'Keep the diplomatic pressure on': Bangladesh urges global pressure on Myanmar for Rohingya return as crisis enters 10th year

As the Rohingya influx completes nine years and nnow enters its tenth year, Bangladesh has urged the international community to keep the pressure on Myanmar so that the refugees can be sent back. Bangladesh government and stakeholders said that the country cannot shoulder the burden of the protracted Rohingya crisis indefinitely on its own. Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, attended the event titled “The Rohingya Exodus: Challenges and the Future of this Protracted Crisis”, jointly organised with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) in Cox’s Bazar. Siam opined that the international community must “sustain meaningful political and diplomatic pressure on Myanmar to create conditions for their safe and dignified return.”

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The event was also attended by representatives from UN agencies, donor agencies, INGOs, NGOs, local representatives, Rohingya leaders and other humanitarian actors. The crisis demands an action-oriented and time-bound roadmap, developed through robust coordination among the government, UN, donors, humanitarian organisations and other relevant stakeholders, the speakers said. They said preparing the Rohingya population for eventual repatriation requires investment in education, skills development, vocational capacities and digital learning. A durable solution ultimately lies in a safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return to their homeland, said the speakers.

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"We are from the government and the country... We are trying to keep the issue alive in international and regional forums. And the way we look forward to is to keep the diplomatic pressure on so that at some point they will be able to return", Siam told ANI. "The funding is decreasing, we all know that, but we are trying to gather more support for increased funding. And we are talking to our bilateral partners, our international partners, to increase the funding for the Rohingyas in the camps", Siam added.

Rohingya Issue raised in Delhi

Last month, Bangladesh called for deeper regional collaboration on security issues including the Rohingya refugee crisis at the fifth meeting of BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs in New Delhi. In a detailed country statement, Dr Shamsul Islam, Defence Adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and head of the delegation, stressed that security and development in the Bay of Bengal region are “inseparable,” and highlighted the “prolonged crissis.” This prolonged crisis is an exceptional humanitarian issue," he said. He urged all BIMSTEC member states to collectively create conditions for the Rohingyas' return.
The meeting, chaired by India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, brought together security chiefs from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand to address evolving non-traditional security challenges in the region.