The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), a platform of former and serving lawmakers from Southeast Asia, has proposed an international conference involving Bangladesh, China, and ASEAN countries to address the protracted Rohingya crisis.

The proposal was made Wednesday (September 4) when an APHR delegation met Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna, according to Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder.

“Two things should be done on a priority basis. One is an ASEAN-led effort to raise funds for the Rohingyas. The other is a high-level ASEAN-Bangladesh-China political summit to resolve the Rohingya issues,” said Charles Santiago, co-chairperson of APHR and former member of Malaysia’s House of Representatives.

Reiterating Bangladesh’s long-standing demand for a sustainable solution, Professor Yunus called for effective regional cooperation to ensure the safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar, stressing that the crisis has become an unbearable burden for Bangladesh.

“We want to be a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN. Since we are not part of ASEAN, we cannot bring the issue formally to the body. But it is important for us, because the issue needs to be addressed at a regional and global level,” Yunus said.

He urged APHR to help form an ASEAN parliamentary group with Bangladesh’s participation as an invitee, noting that such a platform could amplify regional voices in urging Myanmar to create conducive conditions for Rohingya return.

“Asean should tell the rest of the world about the crisis we are facing,” he added.

APHR members recalled their visit to the Rohingya camps in 2018, acknowledging that while they had pushed for the issue to be recognized as a regional concern, their recent focus had shifted toward restoring democracy in Myanmar.

“We are always trying to flag the Rohingya issue as an ASEAN issue. But I must confess, for the last two to three years we had been quiet because we were focusing on Myanmar’s political situation,” Santiago noted.

Other members of the APHR delegation included Wong Chen, member of Malaysia’s House of Representatives; Raoul Manuel, former member of the Philippines Congress; and Chonlathan Supphaiboonlerd, program director of APHR.

With nearly 1.3 million Rohingyas sheltered in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char, Bangladesh continues to stress that repatriation to Myanmar is the only durable solution to the crisis, urging greater international pressure on Naypyidaw to take back its citizens.

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