ROHINGYA CRISIS: Keep supporting us Bangladesh urges OIC members
Bangladesh has urged the OIC member states to continue political and humanitarian support to Bangladesh until dignified repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar is ensured.
Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Javed Patwary made the call at the 47th session of the Islamic Council of Foreign Ministers in Niamey, Niger yesterday.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen was supposed to lead the Bangladesh delegation at the meeting but his visit was cancelled as he had tested positive for Covid-19 hours before his departure.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen also missed the event as he also tested positive for the virus.
The meeting discussed various issues including ways for supporting the Rohingya case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), according to Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh. We
Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district.
The Gambia filed a more than 500-page Memorial, which also includes more than 5,000 pages of supporting material, in its lawsuit against Myanmar at the ICJ in The Hague, making its case for how the Government of Myanmar is responsible for genocide against Rohingyas.
In November 2019, The Gambia opened a case at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, against Myanmar for failing to prevent or punish genocide against Rohingya Muslims.
On January 23, 2020, the ICJ unanimously indicated legally binding provisional measures, requiring the Government of Myanmar to take all steps within its power to prevent the commission of all acts of genocide, such as killing, causing serious mental or bodily harm, and other acts listed in the Genocide Convention.
The OIC CFM was opened on Friday by Mahamadou Issoufou, president of the Republic of Niger, who affirmed that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is important to its member states, and that his country plays an active role in the organisation.
He also extended his appreciation to the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yousef Al-Othaimeen for the work he did for the organisation.
On his part, Al-Othaimeen said that the choice of the theme for the session, “United against Terrorism for Peace and Development”, is a strong reminder that “terrorism is the single most serious threat to the region and the world, given its negative impact on growth rates and cooperation ties, in addition to worsening Human Development Indices (HDI) ranking.”
He also valued the role assigned to the OIC Sawt al-Hikma (Voice of Wisdom) Center, which acts in coordination with the International Islamic Fiqh Academy to bring reason to bear and promote moderation and tolerance.
The secretary general offered his gratitude to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Niger for his gracious patronage of the meeting, and also thanked the people and government of the republic of Niger for the organisation of the meeting and the warm hospitality.
(The Daily Star)
