Myanmar’s Advisory Commission on Rakhine State visits Bangladesh

A three-member delegation of Myanmar’s ‘Advisory Commission on Rakhine State’ has arrived in Dhaka to discuss the Rohingya issue and survey the situation on the ground.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 28 Jan 2017, 07:55 PM
Updated : 28 Jan 2017, 07:55 PM

Chair of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission U Win Mra, former Lebanese Minister of Culture and UN Special Advisor to Secretary-General Ghassan Salame, and Core Member and Founder of Religious for Peace in Myanmar U Aye Lwin arrived on Saturday and would go to Cox's Bazar on Sunday.

A senior official at the foreign ministry told bdnews24.com that they were also expected to meet the foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali before leaving Dhaka on Feb 1.

In Cox’s Bazar, they will visit the camps where Bangladesh gave shelter to Myanmar nationals for decades. Myanmar denied their citizenship.

According to the foreign ministry, nearly 400,000 Myanmar nationals including 65,000 recent arrivals, after the Oct 9 violence in Rakhine state, are staying in Bangladesh.

The delegation will visit those camps.

U Win Mra.

The Myanmar government last year established the Commission to what it said finding a lasting solution to the “complex and delicate” issues of the State.

The nine-member Advisory Commission, a national initiative to resolve protracted issues in the region, is chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

It is composed of three international and six national ‘persons of Eminence’ who are “highly experienced, respected and neutral individuals”.

The Commission is mandated to undertake meetings with all relevant stakeholders, international experts and foreign dignitaries to hear their views and analyse the “best possible solutions to prevailing problems”.

The Commission will consider humanitarian and development issues, access to essential services, the assurance of basic rights, and the security of the people of Rakhine.

After consultations, they will submit their findings and recommendations to the Myanmar government through State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, according to her office.