Bangladesh proposes UN-monitored "safe zones" in Myanmar

Myanmar must stop "ethnic cleansing" in Rakhine State and "safe zones" should be created inside the country to protect all civilians, under the supervision of the United Nations, UN, stated Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, to the UN General Assembly.

"I came here after recently witnessing the hungry, distressed and hopeless Rohingya people from Myanmar who took shelter in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh," Hasina added, during the annual general debate.

"These forcibly displaced people from Myanmar are fleeing an ‘ethnic cleansing’ in their own country, where they have lived for centuries," she further added.

She stressed that her country is currently sheltering over 800,000 forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar and that the ongoing atrocities and human rights violations in Rakhine State have again aggravated the situation at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

She proposed that Myanmar should unconditionally, permanently and immediately end the practice of ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State, and the UN Secretary-General must immediately send a fact-finding mission to Myanmar.

She also proposed that safe zones should be created inside Myanmar under UN supervision, to protect all civilians irrespective of their religion or ethnicity, and all forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh should return to their homes in Myanmar in a sustainable manner.

As a major provider of military and police personnel, Bangladesh has highlighted the importance of upholding the effectiveness and credibility of UN peacekeeping operations while maintaining a "zero tolerance" approach to any allegation of sexual exploitation and abuse, Hasina further stressed while adding that she endorsed the UN voluntary compact on this issue.