Pile pressure on Myanmar junta
Adoption of a resolution on the Rohingya by consensus at the UN has created momentum towards resolving the Rohingya crisis, and Dhaka now needs to amplify diplomatic efforts towards a sustainable Rohingya solution, said analysts.
They say the coronavirus pandemic, little actions by the UN Security Council since the Rohingya crisis in 2017 and the military coup in Myanmar early this year had thrown the Rohingya agenda into uncertainty.
Now that the UN has adopted the resolution by consensus against the previous instances where China, Russia, Japan or ASEAN members had abstained from voting, analysts think this creates political and moral pressure on Myanmar.
"I believe the pressure will be mounted on Myanmar as the resolution has been passed by consensus," Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told reporters after paying tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara of Gopalganj yesterday.
The UN resolution strongly condemned the Myanmar military coup and the atrocities against the civilians and called for restoring democracy. It also called for addressing the root causes of the Rohingya crisis and other ethnic conflicts, implementation of the agreements between Bangladesh and Myanmar on Rohingya repatriation, a tripartite deal among Myanmar, UNDP and UNHCR for creating a conducive environment in Rakhine.
The resolution also spoke of preparing a work plan on implementing the agreements by the UN Secretary's Special Envoy on Myanmar. It also lauded Bangladesh's efforts of relocating some of the Rohingyas to Bhasan Char from Cox's Bazar and welcomed the MoU signed between the Bangladesh government and UN Refugee Agency -- a recognition against much criticism by rights bodies in the previous years.
The resolution was co-sponsored by 107 countries, the highest since 2017.
"Earlier, Japan had generally abstained from voting, but this time it co-sponsored the resolution. This means a lot because Japan has strong ties with Myanmar," said Prof Imtiaz Ahmed of the International Relations Department of Dhaka University.
He expects India, which also has huge investments in Myanmar, to co-sponsor such a resolution on Rohingya.
"The resolution of the UN General Assembly's Third Committee is not binding. However, it gives us a moral and political boost. We should now engage strongly with China, Russia, Japan and India so that this momentum can lead to consensus at the UN Security Council," Prof Imtiaz said.
A foreign ministry official said though the UN resolution is not binding, it creates norms and creates global public opinion that is invaluable. "We can also ask Myanmar strongly to ensure Rohingya repatriation," the official said.
This resolution also reflects that the support of the powerful countries like China, Russia and Japan towards Myanmar is on the decline, the official added.
Bangladesh Enterprise Institute President M Humayun Kabir said the UN Security Council is the only world body that can obligate Myanmar to address the root causes of the Rohingya crisis, not anything else.
"If we can amplify our diplomatic efforts and convince the global powers, we can see consensus in the UN Security Council," he told this correspondent.
"For that to happen, we need to read the reality very objectively and act creatively in diplomacy," the former ambassador said.
Former Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said the adoption of the resolution by consensus is a good achievement, but the major instruments of holding Myanmar accountable are the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC) and UN Security council.
Verdicts in favour of the Rohingyas at the ICJ or ICC can lead to the UN Security Council actions, he said.
"We can see some kind of slowness in the investigation at the ICC and ICJ. I think we should not lose sight of that if we really want to see solutions. We need to continue and augment our diplomatic efforts to this end," said Haque, also senior fellow at the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance of North South University.
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