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BSS-50
BANGLADESH-ROHINGYA-GAMBIA
Momen for creating ‘Friends of Gambia’ over Rohignyas justice
DHAKA, Oct 20, 2020 (BSS) – Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen today urged to create a ‘Friends of the Gambia group’ at the Commonwealth for promoting international justice and accountability for the Rohingyas.
“We hope that as Chair in Office of the Commonwealth, the UK will explore how to utilise Commonwealth expertise in justice to provide advisory support to the ICJ’s ‘Provisional Measures’ or at least create a ‘Friends of the Gambia group’”, he said.
Gambia had filed a case against Myanmar to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with the backing of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Canada and the Netherlands.
The foreign minister was speaking at a virtual High-level event at the Commonwealth titled “Towards Sustainable Justice, Accountability and Returns the Rohingya Crisis into its Fourth Year” this evening.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, UK FCDO Minister Hussein Thomasi, Special Adviser to the Justice Minister of The Gambia Baroness Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Rushnara Ali MP and Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Masud Bin Momen took part in the event moderated by Bangladesh High Commissioner in London Saida Muna Tasneem.
During the event, the Bangladesh foreign minister also called upon commonwealth secretary general to work with Rwanda for the Kigali summit to do more on Rohingya issue and to adopt a separate declaration on international justice and accountability for the Rohingya towards finding a lasting solution to this protracted crisis.
“Today ensuring international justice and accountability for the Rohingya people is the call and the cry of the hour under every possible global investigative and accountability mechanism making the Rohingya crisis truly global,” he said.
Dr Momen said a culture of appeasement of Myanmar geo-politically through enhanced bilateral trade, investment and development assistance continues to grow while the country has done nothing to redress the rapes, gender based violence, mass atrocities and genocide committed on its minorities.
“If this defiance, impunity and geo-political appeasement of Myanmar continue, there will be no sustainable solutions to the Rohingya crisis in near sight,” he said.
Mentioning that Bangladesh diligently continues to host the Myanmar’s minorities in temporary camps that threatens the country’s very security and sovereignty, he said “A dangerous culture of impunity and defiance is thriving (in Myanmar)”.
Even, he said the ICJ provisional measures of 29 January 2020 is not being able to guarantee Myanmar’s compliance of no more violence against Rohingyas or implementation of the critically important recommendations of the Kofi Anan or Rakhine Advisory Commission.
“Unfortunately, be it the decisions of the UNGA, UNHRC, UNSG’s Special Envoy, the UN Security Council, the ICJ and ICC, the OIC or at the Commonwealth of nations, Myanmar manages to defy them all and gets away with it,” Momen said.
He said the world needs to stand next to Dhaka and urgently find sustainable solutions in Myanmar as Bangladesh is overwhelmed and fatigued by the temporary hosting of 1.1 million Rohingyas for the 4th year.
“(Bangladesh) is finding it increasingly difficult to shoulder this colossal humanitarian burden for much longer”, he added.
Referring this week’s scheduled donor conference, hosting by the UK, US, EU and the UN body, Momen called upon them not to lose sight that prolonged humanitarian assistance to Rohingyas in temporary shelters in a foreign country cannot be part of a sustainable returns of Rohingyas to their homeland in dignity and rights.
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government applauds The Gambia’s emboldened role on behalf of the OIC in taking on the Rohingya case at the ICJ and getting ICJ’s provisional measures on Myanmar to end genocide and protect Rohingyas.
“I warmly acknowledge the noble decisions of our leading Commonwealth member Canada and Bangladesh’s old friend Netherlands for your intention to intervene in the Gambia vs Myanmar,” he said.
The Bangladesh foreign minister called upon OIC countries also members of the Commonwealth and Commonwealth counties to follow suit and support the Gambia and Canada in seeking justice for Rohingyas.
At the December hearing, Gambia accused Myanmar of breaching the 1948 UN Genocide Convention through a bloody military campaign with an aim to “get Myanmar to account for its action against its own people: the Rohingyas”.
BSS/ASG/TA/RY/21:25hrs