UN Secretary-General Guterres to visit Bangladesh in March, 'forcibly displaced Rohigyas' on agenda

Dhaka: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is scheduled to visit Dhaka from March 13-16, has said the UN would continue to mobilise the international community to support Bangladesh as a host to the forcibly displaced Rohingyas.

On Wednesday, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), the state-run news agency, said Guterres' office confirmed the dates of his visit, which follows an invitation from the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus.

A release from the Bangladesh Permanent Mission in UN said the invitation was handed over by Khalilur Rahman, High Representative of the Chief Adviser on the Rohingya Issue and Priority Matters, during his meeting with the Secretary-General on February 7 in New York, the BSS said.

In a letter to Yunus on February 25, Guterres said he shared the Bangladesh chief adviser's concerns regarding the impact of the Rohingya crisis on Bangladesh and the region, as well as the worsening humanitarian situation in Rakhine in Myanmar.

“I will continue to exercise my good offices, including through my Special Envoy on the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, to work closely with regional actors, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other stakeholders, towards a political solution to the crisis in Myanmar, including creating conditions conducive to the safe and voluntary return of the Rohingya to Rakhine,” his letter read.

The UN chief said he has requested his senior managers to provide guidance to the United Nations Country Teams in Bangladesh and Myanmar on how “we can maximise humanitarian aid and livelihood support to communities in Rakhine.”

"Quoting the letter, the BSS further said that Guterres hoped that the 'High-level Conference on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar' would be an opportunity to galvanise renewed global attention and contribute to developing a wider range of solutions for Rohingya and other minorities.

“We await the agreed outcomes and plans for the Conference, following Member State consultations, to understand how the United Nations system can best support the process,” he said.

The UN secretary general also reiterated the strong solidarity of the United Nations with Bangladesh and its support for the transition process under Yunus' leadership, the BSS added.

According to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, about one million Rohingya refugees live in the largest refugee camp in the world in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The Rohingya are an ethnic minority who have been denied citizenship in Myanmar, making them the world’s largest stateless population. Most arrived in 2017, fleeing persecution, large-scale violence and human rights violations, as per the UNHCR. PTI NPK NPK NPK