COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh: Bangladesh has proposed the setting up of safe zones in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to facilitate the return of displaced Rohingya Muslims, said a senior member of the advisory council of the ruling Bangladesh Awami League.
Such zones should be under the supervision of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said Mohammad Zamir, who is also a former ambassador.
“Bangladesh should push the UN to pass a resolution over the suffering of the uprooted Rohingya,” he added.
“America, China, Russia, India and other countries should come forward with a positive mindset in this regard.”
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Minister for Disaster and Relief Management Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya on Saturday said the government is planning to allot 2,000 acres of land in Cox’s Bazar “to accommodate the recent influx of Rohingya refugees.”
During a visit to Teknaf Thana refugee camp, he added that the government is doing its best to address the humanitarian crisis facing the refugees.
Khaled Mahmud, a district magistrate in Cox’s Bazar, said the government is preparing a “biometric database of all the Rohingya refugees who’ve entered Bangladesh.”
The fingerprints of all refugees will be collected, and the database will facilitate relief work and humanitarian aid, he added.
Zamir said the registration process should be coordinated with the UNHCR, the IOM and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “because Myanmar might refuse to accept these people in future” by claiming they did not come from Rakhine.
Meanwhile, Washington has condemned Myanmar for “atrocities” committed by its army and border police against its Rohingya minority. The US Senate demanded that Myanmar allow the entry of UN observers.
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Bangladesh urges UN to create safe zones in Rakhine state
Bangladesh urges UN to create safe zones in Rakhine state
Ghana’s president urged to rally African leaders behind push for slavery reparations
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama held talks with a global delegation seeking reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonialism, who urged him to rally other African leaders to choose “courage over comfort” and support the growing movement.
The delegation, made up of experts from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and the United States, presented Mahama with priority actions under the African Union’s (AU) reparations agenda, it said in a statement on Friday. In February, the AU launched a drive to create a “unified vision” on what reparations may look like, from financial compensation and formal acknowledgments of past wrongs to policy reforms. At least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported by European ships, then sold into slavery from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Advocates say action is needed to confront today’s legacies, including racism. Calls for reparations have gained momentum but there is also a growing backlash. Many European leaders have opposed even discussing the matter, with opponents arguing today’s states and institutions should not be held responsible for historical wrongs.
While Ghana has been at the forefront of reparations advocacy in Africa, the delegation emphasized the need for “strategic coherence and unity” among political leaders across the continent.
They urged Mahama to encourage other leaders to “choose courage over comfort” by standing with civil society and affected communities in Africa and the diaspora in demanding reparations.
The delegation also met on Wednesday with Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Mahama’s envoy on reparations Ekwow Spio-Garbrah.
At a European Union–AU summit in Luanda, Angola’s capital, last month, leaders from both regions acknowledged the “untold suffering” caused by slavery and colonialism but stopped short of committing to reparations.
During the summit, Ghana’s Vice President Jane Opoku-Agyemang urged EU member states to support a UN resolution Ghana is preparing to recognize slavery as one of the “gravest crimes against humanity.”
The delegation, made up of experts from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and the United States, presented Mahama with priority actions under the African Union’s (AU) reparations agenda, it said in a statement on Friday. In February, the AU launched a drive to create a “unified vision” on what reparations may look like, from financial compensation and formal acknowledgments of past wrongs to policy reforms. At least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported by European ships, then sold into slavery from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Advocates say action is needed to confront today’s legacies, including racism. Calls for reparations have gained momentum but there is also a growing backlash. Many European leaders have opposed even discussing the matter, with opponents arguing today’s states and institutions should not be held responsible for historical wrongs.
While Ghana has been at the forefront of reparations advocacy in Africa, the delegation emphasized the need for “strategic coherence and unity” among political leaders across the continent.
They urged Mahama to encourage other leaders to “choose courage over comfort” by standing with civil society and affected communities in Africa and the diaspora in demanding reparations.
The delegation also met on Wednesday with Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Mahama’s envoy on reparations Ekwow Spio-Garbrah.
At a European Union–AU summit in Luanda, Angola’s capital, last month, leaders from both regions acknowledged the “untold suffering” caused by slavery and colonialism but stopped short of committing to reparations.
During the summit, Ghana’s Vice President Jane Opoku-Agyemang urged EU member states to support a UN resolution Ghana is preparing to recognize slavery as one of the “gravest crimes against humanity.”
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