The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-member inter-governmental group under the United Nations, has vowed to assume a “strong” role in dealing with the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar, reported Al Jazeera. Foreign ministers and diplomats of the organisation’s member states set up a campaign committee during a two-day talk in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka.
The organisation’s secretary-general Yousef bin Ahmad al-Othaimeen urged member states to defend the Rohingya Muslims, thousands of whom have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh after a violent military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state that the United Nations and United States have called “ethnic cleansing”.
He said the new committee would “mobilise and coordinate international political support for accountability for human rights violations against the Rohingya community”, according to AFP. A delegation from Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also visited Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, reported Al Jazeera.
The organisation also praised Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s efforts in addressing the plight of the Rohingyas, reported The Daily Star. It also sought international support to resolve the crisis and implementation of the recommendations made by the Kofi Annan-led advisory commission on Rakhine State.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali said the delegates pledged solidarity with his country “in the face of the huge Rohingya influx with its humanitarian and security consequences”, according to AP.
“We will [now] play a strong role along with Bangladesh, the United Nations and the international community,” said Hesham Youseff, assistant secretary-general for OIC’s humanitarian affairs division, according to Al Jazeera.
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