Bangladesh proposes 5-point plan to resolve Rohingya refugee crisis

Speaking at a high-level side event during the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman proposed urgent measures to address the Rohingya crisis, urging international stakeholders to shift from managing displacement to actively ending it. “The time has come to move from empathy to a search for root causes and their solutions,” he said at an event called “The Rohingya Crisis: A Renewed Call for a Durable Solution from Protracted Displacement, with Justice and Accountability” at the U.N. Headquarters in New York. Prime Minister Rahman emphasized that international generosity must be accompanied by decisive political action to tackle the root causes of systemic persecution inside Myanmar. He outlined a five-point proposal: Prime Minister Rahman noted that Bangladesh continues to host over 1.2 million displaced Rohingya across more than nine years of prolonged displacement. He highlighted the escalating social, economic, and environmental pressures placed on host communities in Bangladesh, alongside a worrying decline in international funding under the U.N. Joint Response Plan, which scaled down its appeal from over $934 million USD in 2025 to $710 million USD in 2026. Emphasizing that human rights abuses continue to be committed by both the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State, Rahman reiterated that while Bangladesh carried its responsibility with humanity, the international community must fulfill its commitments. The high-level session, moderated by Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. Irene Khan, included U.N. 81st General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman, U.N. Special Envoy on Myanmar Julie Bishop, The Gambia’s Vice President Mohammed B.S. Jallow, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih, and European Union Commissioner for Equity Hadja Lahbib. UNB