Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday stressed the need for safe, dignified, and voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees, while expressing grave concern over the significant reduction in international aid.
He made the remarks during a courtesy meeting with Ivo Freijsen, the country representative of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangladesh, at his office in the Bangladesh Secretariat.
During the meeting, they discussed the current situation of the displaced Rohingya people, international funding, and repatriation issues.
He pointed out that despite being one of the world’s most densely populated countries, Bangladesh provided shelter to many Rohingya refugees solely on humanitarian grounds.
However, Salahuddin expressed concern that international aid has decreased significantly in the current global climate, noting that the United States recently reduced its fund allocation by 50 percent.
He emphasised that increasing international support is now a “demand of the time” to meet humanitarian needs and improve the living standards of the refugees. Regarding the conditions in the camps, the UNHCR representative noted that refugees are facing difficult situations due to high population density in a very limited area.
In response, Salahuddin clarified that increasing the size of the camps is extremely difficult given Bangladesh’s existing socio-economic and geo-physical realities.
Highlighting the current geopolitical landscape, Salahuddin urged the UN and the UNHCR to play a more robust role in keeping the Rohingya issue as a top agenda on international platforms.
He noted that global issues such as the Gaza crisis, the Ukraine war, and tensions between Israel and Iran should not divert the international community’s attention from the Rohingya crisis.
During the visit, Freijsen invited Salahuddin to attend the presentation ceremony of the ‘Joint Response Plan’ (JRP) for Rohingya refugees, scheduled for 20 May.
Earlier, the UNHCR representative congratulated Salahuddin on assuming his new portfolio, and the minister welcomed him. he meeting was also attended by Home Affairs Ministry’s Political Wing Additional Secretary Ziauddin Ahmed, Political-1 branch Joint Secretary Rebeka Khan, and the same branch’s Deputy Secretary Begum Minara Nazmin.
