Asean foreign ministers urged to keep Rohingya issue high on their agenda

KUALA LUMPUR - In urging the Asean Foreign Ministers to keep the Rohingya issue high on their agenda, the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer also highlighted the community's need for education to prevent a "lost generation”.

A media advisory issued on Tuesday during her two-day mission to Kuala Lumpur at the invitation of Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah noted that, Noeleen had also stressed on the importance of legal employment and protection for Myanmar migrant workers and refugees in Malaysia.

She also expressed her appreciation to the Malaysian people and government for being a host of the largest Rohingya refugee population in Asean, and called for innovative solutions for Rohingya.

"Noeleen also acknowledged the important role of the Asean Secretary-General and the Ad-Hoc Support Team as part of Asean’s commitment on Rakhine, ahead of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 3rd August," said the advisory issued by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry.

She said it is Myanmar’s responsibility to address underlying issues affecting the Rohingya and establish durable solutions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of all refugees and forcibly displaced persons.

"Recognising women’s crucial role in communities and the gendered dimension of the conflict, Special Envoy Noeleen is encouraged by the resilience of women leaders in her engagement to ensure that Myanmar-led solutions include women’s voices and concerns," the advisory said.

"We must not allow the Rohingya people’s sense of being forgotten and abandoned to take root,” Special Envoy Noeleen said. Their right to live in dignity as human beings must be supported and safeguarded by all, including the international community,” she said.

According to the UNHCR website, Malaysia hosts some 181,000 refugees and asylum-seekers as of January 2022. Almost 85 per cent of them are from Myanmar, including about 103,000 Rohingyas who fled the Rakhine state.

Meanwhile, in a joint press conference with Saifuddin at Parliament building today, Noeleen stressed that she had tried her level best in complementing her role as a special envoy in ensuring on how the humanitarian issues in Myanmar should be implemented through the Five Point Consensus.

She described the Myanmar crisis following a military coup on Feb 1 last year as a multi dimensional crisis weakening state and economic institutions, adding that the crisis has pushed 50 per cent of the country's population into poverty. - BERNAMA