Staff Reporter :
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday laid out a seven-point plan, stressing that repatriation remains the “only peaceful solution” to the protracted Rohingya crisis.
His proposals included preparing a practical roadmap for the safe and dignified return of the Rohingya, alongside ensuring a reasonable stabilisation of Rakhine.
“With funding shrinking, the only sustainable option is to begin their repatriation,” he said while addressing the Opening Session of the High-Level Conference on the Situation of the Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
“Eight years after the genocide began, the suffering of the Rohingya continues. Concrete initiatives to resolve the crisis remain absent, while international funding faces alarming shortfalls,” he observed.
Prof Yunus reminded that the Rohingya crisis originated in Myanmar, and therefore, its solution must also be found there.
He called upon the international community to mount effective pressure on Myanmar and the Arakan Army to immediately halt persecution of the Rohingya and to initiate their swift repatriation to Rakhine.
“This is the only viable way forward. It should not be held hostage to broader political reforms in Myanmar,” he said.
Pointing out that repatriation would require far fewer resources than sustaining their long-term international protection, he noted that the Rohingyas themselves have repeatedly expressed their determination to return home.
As an urgent measure, he said, those who have recently crossed into Bangladesh fleeing conflict should be allowed to return first.
“Bangladesh has become an unwilling victim of this crisis.
We are compelled to shoulder massive financial, social, and environmental burdens,” Prof Yunus said. He further warned, “Criminal activities, including narcotics inflows from Rakhine, are undermining our social fabric.
Given our own developmental challenges such as unemployment and poverty, we cannot permit the employment of Rohingya inside Bangladesh.”
For a lasting solution, the Chief Adviser proposed seven key actions for the international community:
Formulate a practical roadmap for safe and dignified repatriation of the Rohingya, with adequate stabilisation measures in Rakhine.
Apply effective international pressure on Myanmar and the Arakan Army to end violence against the Rohingya and initiate their sustainable repatriation, starting with new arrivals in Bangladesh and the internally displaced.
Mobilise global support to stabilise Rakhine and deploy an international civilian presence to oversee the process.
Promote confidence-building initiatives for the sustainable integration of the Rohingya into Rakhine’s society and governance. Ensure full donor support for the Joint Response Plan. Advance accountability and restorative justice.
Dismantle the narco-economy and curb cross-border crimes.
Prof Yunus concluded with a call to action: “The world cannot keep the Rohingya waiting any longer to return home.
Let us pledge today to act collectively and resolve this crisis once and for all. Bangladesh is prepared to extend its full cooperation toward this goal.”
Earlier on Monday, the Chief Adviser met UN Special Envoy on Myanmar and former Acting Prime Minister of Australia, in New York.
The CA reiterated that the safe return of the Rohingya people to their homeland remains the only sustainable way to resolve the long-standing crisis.
“The repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland is the only sustainable solution-there is no alternative,” he told Julie Bishop.
Their discussion covered a range of issues, including the Rohingya crisis, the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the sharp funding shortages facing Rohingya refugees, and the key agendas of Tuesday’s upcoming conference.
Professor Yunus expressed hope that the conference would generate tangible commitments. “This is not an issue the world can afford to push aside. We must see meaningful proposals emerge,” he said.
Bishop, for her part, highlighted the urgency of diversifying funding channels and called on OIC member states to step up their financial support for Rohingya assistance.
The meeting was also attended by Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain, NCP leader Tasnim Jara, and SDG Coordinator Lamiya Morshed.
