Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni for holistic solution to Rohingya problem

Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni has urged the OIC member states and the General Secretariat to contribute to addressing of the root causes of Rohingya problem.

She also called for the rehabilitation of internally displaced Rohingya population and reconciliation between the Muslims and non-Muslim communities in the North Rakhine State of Myanmar.

The minister was addressing the first meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Rohingya Muslim Minority held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, according to a message received here on Thursday.

Dipu Moni said Bangladesh has been extremely sensitive and supportive to the humanitarian plight of the Myanmar Muslims in North Rakhine State. 

Under strict compliance of the principle of non-refoulement, she said, Bangladesh has been hosting hundreds of thousand of Rohingya refugees on Bangladesh soil in cooperation with UNHCR.

The Foreign Minister stated that it is important to address the issues of citizenship rights of Rohinghyas, and their continued trafficking and emigration. 

“While citizenship rights are at the core of the problem, a large number of them have left the North Rakhine State for secured livelihood opportunities in Bangladesh, Asean and Gulf countries, she said. 

She emphasized that these two issues deserve comprehensive solutions for the sake of peace and stability of the Rakhine state.

The Foreign Minister commended the OIC Secretary General for dispatching a high-level delegation to Myanmar earlier this month under the directives of the recently held 4th Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference. 

She expressed satisfaction over the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between the Myanmar government and the OIC General Secretariat to implement humanitarian programme for the benefit of all communities living in the Rakhine state. 

She hoped that such institutional avenues for engagement and cooperation with Myanmar government will lead to long-term partnership, whereby OIC member-states can make investments for sustainable socioeconomic development and livelihood opportunities for both the communities in the Rakhine state in the interest of peace, harmony and prosperity.

The OIC Contact Group on Rohingya Muslim Minority was established by the decision of the 4th Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference held in Makkah on August 14-15 this year. 

Members of this Contact Group are Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Djibouti, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey and Afghanistan. 

The report of this Contact Group will be presented to the Annual Coordination Meeting of Foreign Ministers of OIC countries to be held at the UN Headquarters in New York on 28 September 2012 on the fringe of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The Foreign Minister also held a bilateral meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar at the United Nations Headquarters on Wednesday. 

The two Foreign Ministers reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on issues of common interest at the UN and other multilateral fora.

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