UN resolution on Rohingyas asks Myanmar to address crisis

The United Nations has adopted a resolution by consensus and called upon Myanmar to address the root causes of the Rohingya crisis.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said the adoption of the UN resolution on Rohingyas by consensus for the first time has a political value as it showed the interest of all countries, including Russia and China, in resolving the protracted crisis.

"The resolution has a pressure on that particular country [Myanmar]," he told journalists after attending a discussion at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), reports BSS.

In the resolution adopted on Wednesday, the member states commended Bangladesh for its generosity in hosting the Rohingyas, and for providing humanitarian assistance to them and also for including them in the national Covid-19 vaccination drive.

"The countries that created obstacles [over the issue] earlier…such as China, Russia…this time did not create any barrier, which means all want a solution to the crisis," said the foreign minister.

Titled "The situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar", The resolution was jointly tabled by the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the European Union (EU), reads a press release.

The resolution also recognised the government's efforts and investments in building the facilities in Bhashan Char for relocation of a portion of the Rohingya from the congested camps, and in this regard, also welcomed the pacts signed by Bangladesh with UNHCR.

"The adoption of the Rohingya resolution, for the first time by consensus, demonstrates the international community's strong resolve to end this crisis," said Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Ambassador Rabab Fatima, during the adoption of the resolution.

According to the press release, the resolution urged Myanmar to fulfil its obligations under the bilateral agreements with Bangladesh, and cooperate fully with the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Myanmar and all the human rights mechanisms of the UN, among others.

"Regrettably Myanmar's failure to create conditions conducive for the voluntary, safe and sustainable return of the Rohingyas, has created a protracted situation in Bangladesh" said Ambassador Fatima in her statement.

She highlighted the growing desperation of the Rohingyas with no progress in repatriation that led to several security concerns and cause of instability for the entire region.

"This resolution should now serve as an impetus for real actions in achieving a durable solution to the protracted Rohingya crisis through their safe and dignified return to their homeland in Myanmar," she added.

Commenting on the matter, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said it is good news for Bangladesh that the Rohingya resolution was unanimously passed at the UN.

"The countries that have been objecting to the resolution are silent," he added.

The UN Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved six draft resolutions including the one on human rights conditions in Myanmar.

The UN Assembly called on Myanmar security and armed forces to respect people's democratic aspirations, to allow the democratic transition, fully respect the rule of law and end the state of emergency declared on 1 February.

Myanmar's delegate said it cannot be denied that all people in his country are suffering from the atrocities committed by the military, especially after the February coup.

He drew attention to arbitrary arrests, torture, terrorist acts and crimes against humanity, committed by the military before and after the coup.

Such terrorising actions have been widely reported and documented by the Special Rapporteur and the Special Envoy on the situation in Myanmar, he stressed.

The entire civilian population has been targeted by the military, he warned.

Meanwhile, the representative of China indicated that her delegation engaged with all parties in Myanmar to effectively address the situation, based on the Asean's five-point consensus.

China respects the sovereignty of Myanmar, she said, emphasising that it supported the population by providing vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Her delegation opposes the use of human rights for political purposes and disassociates from the draft resolution.

A total of 107 countries co-sponsored the resolution, the highest since 2017. Apart from the member states of EU & OIC, the resolution received significant cross-regional support, with co-sponsorship from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Japan, Republic of Korea, among others.

The foreign minister on Thursday told reporters that he had discussions with Russia over the issue while China has already made some interventions.

Momen expressed hope to see progress on resolving the Rohingya crisis at the UN Security Council as the resolution of the UN General Assembly is not a mandatory one.

In June, Bangladesh had decided to abstain from an UN resolution on Myanmar as the Rohingya issue was not included.

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them have entered the country since August 2017 following the Myanmar military's campaign of mass atrocities.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed the repatriation deal on 23 November 2017.

On 16 January 2018, Bangladesh and Myanmar inked a document on "Physical Arrangement" that was supposed to facilitate the return of Rohingyas to their homeland.

The "Physical Arrangement" stipulated that the repatriation would be completed preferably within two years from the start.

However, attempts to send back the Rohingyas to their place of origin failed multiple times.