UN Resident Coordinator Mia Seppo said Bangladesh has witnessed a ‘remarkable success story’ since its independence as it advanced significantly toward economic, political and social development. Besides, Bangladesh also showed an impressive development journey in the areas of poverty reduction, climate change, maternal and child health, resilience and self-sufficiency in cereal production, she said.
United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC) Mia Seppo came up with the observation while addressing a program titled ‘DCAB Talk’ organized by DCAB at BIISS auditorium in the city on Wednesday.
Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) president Raheed Ejaz and general secretary Nurul Islam Hasib, among other diplomatic correspondents were also present on the occasion. She said, “Bangladesh can lead the graduating countries in advocating for interim measures to ensure sustainable graduation strategy so that countries don’t slip back into the LDC category or get stock in the lower middle-income trap.”
Seppo said Bangladesh remains among the top four contributing countries in the UN peacekeeping mission. She said, “Bangladesh is an important supporter of the SGs reform agenda of peacekeeping including zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse.” “Peacekeeping is changing and Bangladesh needs to be able to change its offer to peacekeeping for remaining relevant,” she added.
About the Rohingya repatriation, she said, “What I think is to recognise that there is a collective failure to influence Myanmar. That’s not just the UN, it includes many others as well.”
She highlighted almost all aspects of UN’s engagement with Bangladesh, but the Rohingya issue came out prominently. She said, “There is no pretense anyone actually would know what the solution is.” “The solution has to be consisted of different actions and parts. The root causes of this crisis lie in Myanmar, as do their resolution,” she mentioned.
Mia Seppo said the UN has continued focus on the Rohingya crisis and discussed with member states to solve the crisis. She stressed two aspects which are vital to resolve the crisis. “First of all, no single answer will resolve all questions before us now. The challenges we face together are many, they are complicated, and they are inter-related", she added.
"Of course, a key objective is creating conditions conducive to voluntary repatriation in safety and dignity. Still, regardless of when that happens, we have to continue to address the impacts of this crisis on Bangladeshi host communities and the Rohingya refugees while they are here,” she said.
The second aspect is the “sustainability” to solve the problem, she added. “Ensuring that any solution is sustainable is not a lofty ideal but a concrete requirement for it to work. It takes time and careful consideration of how everything we do today sets the stage for what is possible tomorrow."
“This is true for the UN’s work on both sides of the border. We need to continue to seek ways to improve how we can help improve conditions in Rakhine State even while we do whatever we can to help Rohingya children, women and men – wherever they are – prepare for the rest of their lives.”
However, Bangladesh is currently hosting more than 1.1 million Rohingyas. As many as 750,000 members of the Muslim minority group in Myanmar's Rakhine state fled ‘ethnic cleansing’ in their homeland in August 2017.
