ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday described the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar as one of the world’s most urgent humanitarian and human rights challenges in a statement at the United Nations General Assembly, urging the international community to ensure their return to their native land uphold their citizenship rights.
The remarks came at a high-level conference on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar. The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, have faced decades of persecution, denial of citizenship and periodic waves of violence.
A 2017 military crackdown drove more than 700,000 people into neighboring Bangladesh, where nearly a million remain in overcrowded refugee camps. Renewed violence in Rakhine this year has forced thousands more to flee, deepening an already dire humanitarian crisis.
“The plight of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar remains one of the most urgent humanitarian and human rights challenges,” Pakistan’s UN envoy Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the gathering.
“For too long, the Rohingya have endured displacement and limited access to rights and services,” he added. “The recent upsurge of violence in Rakhine State has further intensified their suffering, forcing many to flee and worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.”
Ahmad aligned his remarks with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and praised Bangladesh and other host countries for sheltering displaced Rohingya, saying Pakistan understood their burden, having itself hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades.
He stressed that a durable solution lay in addressing the root causes, beginning with full implementation of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State’s recommendations — led by former UN chief Kofi Annan — particularly those related to pathways to citizenship.
Ahmad said only an inclusive, Myanmar-owned process, supported by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), could create conditions for the safe and dignified return of the Rohingya.
He also maintained the credibility of the international community would be judged by its ability to secure justice, restore dignity and enable Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar to rebuild their lives in peace and security.
