FM asks UK Minister to send Royal ship for floating Rohingyas' shelter
Bangladesh has pointed out international community's continuous call only on Bangladesh to shelter Rohingyas floating away on boat saying the other countries of the Bay of Bengal region are not requested to share the responsibility similarly.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen urged all of the countries to take effective steps quickly to solve the Rohingya crisis, reports UNB.
He conveyed the message when British Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the United Nations Lord Ahmad made a phone call to him on Monday requesting Bangladesh to provide shelter to floating Rohingyas at Bay.
"Despite limited resources, Bangladesh has recently given shelter to around 1.1 million Rohingyas on humanitarian ground. The small number of floating 500 Rohingyas are not in Bangladesh territory," he said.
Speaking with UNB, a diplomat said it is the responsibility of surrounding countries of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea to talk about the duty and helping the distressed persons in the deep sea.
There are eight countries -- Myanmar, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Bangladesh - in the Bay of Bengal region.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen said though Bangladesh was requested to provide shelter to floating Rohingyas showing humanity, other countries in your community were not requested to accomplish the same thing.
He conveyed the united kingdom Minister to take the floating Rohingyas sending their Royal ship.
The Foreign Minister also said other countries of the world should take 1.1 million Rohingyas and give them shelter in their respective countries.
Earlier, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, sought greater coordination and responsibility-sharing by states to address the maritime movements of refugees and asylum-seekers in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea saving lives.
"We’re increasingly concerned by reports of failure to disembark vessels in distress and of the grave immediate risk this poses to the men, women and children on board," said Indrika Ratwatte, Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific.
The UNHCR official said saving lives at sea must be a collective effort where any one declare that rescues and disembarks refugees can draw on resources pooled from other states in the region.
"Predictable disembarkation and safe pathways for refugees in distress strengthen public health by ensuring that whatever the way in which of arrival, people go through appropriate health screening," said Ratwatte.
The UNHCR official said it safeguards prevention measures instead of risking that persons will instead seek clandestine points of entry without going right through proper quarantine procedures.
Rescue at sea and allowing the persecuted to seek asylum are key tenets of customary international law, where all states are bound, said the UN agency.
Beyond the existing COVID-19 crisis, Ratwatte said, a predictable and humane disembarkation approach will remain critical. "UNHCR is calling on all states to uphold these lifesaving obligations to refugees and asylum-seekers."
The UNHCR said search and rescue, along with prompt disembarkation, are lifesaving acts.
"The dire - and, oftentimes, fatal - predicament of thousands of refugees and migrants in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea in 2015 in the end demonstrated the critical, humanitarian imperative for solidarity and joint action to handle threats alive at sea," said Ratwatte.
The 2016 Bali Declaration embodied these principles and outlined just how forward to prevent another crisis in the Andaman Sea.
"We must not go back to such life-threatening uncertainty today," said Ratwatte.
In the context of the unprecedented current COVID-19 crisis, the UNHCR official said, all states must manage their borders because they see fit.
"But such measures shouldn ‘t result in the closure of avenues to asylum, or of forcing people to return to conditions of danger. UNHCR stands prepared to support Governments in undertaking responsible disembarkation procedures and quarantine measures to make certain that public health issues are addressed."
Ratwatte said the challenge of irregular movement isn't unique to Asia.
Refugees and asylum-seekers move through unofficial and frequently inherently risky channels since it is the only choice available to them. The truth for many refugees is that persecution and threats with their lives and well-being are more immediate than COVID-19.
"UNHCR notes and is encouraged by the Association of South East Asian States’ clear commitment to joint action and a whole-of-society approach in the context of COVID-19," said the UNHCR official.
Leaving no-one behind may be the only lasting method of ensuring that we collectively beat this global challenge, plus they are all only as strong as their most vulnerable members, said Ratwatte.
HR Bodies Not Vocal
Dr Momen said other countries, especially developed ones, should come forward in giving shelter to Rohingya people.
He said the duty of providing shelter to Rohingyas lies on the countries in your community, too.
The Foreign Minister said military procedure continues to be going on in Myanmar and Rohingya persons are losing lives.
A couple of days ago, Rohingyas tried to enter Bangladesh territory and remaining Rohingya persons may try again to get into Bangladesh, Dr Momen said.
Not surprisingly, he said, countries beneath the European Union are buying Myanmar. "Human rights organisations aren't vocal on these issues."
UK Support for RMG Sector
Dr Momen urged the British Minister to come forward to greatly help the Bangladesh nationals abroad saying many Bangladesh citizens in a variety of countries including in the centre East are suffering because of food crisis amid jobs cut there.
He said the development nations like the UK should remain vocal so that Bangladeshi citizens abroad reunite their jobs.
Dr Momen sought UK’s support so that export orders in the readymade garment sector aren't cancelled and urged the UK to create special fund to keep exports order uninterrupted.
He informed the united kingdom Minister that Bangladesh will send medical support to the UK as gift to manage the challenges of coronavirus.
