UN has limited role to provide assistance to Rakhine without approval of Bangladesh, Myanmar

The United Nations needs permission from the governments of both Bangladesh and Myanmar to deliver humanitarian assistance to Rakhine via a corridor in Bangladesh, and the UN’s direct role is limited on this matter until this legal obligation is fulfilled.

The office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh said this in a message to Prothom Alo on Wednesday amid media reports on the government of Bangladesh having no objection on any such initiative led by the UN.

Regarding the humanitarian corridor, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain told the journalists on Sunday, “I can tell you this much that we agree with it in principle as it will be a humanitarian passage (for delivering humanitarian aid). But we have some conditions; I will not go into those details. If those conditions are met, we will definitely cooperate under the supervision of the United Nations.”

Interim government's National Security Adviser and high representative on Rohingya issues Khalilur Rahman told AFP on Tuesday, “Our position is that should there be an UN-led humanitarian support to the state of Rakhine, Bangladesh would be willing to provide logistic support. We believe that the UN-supported humanitarian aid would help stabilise Rakhine and create conditions for the return of the refugees."

Khalilur Rahman said the aid route was only at a "consultation stage" and would require consensus among multiple groups. "We are in touch with the UN and other concerned parties in this regard," he said.

Touhid Hossain, foreign affairs adviser in the interim government, said on Sunday that Dhaka would consider a "humanitarian passage", provided the UN agrees to certain conditions.

Following media report on the government's decision in principle about ‘humanitarian corridor’ on Sunday, various political parties including BNP expressed concerns. A meeting of the BNP standing committee said they would ask the government about what actually happened on this matter.

On Tuesday, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam told UNB, "We want to make it categorically clear that the government has not discussed the so-called "humanitarian corridor" with the UN or any other entity."

He said the government position is that should there be an UN-led humanitarian support to the state of Rakhine, Bangladesh would be willing to provide logistics support.

Amid this circumstance, the office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Dhaka said the UN in Bangladesh continues to support the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and is concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation in Rakhine.

The UN with our humanitarian partners will continue to mobilise the international community’s support to Bangladesh as a host to the Rohingya.

Any humanitarian support or supplies across the border from Bangladesh to Myanmar will first need to be agreed between the two governments.

The UN has a legal obligation to have permission from the governments concerned to deliver cross-border assistance, and without this, the direct role of the UN is limited, the UN message added.