UNGA to Ensure a Better Future for Rohingyas

The President of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkır has expressed determination to ensure a better future for the forcible displaced Myanmar nationals, who took temporary shelter amid ethnic cleansing and genocide in Rakhine state.

“…the world has not forgotten the plight of the Rohingya people and that the United Nations General Assembly is determined to ensure a better future for them,” he said during an interaction with the Rohingya representatives in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday (May 26).

Volkan Bozkır paid an official visit to Bangladesh on May 25-26 upon invitation of the government, said the UN on Thursday.

On 26 May, the President travelled to Cox’s Bazar, where he met with the representatives of the Rohingya people. He was joined there by Shah Rezwan Hayat, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, Ms. Mia Seppo, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, and camp authorities.

During the visit, he received a briefing on camp management from the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner and camp authorities. Following this, the President surveyed the camp from an aerial position at the watch tower of Camp-8W.

Thereafter President Bozkır visited Camp 9 which was impacted by recent fires, met with healthcare workers and inspected facilities at the Turkish Field Hospital there.

Earlier on his arrival in Dhaka on May 25, President Bozkır met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and discussed the plight of the Rohingya people, the situation in Myanmar, the impact of climate change, the importance of human-centred development, gender equality and women’s empowerment, the culture of peace and peacekeeping. 

Subsequently, the UNGA President visited Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on the occasion of the 100th birth year of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The President also met separately with Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and the topics of discussion included the situation of the Rohingya, climate change, the COVID-19 response, LDC graduation, South-South Cooperation, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Following this bilateral meeting, the President engaged in a joint press briefing together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.  

While in Dhaka, President Bozkır also delivered the sixth lecture of the Bangabandhu Lecture Series at the Foreign Service Academy of Bangladesh, which was focused on Bangladesh and the United Nations. This event was hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh. 

To round off the day, the President met with the UN Country Team in Bangladesh, led by Resident Coordinator Mia Seppo. Here he received a brief from the representatives of the UN agencies on the crucial work of the United Nations in Bangladesh.