Dhaka's renewed push puts Rohingya crisis back in global spotlight: Shafiqul Alam

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Wednesday said the Rohingya crisis has returned to the global discussion again with intensified efforts from the interim government since its inception bringing some progress towards the ultimate goal - safe and dignified repatriation the Rohingyas to their place of origin in Myanmar.

"Slowly but steadily, the crisis is being discussed globally now," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Earthna Summit, adding that to talk about the Rohingya crisis with the global stakeholders is one the key reasons behind Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus' participation in the Summit.

Bangladesh is currently hosting about 1.3 million Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (Rohingya), while 32,000 newborns are being added yearly.

Press Secretary Alam said the Rohingya issue was disappeared from the global discussion map but Chief Adviser Prof Yunus put it on global spotlight again through a number of dedicated initiatives.

Prof Yunus and Qatar Foundation Chief Executive Officer Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, also the sister of Qatar Amir and the host of Earthna Summit, joined the high-level roundtable discussion on "Social and Environmental Challenges around Forcibly Displaced Populations: The Case of the Rohingyas."

Press Secretary Alam said this is part of the broader conference to be held in New York later this year.

The UN General Assembly adopted, by a recorded vote of 141 in favour to 0 against, with 10 abstentions, a resolution on "Scope, modalities, format and organization of the High-level conference on Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar".

By its terms, the Assembly decided to hold the High-level Conference on the Situation of Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar, in New York on 30 September 2025. 

"We expect 170 countries will participate in the conference in New York," said the Press Secretary.

As of 19 March 2025, out of the data of a total of 8,29,036 submitted by the Bangladesh government, as many as 2,39,056 people were verified by the Myanmar government, and among them, around 1,80,000 people were cleared as "persons who resided in Myanmar" by the government of Myanmar.

Press Secretary Alam said this is a big success came during the BIMSTEC Summit as the Myanmar side declared that 180000 Rohingyas are fit to return to Myanmar.

"It is a first step. We expect it will help achieve our ultimate goal towards their repatriation," he said.

Bangladesh is facilitating the accountability initiatives at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the activities of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM).

The Gambian government is undertaking concerted efforts to secure necessary funding from OIC member states.