Bangladesh's Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman has urged the international community to take a leading role in securing a safe and dignified return for Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, saying the crisis cannot be solved by Bangladesh and Myanmar alone. He was speaking at a policy dialogue in Dhaka on Sunday, 8 November, organised by the Centre for Policy Research at the CIRDAP auditorium on Topkhana Road.

“The Rohingya crisis is not Bangladesh's problem alone; it is an international issue,” the minister said, adding that any return must guarantee the refugees' citizenship, human rights, security, education and dignity. He stressed that repatriation should not mean simply sending people back across the border, and that forcing returns or imposing a decision from outside would not resolve the crisis.

Asaduzzaman said the crisis began in Myanmar and the responsibility for resolving it lies there too. He pointed to discussions at the United Nations General Assembly and a meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the sidelines of the session, and called for effective engagement from the UN, the UN refugee agency and other international bodies.

Bangladesh now hosts nearly 1.2 million Rohingya, the minister said, with 82 to 90 children born in the camps daily. He warned that a prolonged crisis would deepen demographic, economic and social pressures, and said the issue also touches national security, law and order and social stability.

A national committee chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has been formed to draw up a national policy and examine diplomatic and international initiatives, the minister said. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam, speaking at the same dialogue, said the crisis had become a security concern for Bangladesh and needed to stay high on the international agenda. Full details are in The Business Standard.