UN secretary general António Guterres is set to arrive on a four-day visit to Bangladesh on Thursday. This will be his second visit within seven years when the Rohingya crisis and various issues regarding human rights will be given importance in discussions.
Foreign ministry officials said the UN secretary general will have a meeting with the interim government’s chief adviser Muhammad Yunus on Friday night. From there they will go to Cox’s Bazar in the same flight to visit the Rohingya situation at the camps. They also will have an iftar with the Rohingya people there.
Speaking about the visit of António Guterres, UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis told Prothom Alo that he has been visiting Bangladesh during this Ramadan at the request of the chief adviser to express his solidarity as every Ramadan he visits Muslim countries. During this visit, he will discuss the Rohingya situation and international cooperation in this regard.
Responding to a question on whether there will be discussion or not on ongoing reform initiatives in Bangladesh, elections and the UN’s assistance in this regard, Gwyn Lewis said the UN stayed by the people of Bangladesh at different times. This suggests that the UN’s cooperation and solidarity with them will continue.
She hoped that the interim government and the future elected government will inform the UN regarding the type of assistance the country would require and their priorities. The UN stands ready to work with Bangladesh.
Iftar with Rohingya
Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain will receive UN secretary general António Guterres at the airport on Thursday. From there the UN secretary general will go to his hotel, where he will have meetings with the foreign adviser and chief adviser’s special representative on the Rohingya crisis and other prioritised issues, Khalilur Rahman, on the next morning.
Then António Guterres will hold a meeting with chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at his office. From there the two will go to Cox’s Bazar in the same flight.
In Cox’s Bazar, different UN organisations will brief the UN secretary general about their activities at the Rohingya camp. After a visit to the camps, the UN secretary general will have an iftar there to express his solidarity with the Rohingya people and the month of Ramadan.
The UN secretary general and the chief adviser will return to Dhaka that night.
On Saturday morning, Guterres will visit the UN office in Dhaka and exchange views with the officials there. Later in the day, he will join a roundtable at his hotel and hold discussions with the youths of Bangladesh and civil society representatives.
A joint media briefing is scheduled to be held in the afternoon that day.
Later in the evening, chief adviser Muhammad Yunus will host an iftar and dinner in honour of the UN secretary general. On Sunday, Guterres is scheduled to leave Dhaka.
UN seeks help of Bangladesh to face famine in Rakhine
The UN apprehends a dire humanitarian situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine state as the economy has been on a free fall there due to an ongoing civil war in the country.
It told Bangladesh that if the famine cannot be faced there, not only Rohingya, but people of other communities also could cross the border to enter Bangladesh. That is why the UN has sought help from Bangladesh to face the famine in Rakhine state.
As of now, Bangladesh, however, is not considering this appeal of the UN positively. Rather, the country has been considering this proposal as a threat to its security and other issues.
In October last year, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) prepared a 12-page report on the current situation in Rakhine state, stating that the economy there is deteriorating.
It mentioned that no goods could enter the Rakhine state in Myanmar as the international and domestic border is closed. The people there do not have any source of income. Alongside severe inflation, domestic food production has decreased sharply. There has been scarcity in emergency services and social safety programmes.
The UN apprehends that the situation of the vulnerable people there will deteriorate further in the next few months.
The report also predicted there could be an outbreak of famine in Rakhine state by March or April.