Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha has expressed concern over itsinsufficient funding for the Rohingya case.  Appreciating the support of Member States for the Rohingya case, he assured that OIC will continue to encourage them to contribute funds for the Rohingya case filed by The Gambia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The OIC Secretary General reiterated OIC’s relentless support in resolving the Rohingya crisis, while visiting the Rohingya Camps in Cox’s Bazar on Monday (May 29, 2023).  Mentioning the Rohingya issue as an important agenda of OIC, the OIC Secretary General highlighted OIC’s firm support to The Gambia led initiative of taking legal recourse for ensuring justice for the forcibly displaced Rohingya people from Myanmar at the ICJ. Read more: UN agencies face funding challenges in feeding Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, official says He said the OIC is also working at the international level for ensuring sustainable repatriation of Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh, to Myanmar, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Recognizing the government and people of Bangladesh’s immense generosity shown to the large number of forcibly displaced Rohingya from Myanmar, the OIC Secretary General underscored that burden-sharing is crucial to solve this long-standing crisis, and appealed to the international community to take more responsibility to ensure favourable conditions for the safe, dignified and sustainable return of all Rohingyas to their homeland, Myanmar. The OIC Secretary General and his entourage visited Rohingya camps in Kutupalong, Cox’s Bazar.  Read more: Rohingyas to get better future only when they return to Myanmar: Momen The Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) welcomed him in the Rohingya Camp in Cox’s Bazar. During his visit to the Rohingya camps, the OIC Secretary General exchanged views with the representatives from the Rohingya community.  The Rohingya representatives apprised him of their strong desire to return to their ancestral home safely.  The OIC Secretary General took note of their concerns and assured them of OIC’s support to continue to work closely with Bangladesh to end this humanitarian crisis. Read more: Dhaka, Beijing review Rohingya repatriation effort

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha has urged the member states to do more and help The Gambia with funds to run the case in the International Court of Justice on Rohingya genocide. "We call upon all OIC member states to join them in this case and give support to this fund created by OIC. This case is a top priority for us," the OIC Secretary General told reporters after his meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday (May 28, 2023). He said the Gambia is not a big or rich country but there are lots of efforts from them. Also read: OIC Secretary General in Dhaka; to meet PM Sunday Foreign Minister Momen said said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, OIC Secretary General and the President of Gambia sent a joint letter to themember states recently seeking support for the fund created by the OIC. He said the OIC delegation will visit the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar on Monday. "They (OIC) have taken a leading role. Tomorrow they will visit the Rohingya camps," Momen said, adding that they discussed the Rohingya crisis and the necessity of unity among the Muslims. The OIC Secretary General said in fact Bangladesh is a very important country for the OIC member states. Read more: OIC members must share responsibility for sustainable solution to Rohingya crisis: Momen "Rohingya is one of the top priority issues for OIC," he said, adding that they discussed the issues to maintain peace stability and development in the member states. "We are here to convey our thanks for the tremendous efforts done by Bangladesh government. These Rohingya people are suffering. They deserve peace, security and better life," said Hissein Brahim. During the visit, the OIC Secretary General will pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina later this evening. As the Chancellor of the Islamic University of Technology (IUT), the OIC Secretary General will join the 35th Convocation of the IUT to be held on May 30, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read more: Momen urges PUIC delegation to work for repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.

Bangladesh has urged the United States to extend their support regarding the Rohingya case with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague brought by The Gambia under the genocide convention. Bangladesh also thanked the US side as it has decided to extend their support to the Rohingyas now living in Bhasan Char. “We thank them (US side) as they will extend their support to the Bhasan Char,” Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen told reporters at the Foreign Service Academy while briefing about his discussion with US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Michele J. Sison on Monday. He said Bangladesh also thanked the US side recalling that they (US) in March determined members of the Myanmar military committed “genocide and crimes against humanity” against Rohingya following a rigorous factual and legal analysis. “The issue of third country resettlement also came up in the discussion,” said the foreign secretary. He said Bangladesh reiterated that repatriation of the Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State in a safe and dignified manner would be the key solution. Read: Bangladesh receives more doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from US Foreign secretary Masud said Bangladesh does not subscribe to any idea of long-term hosting of the Rohingyas in Bangladesh and urged the international community to focus on their immediate safe return to Myanmar. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has welcomed the ruling by the ICJ in The Hague on July 22, rejecting Myanmar’s preliminary objections to the case brought by The Gambia under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention). Responding to a question on elite force Rab, the foreign secretary said Bangladesh keeps working for withdrawal of sanctions on Rab following their legal process.  Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed and other officials are scheduled to attend the third United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit at the UN headquarters in New York on August 31-September 1. Asked whether he will face any visa related problem due to US sanctions, the foreign secretary said they are yet to communicate and will try to know beforehand, noting that there are some exceptions. Read: ASEAN Dhaka Committee celebrates 55th ASEAN Day He said they are discussing the loopholes and any inconsistency in the Digital Security Act (DSA) for its further improvement in terms of application so that no one faces any problem. Masud said they discussed multilateral issues to strengthen cooperation in a number of areas including food security, health and human rights issues and discussed events during the high-level week of the UNGA. He said the US side was very amazed to see vaccination of such a large number of people in Bangladesh and the US side is keen to do an event on Covid front. Sison said the US is committed to strengthening cooperation for the full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh. She said discussion on cooperation and coordination with UN agencies in Bangladesh is critical to this effort. Sison arrived here on Saturday evening as part of her tri-nation visit (India, Bangladesh and Kuwait) for consultations on a range of US multilateral priorities, including combating food insecurity, advancing global health, addressing human rights and humanitarian needs, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and support for Rohingya refugees. Her meetings with senior government officials focused on opportunities to deepen their cooperation at the United Nations, and US support for the candidacy of Doreen Bogdan-Martin to become the next Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union. The US Assistant Secretary exchanged ideas on how the United States and other countries can collaborate on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. She has already visited India and will go to Kuwait from Dhaka as part of her tri-nation visit that will end on August 10.