Bangladesh eyes more EU action for Rohingya return to Myanmar

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladesh is urging the EU to take a more active role in ensuring conditions for the return of more than a million Rohingya refugees who fled from neighboring Myanmar, according to a statement on Saturday.

The roughly 1.1 million Rohingya that Bangladesh is currently hosting in refugee camps in the southern district of Cox's Bazar for humanitarian reasons have become a heavy burden on the South Asian country, Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen told EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, said the Foreign Ministry statement.

In the meeting held on Thursday, Momen requested that the EU take more effective measures to create a conducive environment in Myanmar for the sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya, who had fled Rakhine State in Myanmar following a brutal military crackdown in August 2017.

He explained that sheltering such a large population had been "putting enormous social, economic and environmental costs for Bangladesh."

For his part, Borell thanked Bangladesh for its humanitarian efforts for the Rohingya and assured him that the EU would "work with Bangladesh and the international community to ensure sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya," the statement added.

Momen also raised the issue of the $100 billion annual climate fund pledged by developed countries, urging the EU to fulfil its part of the commitment.

He emphasized on the need to share responsibility for climate migrants, referring to people uprooted from their homes and traditional jobs due to the impacts of climate change.