India today urged the international community to enhance support, financially and otherwise, for Bangladesh to cope with the humanitarian burden of hosting a million Rohingya refugees in its territory.

India also wanted the world to assist Bangladesh in ensuring that issues relating to radicalisation in the Rohingya refugee camps and other security challenges are addressed in an expeditious manner.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly informal meeting on the “Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar” yesterday (June 13, 2022), R Madhu Sudan, Counsellor at India’s Permanent Mission at the UN, said India, as the only country that shares a long border with both Bangladesh and Myanmar, “has high stakes in the resolution of the issue of repatriation of the displaced persons from the Rakhine state of Myanmar.”

Therefore, India has been “consistently advocating practical, pragmatic and enduring solutions to this issue. Towards this end, our support has been for people on the ground at both Cox’s Bazar and in the Rakhine state,” he said, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Madhu Sudan said, “A collaborative and consensus-based approach is key to arrive at a meaningful and practical outcome” of the efforts for Rohingya repatriation.

“We must work to address the challenges that the concerned stakeholders continue to face so that this humanitarian problem is resolved in a timely manner,” he said.

India, Madhu Sudan said, commends Bangladesh for hosting a million displaced persons in its territory and emphasised that it is important for the international community to recognise and understand the humanitarian burden that Bangladesh continues to face and the efforts it has undertaken to ensure the well-being of “the displaced persons.”

“The international community must enhance its support, financially and otherwise, towards the efforts of the Government of Bangladesh and also assist in ensuring that issues relating to radicalisation in the camps and other security challenges are addressed in an expeditious manner,” he added.

The Indian diplomat said any instability in Myanmar impacts India directly.

“The worsening humanitarian situation and incidents of violence have led to an influx of thousands of people from Myanmar across our borders. Women and children are the worst affected by the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Restoration of peace, security and stability is therefore of utmost importance to us,” he remarked.

Source: The Daily Star