The interim government is going to organise an international conference on Rohingya issue in Cox’s Bazar on August 25 as part of its preparation for the high-level Rohingya conference of the United Nations scheduled for September 30 during the forthcoming UN General Assembly in New York.
‘We are going to hold an international conference in Cox’s Bazar on August 25 as part of our preparation for the UN conference on Rohingya issue on September 30 so that we could take the voice of the Rohingya people with the international community for a permanent solution to the crisis without further delay,’ national security adviser and also chief adviser’s high representative on Rohingya issue Khalilur Rahman told reporters after a diplomatic briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Sunday.
Diplomats from more than 50 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, China and Russia joined the briefing on the international conference titled ‘Stakeholder Dialogue: Key Messages for the High-Level Conference on the Rohingya Situation’ in Cox’s Bazar marking the eighth year of the Rohingya exodus from the Rakhine state of Myanmar amid a military crackdown on them in 2017.
Khalilur said that the UN conference on Rohingya issue was a big opportunity to raise the crisis to the international community for a permanent solution for all as none of the displaced Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh camps could be returned to their homeland Myanmar in last eight years, creating pressure on the host community in Cox’s Bazar.
Sharing details of the present situation of Rohingya issue, Khalilur, also a former diplomat, called upon the foreign diplomats in Dhaka to take part in the conference in Cox’s Bazar to make it a success ahead of the high-level UN conference on the prolonged crisis.
He said that chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus made an appeal for the high-level UN conference during the last UNGA as Rohingya issue was disappearing from the international agenda amid diminishing financial support.
The appeal got unanimous support and was approved by the UNGA, he said, adding that the event was now being sponsored by at least 106 countries.
The government is expecting foreign ministers from several countries along with representatives from international organisations and foreign missions in Dhaka to join the conference on the Rohingya issue in Cox’s Bazar, according to officials concerned.
More than 12 lakh Rohingya people have been sheltered mostly in Cox’s Bazar camps.
Bangladesh could not send back a single Rohingya to Myanmar since 2017 as neither the international community nor the Myanmar regime has ensured a congenial atmosphere for their return to the Rakhine state.
