Bangladesh rejects UN request for more land for Rohingyas

Bangladesh has rejected a United Nations (UN) request for additional land to accommodate Rohingya refugees, while renewing its call for the swift, safe and sustainable repatriation of the displaced population to Myanmar.

According to officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UN recently sought further land allocations for Rohingyas who fled persecution in Myanmar.

The Bangladeshi government, however, declined the request, maintaining that the long-term solution to the crisis lies in the refugees’ return to their homeland rather than expanding settlement facilities in Bangladesh.

The issue was also highlighted at a briefing by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar at the United Nations on Friday. Addressing the meeting, Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, stressed that the roots of the Rohingya crisis are in Myanmar and that any durable solution must be found there.

“Bangladesh has been sheltering nearly 1.2 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas for almost a decade on humanitarian grounds,” the ambassador said.

“However, the protracted nature of the crisis has created significant social, economic, environmental and security challenges for the country.”

He noted that the prolonged presence of such a large refugee population has placed immense pressure on local communities and national resources, making an urgent and lasting resolution essential.

Reaffirming Bangladesh’s commitment to a peaceful settlement of the crisis, Chowdhury called on the international community and key regional stakeholders to intensify diplomatic efforts to create conditions conducive to the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingyas to Myanmar.

“The Rohingyas themselves wish to return to their homes in Myanmar,” he said, adding that repatriation remains “the only sustainable solution” to the crisis.

The ambassador also urged stronger international support to address the root causes of the crisis and ensure accountability for those responsible for forcing the Rohingyas from their homeland.

Bangladesh has repeatedly maintained that while it will continue to uphold its humanitarian responsibilities, the burden of hosting a massive refugee population cannot be sustained indefinitely without meaningful progress towards repatriation.

More than 700,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh following a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in August 2017, joining hundreds of thousands who had already sought refuge in the country.

Bangladesh currently hosts around 1.2 million Rohingyas, making it one of the world’s largest refugee-hosting nations.

The Rohingyas are currently living in makeshift houses in the camps in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char.
Different reports have said that the prolonged stay of the Rohingyas at the Cox’s Bazar has already depleted many forests and the natural environment is being affected.

Bangladesh has been urging the international community that the repatriation is the only solution for the persecuted Rohingyas.