Sustainable resolution of the Rohingya crisis lies in Myanmar, with voluntary repatriation remaining the only viable long-term solution, speakers said at an international conference in Dhaka on Saturday (December 20).

“The solution to the Rohingya crisis lies in Myanmar. Among the three classical solutions, only repatriation remains sustainable,” said Abu Saleh Mohammed Obaidullah, additional refugee relief and repatriation commissioner at the RRRC in Cox’s Bazar.

Bangladesh is not in a position to locally integrate Rohingyas, while large-scale third-country resettlement is unrealistic amid shifting global politics and rising anti-migrant sentiment, Obaidullah said, noting that only about 5,500 Rohingyas have been resettled so far, according to a UNB report.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of the conference titled “Sustainable Solutions to the Rohingya Crisis: Policies and Practices”, jointly organized by the SIMEC Research Centre, Singapore, and the SIMEC Institute of Technology, Bangladesh, in Uttara.

Rohingya representatives joining virtually from camps in Cox’s Bazar reiterated their strong desire to return to Myanmar’s Arakan region, stressing the need for citizenship recognition and identity rights for safe and dignified repatriation.

UNHCR Bangladesh assistant representative for protection Astrid Castelein highlighted the importance of digital tools such as biometric registration, while speakers in the concluding session emphasized regional cooperation, international responsibility-sharing and justice-based approaches to resolving the protracted crisis.

BOB post