Rohingya crisis is a ‘collective failure’ to influence Myanmar, says UN

GBnews24desk//

UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo said it is a ‘collective failure’ of various quarters to influence Myanmar to take back Rohingyas in a safe, dignified and sustainable manner.

“There is a collective failure to influence Myanmar. That’s not just the UN, it includes many others as well,” she said while addressing a dialogue organised by Diplomatic Correspondents’ Association of Bangladesh (DCAB) ‘DCAB Talk’ at BIISS auditorium in the city on Wednesday.

Saying that the root causes of Rohingya crisis lie in Myanmar, the UN chief said the key objective is creating a conducive environment inside Rakhine state for voluntary repatriation with safety and dignity.

“Still regardless of when that happens, we have to continue to address the impacts of this crisis on Bangladeshi host communities and the Rohingyas while they are here,” she said.

Emphasizing on sustainable solution she said “Ensuring that any solution is sustainable is not a lofty ideal but a concrete requirement for it to work,” she said.

“We need to continue to seek ways to improve how we can help improve conditions in Rakhine state even while we do whatever we can to help Rohingyas,” she said, adding “That this is the only way to end the tragic cycles of violence and displacement that have plagued the Rohingyas for decades.”

Seppo said the UN has been able to maintain a continued focus on the crisis and bring together member states for a conversation on the issue.

Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and most of them arrived there after August 25, 2017 following a military crackdown by Myanmar, which the UN called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” by other rights groups.

The UN chief also discussed about various partnerships between the UN and Bangladesh including peace keeping missions, UN reform initiatives, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change adaptation, migration and human rights.

Saying that Bangladesh has been on an impressive development journey since its independence in 1971 she observed “It’s a journey of considerable advances in economic, political and social development in the areas of poverty reduction, self sufficiency in cereal production, climate change, maternal and child health and disaster resilience”.