Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today called for making the upcoming international conference on the Rohingya crisis a big success to put the decades-long humanitarian tragedy back into the world map and mobilise more support for the long-persecuted Myanmar minority.
The Chief Adviser called when the head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, called on him at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka.
“Let’s make it a big success and resolve the issue. Let’s hope something concrete comes out of it,” Professor Yunus said.
“There should be a road towards the future. We have to make sure their future (Rohingya people) is guaranteed,” the Chief Adviser said.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, lent his support for the international meeting that the UN will convene later this year.
“Let’s put this issue on the map. The UN Conference is a great way to put it back on the table,” Grandi said, referring to the Rohingya crisis.
“It should provide a much-needed platform to build confidence of various groups in Rakhine,” he said.
“We are happy to work with you,” he said, hoping that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s visit to Bangladesh in mid-March would create new momentum for the issue.
During the meeting, they stressed ways to mobilize more financial support for the one million Rohingya refugees who live in camps in Bangladesh amid growing uncertainty over the new direction in US foreign policy.
They also discussed the humanitarian situation in the Rakhine state, where a significant rebel group was fighting against the Myanmar forces.
Cox’s Bazar Life Desk/BSS
