- Stars (0)
The meeting was called to order at 3.10 p.m.
Adoption of the agenda
The agenda was adopted.
Security Council mission
Briefing by Security Council mission to
Bangladesh and Myanmar (28 April to
2 May 2018)
The President: In accordance with rule 37 of
the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite
the representatives of Bangladesh and Myanmar to
participate in this meeting.
The Security Council will now begin its
consideration of the item on its agenda.
At this meeting, the security Council shall hear
briefings by the co-leads of the Security Council
mission to Bangladesh and Myanmar from 26 April to
2 May, that is, the representatives of Kuwait, Peru and
the United Kingdom.
I now give the floor to Ambassador Alotaibi.
Mr. Alotaibi (Kuwait) (spoke in Arabic): I believe
it goes without saying that first and foremost I would
like to thank the Governments of Bangladesh and of
Myanmar for their assistance and logistical support
throughout our visit. The visit was short — somewhat
of a whirlwind. Without the assistance provided with
both Governments, the visit would never have been as
successful as it was. I would therefore like to thank all
the members that facilitated our mission, as well as my
fellow co-leads. I will focus on the visit to Bangladesh.
On behalf of the Security Council, I would like to
thank Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh,
who went to great pains to meet with us despite the
fact that she had just returned from travelling abroad on
the very morning of our meeting with her. In fact, the
protocol services organized a meeting with her before
she began her very busy day of work following her travel,
That gave us an opportunity to hear Bangladesh’s keen
determination to find a solution to the Rohingya crisis.
On 28 April, the members of the Security Council
arrived in Cox’s Bazar to assess for themselves the tragic
plight of the more than 1.2 million persons who are in
need of humanitarian assistance. This is the most rapidly
growing crisis of its kind in the world. Approximately
677,000 refugees from the Rohingya minority had
joined the 300,000 others already displaced before the
mass displacement of 25 August 2017.
We held two major talks: first with United Nations
working group in Cox’s Bazar and, secondly, with
representatives of the Government of Bangladesh,
represented by Mr. Mohammed Shahriar Alam, MP,
Minister for Affairs of Bangladesh, and the personal
representative of the Prime Minister. During that latter
meeting, it became abundantly clear that the conditions
for the safe, dignified and voluntary return of displaced
persons and refugees were not yet in place.
The working group called for more international
support in the Rohynga crisis. While the humanitarian
response plan has been established, calling for funding
in the amount of $950 million, only 25 per cent of it
is funded.
The Council mission expressed its concern about
potential regional repercussions caused by the refugee
crisis and the sheer size and magnitude of the refugee
camps. It was made abundantly clear to us that the issue
of citizenship needed to be addressed before refugees
and displaced persons could return to Rakhine
