Asean must lead in Rakhine crisis

Description: 

"'We are hungry for sustainable solutions. Four times we have been refugees. We need to stop being refugees", said a Rohingya man at Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh. Southeast Asia's leaders are expected to discuss the issue of Rohingya refugees and ways of enhancing Asean's role in facilitating the voluntary repatriation process at their regional summit in Bangkok later this week. As this year's Asean chair, Thailand has a critical leadership role to play in supporting durable solutions for Rohingya displaced in Myanmar as well as for those living in exile as refugees in Bangladesh and across the region. This must include prioritising refugee participation in decision-making. Days before the second anniversary of the Rohingya refugee crisis in August, the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to start repatriation. This announcement was a surprise to many, including Rohingya refugees. So far, no refugees have volunteered to go back. The refugees have sent a message and Asean must pay heed: Without meaningful progress in realising equal rights, citizenship and justice for Rohingya, one of the world's largest refugee crises will continue..."

Creator/author: 

Chris Lewa

Source/publisher: 

"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)

Date of Publication: 

2019-10-30

Date of entry: 

2019-10-31

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Countries: 

Myanmar, ASEAN, Bangladesh

Language: 

English

Resource Type: 

text

Text quality: 

    • Good