Three-day int'l dialogue on Rohingya crisis begins in Cox's Bazar
A three-day "Stakeholders' Dialogue" on the Rohingya crisis began today in Cox's Bazar, aiming to generate actionable recommendations ahead of the September 30 High-Level Conference on the Rohingya situation in New York, to be held on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The Office of the High Representative for the Rohingya Issue and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are jointly organizing the event titled "Stakeholders' Dialogue: Takeaway to the High-Level Conference on the Rohingya Situation" at a hotel, which will continue till August 26 in the coastal district that hosts over a million Rohingya refugees.
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to attend the dialogue as the chief guest tomorrow.
Disaster Management and Relief Adviser Faruk E Azam, Bir Protik, High Representative for the Rohingya Issue and National Security Adviser of Bangladesh Dr Khalilur Rahman, United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC-a.i.) Rana Flowers, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) Nicholas Koumjian, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Thomas H Andrews and Assistant High Commissioner, UNHCR Raouf Mazou will also attend.
The three-day dialogue brings together a wide spectrum of participants, including diplomats, international experts, Rohingya community representatives, global organizations and academics from both home and abroad.
According to organizers, the event would place particular emphasis on amplifying the voices of Rohingya men, women and youth, enabling the international community to hear directly their aspirations, grievances and hopes for the future.
The dialogue will feature five thematic sessions covering: humanitarian support and funding challenges, current developments in Myanmar's Rakhine State, confidence-building measures for repatriation, justice and accountability for atrocities, long-term strategies for a sustainable and time-bound solution.
On August 26, participants will visit Rohingya camps to gain firsthand insights into the challenges faced by the refugee community on the ground.
This dialogue aims to yield concrete and actionable recommendations for the upcoming High-Level Conference in New York.
The September 30 conference is expected to convene representatives from approximately 170 countries, with a focus on addressing the ongoing plight of the Rohingyas and other persecuted minorities in Myanmar.
Officials said that the Cox's Bazar discussions are particularly timely, taking place eight years after the 2017 mass exodus of Rohingyas into Bangladesh, amid waning international funding and rising violence in Myanmar.
Speaking earlier, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain highlighted the interim government's efforts on three critical fronts: maintaining uninterrupted foreign aid, ensuring the crisis remains visible in global discourse and facilitating the safe, voluntary and dignified return of the Rohingyas to their homeland.