At a Dhaka policy dialogue, the law minister also addressed a proposal for legal status, education and employment for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
By RK Desk. Dhaka | November 8, 2026
Rohingya refugees must be able to return to Myanmar voluntarily and with guarantees of citizenship, safety and access to education, Bangladesh’s Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman said on Sunday. He called on Myanmar to take responsibility for resolving the crisis and said the international community should help ensure that Rohingya rights are protected when they return.
Speaking at a national policy dialogue at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka, Asaduzzaman said Bangladesh had raised those conditions with the UN refugee agency on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. He said refugees should be able to return without fear and that sending them back by force or under international pressure would fail to resolve the crisis.
Legal status, education and work raised in Dhaka
The discussion also turned to the rights and opportunities available to Rohingya refugees while they remain in Bangladesh. According to United News of Bangladesh, a North South University academic proposed granting Rohingya refugees legal status and access to education and employment.
Asaduzzaman described the proposals as reasonable and said the government was examining what arrangements Bangladesh could accommodate, taking into account its economic capacity, social conditions and security concerns. He gave no timetable for a decision.
The minister also referred to the national strategy committee chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. The 11-member committee was formed in July to set repatriation priorities and coordinate the work of government agencies. The Cabinet Division’s notification gave a body tasked with drafting the strategy 90 days to submit it to the committee. In his reported remarks on Sunday, Asaduzzaman did not say whether the draft had been submitted or when it might be made public.
Foreign affairs state minister calls for sustained engagement with Myanmar
Speaking at the same dialogue, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said keeping the Rohingya crisis high on the international agenda remained a challenge for Bangladesh. She called for international partners to engage with Myanmar to help create conditions for safe and dignified return. She also urged Bangladesh’s political parties to build consensus on how to address the crisis.
The two ministers set out conditions for return and called for diplomatic engagement. The accounts of their remarks included no new agreement with Myanmar or timetable for repatriation.
Rohingya participation on the agenda
Neeti Gobeshona Kendro organised the dialogue in two sessions. The morning session focused on civil society and Rohingya perspectives. Former ambassador Mohammad Sufiur Rahman, a member of the UN Human Rights Council’s Advisory Committee, presented the keynote. The afternoon session focused on political parties’ positions and the prospects for a national consensus. The programme listed Nurul Islam, chairman of the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, as a discussant in both sessions.
A separate notice from the organiser advertised a November 5 consultation with Rohingya refugees and local residents at Hotel Beach View in Cox’s Bazar. The materials available to Rohingya Khobor did not include the findings from that consultation or establish which recommendations from Rohingya participants were brought to the Dhaka dialogue.
