Govt intensifying efforts to bring back Rohingya issue to global forums: CA press secy

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Thursday said the interim government is actively engaging with international stakeholders to address the Rohingya crisis, bringing the issue back to global forums as a major topic of discussion and working towards a roadmap for the safe and dignified return of Rohingyas to Myanmar.

As part of these efforts, a three-day international conference will be held in Cox's Bazar starting on 24 August, he said.

Briefing reporters at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital, Alam said Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus will attend the conference on 25 August, with the dialogue continuing until 26 August.

Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder and Senior Assistant Press Secretary Foyez Ahmad were present.

The Press Secretary added that two more international conferences are scheduled later this year in New York and Doha, with the largest taking place in the last week of September in New York.

He said Rohingya representatives, delegates from 40 countries, diplomats based in Dhaka, and representatives from UN agencies will participate in the Cox's Bazar conference.

Alam noted that a special discussion with Rohingya representatives will take place on 24 August.

The three-day conference will highlight issues of repatriation, funding, and a comprehensive roadmap for the safe return of Rohingyas.

Around 170 countries are expected to join a high-level conference on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, to be organized on September 30 in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain recently said the government is working on three fronts: ensuring uninterrupted foreign funding, keeping the issue alive amid other global crises, and securing the safe and dignified return of Rohingyas.

"The issue should not be forgotten. We continuously bring it into focus. We are working on three fronts," he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bangladesh has sought intensified humanitarian contributions for Rohingyas, stressing that the pressure on the country's economy, environment, and local communities is unsustainable.

"We are facing mounting humanitarian, developmental, and security-related challenges," Adviser Hossain said recently while speaking at the OIC Ad Hoc Ministerial Committee on Accountability for Human Rights Violations against the Rohingyas.

Bangladesh has demonstrated 'extraordinary compassion and responsibility' by sheltering over 1.3 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas, despite the escalating crises.

Cutbacks in humanitarian aid from the United States and other foreign donors have worsened the existing education crisis for 437,000 school-age children in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch reported recently.

On 3 June, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) suspended thousands of learning centers run by non-governmental organisations in the refugee camps due to lack of funding.

Currently, the only education available in the camps is provided by schools established by the Rohingya community without external support or official recognition.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and humanitarian partners are mobilizing to respond to the needs of up to 150,000 Rohingya refugees who have arrived in Cox's Bazar over the last 18 months.

Targeted violence and persecution in Rakhine State, along with the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, have continued to force thousands of Rohingyas to seek protection in Bangladesh.

This recent movement of Rohingya refugees is the largest from Myanmar since 2017, when some 750,000 fled deadly violence in their native Rakhine State.

Among the new arrivals, nearly 121,000 had been biometrically identified by the end of June, with more believed to be residing informally in the already overcrowded refugee camps.

The overwhelming majority of the new arrivals are women and children.

More humanitarian support is urgently required, as the new arrivals largely depend on the solidarity of those already living in the camps, further overstretching severely diminished resources.