UK to keep Rohingya issue remain in UNSC: HC
“We’re working very closely with Bangladesh and international partners (to resolve the Rohingya issue)”
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson today said the UK would make sure so that Rohingya issues remain on the agenda in the UN Security Council (UNSC).
"We're working very closely with Bangladesh and international partners (to resolve the Rohingya issue)," he told the 'DCAB Talks' organised virtually.
Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) organised the event, where its President Angur Nahar Monty gave the welcome speech.
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The British envoy said safe, dignified and voluntary return of Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State is must in resolving the crisis.
The UK, he said, is actively supporting the mechanism that exists to ensure accountability for the crimes committed against the Rohingyas.
Commenting that the situation in Rakhine is not very encouraging, he said pressure from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Myanmar need to be continued. Dickson also pointed out the citizenship issue of Rohingyas that would increase confidence and trust level among forcibly displaced people to return to their land of origin in Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar district while two attempts to send back Rohingyas were failed due to trust deficit among the Rohingyas about their safety and security issues upon their return to Rakhine.
The British High Commissioner said that Bangladesh would get priority in getting the potential Covid vaccine, developed by Oxford, once it is produced and ready for use.
The envoy, however, said that there would be no chance of clinical trial of the Oxford British vaccine in Bangladesh. He said the UK is giving importance to equal access to vaccines globally not nationally. "The distribution of vaccine will get priority by need not priority by wealth," he added.
The British High Commissioner said the UK remains beside Bangladesh in addressing climate-related challenges and looking forward to work in a partnership.
London keen to deepen trade and investment relations between the UK and Bangladesh while several British companies are showing interest in doing business here, he added.
