DHAKA, Oct 25, 2018 (BSS) – Dhaka is ready to cooperate with the international Criminal Court (ICC) in pursuance of its jurisdiction on the forced deportation of the Rohingyas from Myanmar’s Rakhine state, the Bangladesh envoy told the UN on Wednesday.
“Bangladesh would cooperate with the International Criminal Court in pursuance of its jurisdiction on forced deportation of the Rohingyas from Myanmar’s Rakhine state, including the possible denial of their right to return,” Bangladesh permanent representative in the UN, Ambassador Masud Bin Momen said.
He was addressing a special UN Security Council briefing on the Rohingya crisis held at the UN headquarters, according to a message received here today.
Around 700,000 Rohingyas took shelter in Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August 2017 following the brutal military actions termed by UN as “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” by rights groups.
Ambassador Momen said any criminal justice mechanism, be it national, regional or international, would have access to an authoritative and comprehensive body of evidence for exercising its jurisdiction.
In case of repeated obstruction to justice at the domestic level, he said, the international community would have to consider good practices from comparable situations and other possible means to pave the pathway to accountability.
Bolivia, the chair of the council for the month of October, called the meeting following a request made by Security Council members Ivory Coast, France, Kuwait, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Sweden, the UK and the USA.
Marzuki Darusman, chair of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, presented various evidences and facts on atrocities committed in Rakhine state last year at the briefing while apart from 15 member states of the Security Council, Bangladesh and Myanmar envoys also addressed it.
Ambassador Momen said Bangladesh’s overriding priority in the Rohingya humanitarian crisis is to ensure the voluntary and sustainable return of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas to their ancestral homes in safety and dignity.
“We have consistently maintained that as long as the forcibly displaced Rohingyas voluntarily opted for return to Rakhine state and gained confidence about an environment conducive to their return, Bangladesh would put in place all possible arrangements to facilitate that process,” he said.
In line with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s three-point recommendation, presented during the UNGA General Debate last month, the envoy said, Myanmar must abolish discriminatory laws, policies and practices against the Rohingyas, create a conducive environment by building pathway to citizenship for all Rohingyas and bring accountability and justice to prevent atrocity crimes against the Rohingyas.
“Our highest political leadership had no doubt that the violence and persecution suffered by the Rohingyas were tantamount to the gravest crimes under the international law,” he said, adding “We would await an independent and impartial judicial process to emerge in Myanmar.”
Momen said Bangladesh has also stressed that dismantling the remaining IDP camps in Rakhine state and allowing those stranded along the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar to return without fear of reprisal can be critical confidence building measures.
Considering the trauma borne by countless Rohingya men, women and children, the international community should seriously consider setting up a Trust Fund for the victims, pending a judicial decision on their reparation or compensation, he observed.
“We shall also continue to reach out our hands to our neighbours in Myanmar in our shared quest for a sustainable future for our peoples in rights and dignity,” Momen said.
He called upon the Council to act as the custodian of the collective efforts, including all bilateral arrangements, to deal with the Rohingya humanitarian crisis till the time a durable solution is reached.