Talks with Myanmar, diplomatic efforts continue, says Foreign Secretary

Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam has said Bangladesh is continuing talks with Myanmar and diplomatic efforts to resolve the Rohingya refugee crisis. Bangladesh wants to create conditions that will allow the Rohingyas to return to their homeland with safety and dignity.

He said this at a high-level roundtable held in Cox’s Bazar town on Monday. The two-day event, held at the office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), was organised by the Government of Bangladesh and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). The event was organised to mark nine years since Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh to escape the genocide in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

The first day of the two-day roundtable, titled ‘The Rohingya Exodus: Challenges and the Future of this Protracted Crisis’, was held on Monday. Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam was the chief guest at the opening session. Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman chaired the session.

Representatives and experts from various local and international organisations working with Rohingya refugees attended the meeting. They called for safe and dignified repatriation of the Rohingyas, as well as greater access to education, skills development and livelihood opportunities. They also stressed the need for long-term support and coordinated initiatives to reduce the pressure on local communities caused by hosting the Rohingyas.

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Bangladesh Country Director Dipankar Datta said the nature of the Rohingyas’ needs has also changed as the crisis enters its tenth year. He said that alongside emergency assistance, the Rohingyas need access to education, skills development and livelihood opportunities, as well as multi-year funding.

NRC expert Ezatullah Raji highlighted challenges related to housing, land and property in the refugee camps. Referring to his remarks, Igor Ciobanu, principal coordinator of the Rohingya Coordination Platform (RCP), said the Rohingyas are now facing new and complex challenges arising from prolonged displacement.

Ellie Moody, head of the humanitarian assistance department at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), said the waiting period should be used to prepare the Rohingyas for their future through education and skills development until conditions conducive to repatriation are created. The needs of local communities must also be taken into consideration, she added.

Alexander Falk Bilde, deputy head of mission at the Norwegian Embassy, said that as long as the Rohingyas remain displaced, it is essential to provide them with relevant education and livelihood opportunities while ensuring basic services for local communities.

Marcel Colom, head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR’s Cox’s Bazar sub-office, said an environment must be created so that Rohingyas can make their own decisions about repatriation based on adequate information. At the same time, efforts must be made to strengthen the capacity and resilience of local communities that have been hosting refugees for years.

Professor Sazzad Siddiqui, chairman of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Dhaka University, said that instead of simply waiting for a political solution, education and income-generating opportunities must be ensured for the current generation.

At the meeting, The Daily Waada editor and former press secretary to the interim government Shafiqul Alam called for greater involvement of Muslim-majority countries in resolving the Rohingya crisis. He said a generation of Rohingyas must not be lost.

Speakers at the meeting included The Daily Star Head of Crime Jamil Khan, local NGO Pulse Executive Director Abu Morshed Chowdhury, Humanity & Inclusion (HI) Bangladesh Country Manager Sibghatullah Ahmed, NRC Bangladesh Head of Programme Mainul Islam, and United Council of Rohingya President, panel member and Rohingya community leader Md Shuaif.

After the meeting, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam inaugurated a two-day photo exhibition at the RRRC office premises in the evening. The exhibition features more than a hundred photographs, including hand-drawn pictures by Rohingya boys and girls, handwritten letters describing the genocide in Rakhine, and photographs depicting the horrors of the days of the genocide.