UNB, Dhaka :
Bangladesh and Myanmar are going to sit in Naypyidaw today Friday to discuss the Rohingya repatriation issue as the current crisis steps into almost two years with “zero progress” on Myanmar side that can help Rohingyas return to their place of origin confidently.
Bangladesh is expected to press for “expediting” the ongoing process to build confidence among Rohingyas during the fourth Bangladesh-Myanmar joint working group (JWG) meeting as the “lack of trust” remains one of the key issues, an official told UNB.
He said, Bangladesh is likely to place a proposal to Myanmar to arrange a tour for Rohingya representatives to Rakhine State so that they can see the situation there as part of confidence-building measures, the official said. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock, who visited Rohingya camps recently, said Myanmar has failed “to put in place confidence-building measures that will persuade people that it’s safe to go back.”
The Bangladesh delegation, led by Secretary-Bilateral (Asia & Pacific) Mahbub Uz Zaman, is already in Myanmar capital to attend the fourth Bangladesh-Myanmar joint working group (JWG) meeting.
The primary objective of the JWG is to implement expeditiously the “Arrangements on Return of Displaced Persons from Rakhine State” signed on November 23, 2017 between Bangladesh and Myanmar, a senior official, who is also member of Bangladesh delegation, told UNB.
The JWG was established to oversee all the aspects of return of verified Myanmar residents from Rakhine State who are living in Cox’s Bazar district. “The JWG will discuss such related issues within its purview,” said the official. As per terms of reference, the JWG is responsible for
the smooth conduct of return of displaced Myanmar residents from Rakhine State and their reintegration.
“Therefore, in order to expedite the repatriation process, all the pertinent issues may come up for discussion,” said another senior official adding that the status of the repatriation process, the possible way forward and its related issues will also be discussed in the one-day meeting.
The third foreign secretary-level JWG meeting, held at State guesthouse Meghna in Dhaka, was co-chaired by Permanent Secretary Myint Thu of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar and his Bangladeshi counterpart Senior Secretary M Shahidul Haque of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the third JWG meeting last year, Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to start repatriating the first group of Rohingyas by mid-November which was halted due to unwillingness of Rohingyas to return amid the absence of conducive environment in Rakhine.
In August last year, a Bangladesh delegation, led by then Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, saw the “trail of wide-spread devastation” suffered by the people of the northern Rakhine State.
Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.2 million Rohingyas with more than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh from Rakhine state since August 25, 2017.
Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless, and they are also denied freedom of movement and other basic rights.
Bangladesh and Myanmar are going to sit in Naypyidaw today Friday to discuss the Rohingya repatriation issue as the current crisis steps into almost two years with “zero progress” on Myanmar side that can help Rohingyas return to their place of origin confidently.
Bangladesh is expected to press for “expediting” the ongoing process to build confidence among Rohingyas during the fourth Bangladesh-Myanmar joint working group (JWG) meeting as the “lack of trust” remains one of the key issues, an official told UNB.
He said, Bangladesh is likely to place a proposal to Myanmar to arrange a tour for Rohingya representatives to Rakhine State so that they can see the situation there as part of confidence-building measures, the official said. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock, who visited Rohingya camps recently, said Myanmar has failed “to put in place confidence-building measures that will persuade people that it’s safe to go back.”
The Bangladesh delegation, led by Secretary-Bilateral (Asia & Pacific) Mahbub Uz Zaman, is already in Myanmar capital to attend the fourth Bangladesh-Myanmar joint working group (JWG) meeting.
The primary objective of the JWG is to implement expeditiously the “Arrangements on Return of Displaced Persons from Rakhine State” signed on November 23, 2017 between Bangladesh and Myanmar, a senior official, who is also member of Bangladesh delegation, told UNB.
The JWG was established to oversee all the aspects of return of verified Myanmar residents from Rakhine State who are living in Cox’s Bazar district. “The JWG will discuss such related issues within its purview,” said the official. As per terms of reference, the JWG is responsible for
the smooth conduct of return of displaced Myanmar residents from Rakhine State and their reintegration.
“Therefore, in order to expedite the repatriation process, all the pertinent issues may come up for discussion,” said another senior official adding that the status of the repatriation process, the possible way forward and its related issues will also be discussed in the one-day meeting.
The third foreign secretary-level JWG meeting, held at State guesthouse Meghna in Dhaka, was co-chaired by Permanent Secretary Myint Thu of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar and his Bangladeshi counterpart Senior Secretary M Shahidul Haque of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the third JWG meeting last year, Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to start repatriating the first group of Rohingyas by mid-November which was halted due to unwillingness of Rohingyas to return amid the absence of conducive environment in Rakhine.
In August last year, a Bangladesh delegation, led by then Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, saw the “trail of wide-spread devastation” suffered by the people of the northern Rakhine State.
Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.2 million Rohingyas with more than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh from Rakhine state since August 25, 2017.
Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless, and they are also denied freedom of movement and other basic rights.
