‘Joint working group on Rohingya return soon’

Bangladesh has conveyed to the United Nations that a joint working group on Rohingya repatriation would soon be formed under the terms and conditions of a bilateral arrangement with Myanmar.

Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the UN ambassador Masud Bin Momen conveyed the message to the Security Council meeting on situation in Myanmar held in New York recently, said the Bangladesh Mission on Thursday.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 23 November on the repatriation of Rohingyas.

A Myanmar delegation will arrive in Bangladesh on 19 December (Tuesday) to take forward the process of forming the joint working group, said a foreign ministry official.

Foreign secretary M Shahidul Haque on Tuesday will hold a meeting with his Myanmar counterpart on forming the joint working group, reports UNB.

The joint working group was supposed to be in place within three weeks of signing the MoU on return of Rohingyas.

A specific bilateral instrument (physical arrangement) for repatriation will be concluded in a speedy manner, officials said.

Ambassador Momen said Bangladesh continues to receive fresh arrivals of the Rohingya, with an average of 100-400 people daily.

He said it appears that the situation in northern Rakhine State is still volatile and expressed concern over recurrent reports of arson in Rohingya localities in northern and central Rakhine State.

The ambassador also said the repatriation process, as pledged by Myanmar, would also begin within the shortest possible time.

He mentioned that the bilateral arrangement’s mandate is only limited to the possible voluntary repatriation of the Rohingya people, whereas the root causes and other related questions and issues would have to be addressed by Myanmar.

In this regard, he stressed on international community’s continued support, vigilance and monitoring the situation in the Rakhine state.

Ambassador Masud also attached importance on continued humanitarian assistance to the forcibly displaced Rohingya population, neutral and independent investigation and trial of the atrocities, and creating a congenial environment in the Rakhine state so that the Rohingyas could return and live with other communities there without facing any discrimination.

Earlier, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on ‘Situation of human rights in Myanmar’ on 16 November by an open vote.

This resolution will be placed before the General Assembly Plenary for final adoption soon.

Besides, a special session of the UN Human Rights Council was convened in Geneva on 5 December where another resolution was adopted on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.