Red Cross Urged to Play Strong Role in Rohingya Repatriation

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir has urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to play a more proactive role in facilitating the prompt repatriation of displaced Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. The call was made on Wednesday during a meeting with Nicolas Fleury, Head of the ICRC Delegation in Bangladesh, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting, the State Minister praised the ICRC’s long-standing humanitarian operations in Bangladesh, highlighting its contributions to promoting International Humanitarian Law (IHL), providing emergency aid and humanitarian assistance, strengthening disaster management, and building capacity. Reaffirming Bangladesh’s firm commitment to the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, he also emphasized the important role played by the National International Humanitarian Law Committee.

Highlighting Bangladesh’s active engagement in promoting IHL globally, the State Minister noted that the country serves as a co-chair under the ‘IHL and Peace’ workstream of the Global IHL Initiative. He added that the government is considering Bangladesh’s participation at an appropriate level in the upcoming High-Level Conference on Humanity in War, scheduled to take place in Jordan this December.

The discussions also touched upon the situation of the forcibly displaced Rohingya population. Mr. Humayun Kabir expressed appreciation for the ICRC’s humanitarian assistance provided to both the Rohingya refugees and the host community in Cox’s Bazar. Noting the organization’s key role in global humanitarian efforts and IHL advocacy, he urged the ICRC to step up its efforts to expedite the safe and early repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar.

In response, Mr. Nicolas Fleury commended Bangladesh for its continued cooperation with the ICRC. He expressed the organization’s readiness to sustain support for capacity building in IHL and ongoing humanitarian operations in Bangladesh, while reiterating its commitment to further strengthening the long-standing partnership between Bangladesh and the ICRC.