On behalf of the youth of Bangladesh, United Nations Youth and Students Association of Bangladesh (UNYSAB) would like to express its shock, sorrow and condemnation of the ongoing persecution against Rohingyas in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. We are deeply concerned about the safety and wellbeing of the civilians who have been forcefully evicted from their homeland. It has been reported that many of these civilians have been killed during the recent security operations by the Myanmar government in northern part of the Rakhine state.

As violence and persecution against the Rohingyas, often called the most persecuted minority in the world, dramatically escalated since August 25, 2017, thousands of Rohingya civilians, mostly women and children, arrived in no man’s land along Bangladesh-Myanmar border seeking refuge in already over-populated Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. According to a report published in August 29, 2017 by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), from August 25 to August 27, in three days, at least 5200 Rohingyas entered Bangladesh. Again, according to a previous report by UNHCR, an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 Rohingyas fled the security operations between October 2016 and February 2017 and entered Bangladesh. The report further added that Bangladesh still could not legalize 70,000 newly arrived Rohingyas and the government is struggling to manage food, shelter and medicine for millions of Rohingyas already stranded in different refugee camps and make shift settlements in Bangladesh. As the situation across the border is worsening day by day, thousands of Rohingyas are still fleeing and gathering in no-man’s land along Myanmar- Bangladesh border where they have no access to any humanitarian aid. For a long time there has been severe humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine state of Myanmar, now there could be a humanitarian catastrophe unless United Nations intervenes and humanitarian access is granted.

Under these circumstances, United Nations Youth and Students Association of Bangladesh (UNYSAB) urges to deploy UN Peace Keeping Force in the conflict prone Rakhine state of Myanmar to protect lives and property of Rohingya civilians. From our commitment to peace, safety and security of all human beings we would like to appeal to all nations especially to the neighboring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh to initiate dialogue to bring an end to the violence and to initiate the process of rehabilitation of millions of Rohingyas in their homeland.

Sincerely,
Mohammad Mamun Mia
President
United Nations Youth and Students Association of Bangladesh (UNYSAB)