As the Rohingya crisis drags on, I urge the international community and relevant UN agencies to intensify their efforts to share its responsibilities and obligations.
Ambassador Rabab Fatima, the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, made the remarks in a speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday (December 10) during a general debate on "Strengthening the Coordination of UN Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Assistance, including Special Economic Assistance."
Highlighting the humanitarian assistance that Bangladesh is providing to the Rohingya through the cooperation of the United Nations and other human rights organizations, she called on the international community to pay more attention to the situation in Myanmar. Creating an environment conducive to the safe and sustainable return of the 1.1 million Rohingya who have been forcibly displaced from their homeland Myanmar. The Permanent Representative of Bangladesh said that the already complicated political and humanitarian situation in the region as a result of the Rohingya crisis, if the crisis is prolonged, will create a more complicated situation.
Ambassador Fatima noted the good practices and special investments that Bangladesh is making in reducing the risk of natural disasters and climate change in humanitarian situations, in preventing and in adapting to adversity.
"We have adopted the 'Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan' which is helping us to move from a fragile climate to a more prosperous one," she said.
In response to the growing number of people displaced by natural disasters and climate change, Ambassador Fatima said that there was an urgent need for enhanced cooperation and coordination between the relevant UN agencies and other stakeholders to meet the humanitarian needs of the displaced as a result of climate change. In this case, she highlighted the various activities of the Platform on Disaster Displacement.
She emphasized the importance of considering national priorities and the real situation at the field level in order to move from an emergency response to climate change to a level of readiness and adversity.
She said that in conducting development activities, the international community must focus on reducing its dependence on humanitarian cooperation and building a society capable of coping with adversity. Noting that women are the first to respond to any humanitarian crisis and play a central role, she called for strengthening gender-sensitive policies to reduce and mitigate disaster risks.
Ambassador Fatima expressed concern over the denial of access to humanitarian assistance in conflict situations and the indiscriminate armed attacks on human rights activists and humanitarian aid installations and equipment. She stressed the importance of determining the responsibility for such violence.
Following the general debate, the General Assembly adopted four resolutions on strengthening the coordination of UN humanitarian and disaster relief cooperation. Among them, Bangladesh coordinated the adoption of the resolution on natural disasters in favor of Group-77 and China.