Bangladesh has urged the United Nations Security Council to keep the Rohingya issue “alive” until a “logical conclusion” is reached over the crisis.
Masud Bin Momen, Bangladesh's ambassador to the UN, made the call while drawing attention to reports of Myanmar's heightened military activities near the border, reports bdnews24.com.
“Our experience from the last three decades makes it obvious that the bilateral track [Bangladesh, Myanmar] loses its momentum as soon as the international community shifts its attention elsewhere,” he said.
He invited the 15 members of the council to conduct field missions in Bangladesh and Myanmar to gather first-hand accounts of the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
“The forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals should return to their places of original abode in safety, security and dignity,” he told the Security Council on Thursday, during its first public meeting on Myanmar in eight years.
Momen said Bangladesh remains “committed to engage with Myanmar and the international community for resolution of this outstanding critical issue.”
But he countered the various claims Myanmar leaders have been making about Bangladesh since the start of the crisis.
“As a responsible and responsive state, we shall forge ahead seeking peaceful and lasting solution to this protracted situation through diplomacy, dialogue and cooperation,” he said.
He said this state of volatility constitutes a “larger threat to regional peace and security and as such should be a major security concern for the international community, including this council.”
He said the new narratives of ‘Muslims-killing-Muslims’ or ‘Muslims-killing-Hindus’ should be seen as the “state’s failure or abnegation” of its primary responsibility to protect its civilians.
“Allegations and counter-allegations of various forms of atrocities, which amount to crimes against humanity, must be fully investigated by a Security Council-mandated fact-finding mission,” he said, thanking the council for giving Bangladesh an opportunity to present its case.