopts concrete measures for an early and sustainable resolution of the protracted issue.
The high representative of Bangladesh’s chief adviser on Rohingya issues and priority matters, Dr Khalilur Rahman, met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday to discuss the upcoming UN International Conference on Rohingya Muslims and other minorities of Myanmar, which will be held in 2025.
The UN General Assembly decided to hold the conference by consensus.
The UN chief reiterated the UN's continued commitment to a durable solution to the Rohingya issue.
Dr Rahman emphasized the importance of urgent international actions for a sustainable resolution of the Rohingya issue, which continues to threaten regional peace and security.
He also highlighted the serious humanitarian conditions in Rakhine State and warned that the impending famine conditions will cause further destabilization of the conflict-ravaged state.
Dr Rahman indicated Bangladesh's willingness to positively consider supporting UN-led initiatives in the state to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation, restart livelihoods, and, in the process, create enabling conditions for the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Rakhine.
He drew the secretary-general's attention to the deteriorating external funding situation and urged him to use his good offices to mobilize sufficient resources.
He also requested the secretary-general to ensure that aid providers and recipients have unimpeded access and are free from violence, intimidation, discrimination, and displacement and that airstrikes and bombings are brought to an end.
The UN secretary-general recalled his visits to the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar and Rakhine State and reiterated his concerns for the Rohingyas, who remain victims of systematic discrimination and grave violations of their fundamental rights.
He lauded Bangladesh's continued generosity in hosting nearly 1.2 million Rohingyas for eight years.
The UN chief recognized Bangladesh's indispensable role in providing support to UN-led humanitarian assistance to Rakhine at this critical hour of need.
Dr Rahman also apprised the secretary-general of Bangladesh's reform efforts under the leadership of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and emphasized the need for a stronger role for Bangladesh in UN peacekeeping activities.
The secretary-general recalled his recent meeting with the chief adviser at Davos and reiterated his firm support for the reform efforts.
He also assured the high representative of his personal attention to the higher-level representation of Bangladesh in the UN peacekeeping machinery.
Dr Rahman also held separate bilateral meetings with UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and under-secretary-general for peace operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
Bangladesh's permanent representative to the UN, Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, was present at the meetings.
