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Published : 14 Oct 2024, 10:58 PM
Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has called for the establishment of a ‘safe zone’ for displaced populations in Myanmar’s Rakhine under the supervision of the United Nations.
During a meeting with Thomas Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, at his Tejgaon office, Yunus emphasised that this initiative could serve as a crucial step toward addressing the ongoing crisis in Rakhine.
A statement from the Chief Advisor’s office shared details of the meeting, highlighting that Andrews praised Yunus for his three-point proposal regarding the Rohingya crisis, which were floated on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York last month.
“The violence in Rakhine has created an enormous crisis,” Andrews said, highlighting the urgent need for humanitarian assistance for the displaced and starving population, especially the Rohingyas.
The special rapporteur said at least 3.1 million people have been displaced in Myanmar, including hundreds of thousands in Rakhine State, where insurgent groups have been fighting against the Myanmar military for years.
He added that around 30,000 Rohingyas have recently fled Rakhine and crossed into Bangladesh, which is already sheltering over a million Rohingya refugees in camps in Cox's Bazar.
Yunus called for creating ‘a safe zone guaranteed by the UN’ for the displaced in Rakhine and finding ways to support them.
The chief advisor said the initiative could serve as a ‘good beginning’ for addressing the crisis and help prevent the influx of more refugees into Bangladesh.
He also suggested discussions with the international community, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, regarding the violence and the plight of the displaced in Rakhine.
Yunus also sought support from the special rapporteur to expedite the resettlement process of numerous Rohingya refugees to a third country.
The meeting also covered the International Criminal Court, or ICC, investigations into the atrocities committed against the Rohingya in 2017, along with the recent student-led revolution in Bangladesh.
