United Nations resident coordinator Gwyn Lewis calls on Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the PM’s official residence, Ganabhaban, in Dhaka on Monday. — UNB photo

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday urged the United Nations to help Bangladesh in relocating Rohingyas to Bhashan Char island.

She made the plea while UN resident coordinator Gwyn Lewis called on her at her official residence, Ganabhaban.

PM’s speech writer M Nazrul Islam told reporters that the prime minister mentioned that over one million Myanmar nationals, Rohingyas, were now a big burden for Bangladesh.

‘Their return to their homeland soon was uncertain, so I am requesting the UN to help Bangladesh to relocate the Rohingyas to Bhashanchar,’ she said.

In this connection, she mentioned that the island had been organised and developed to provide better living condition for the Myanmar nationals.

She said that it had a cyclone shelter, employment opportunities on limited scale and education facilities for the children in their mother language.

Hasina said that the Rohingyas who were living in the camps in Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar had already outnumbered the local people.

‘They have created problems for the living and livelihoods of the local Bangladeshi people,’ she said.

She also said that some of the Rohingyas were getting involved in various types of anti-social activities like human and drug trafficking, internal conflicts and extremist activities.

‘In this situation, as their scope to return to their homeland soon was uncertain, their living standard will be upgraded if they relocate to Bhashan Char island where they will get better environment to live,’ she said.

The prime minister said that forcibly displaced Rohingyas were living in an inhumane condition in Cox’s Bazar amid uncertainty about their repatriation soon.

Bangladesh had so far moved about 30,000 Rohingyas to Bhasanchar to ease crowding in the camps in Cox’s Bazar.

The Rohingyas, the minority Muslims in Myanmar, fled to neighbouring Bangladesh mostly in 2017 to escape killings, arson and rape unleashed by the country’s military junta.

Diplomatic efforts at safe, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland had so far failed.

The issues of UN-set MDGs and SDGs were also discussed during the meeting.

PM Hasina said that she herself attended the events during the adoption of the agenda of MDGs and SDGs where Bangladesh played a proper role.

She said that necessary measures had been taken to implement SDGs and issues relating to Bangladesh have been incorporated in the country’s five-year and perspective plans.

Pointing out a number of challenges in implementing the SDGs due to Ukraine-Russia war followed by sanctions and counter-sanctions, the prime minister said that the war after the Covid-19 pandemic situation had created some obstacles.

But the government had been working to implement the SDGs, she said.

She said that the government had been continuing with the provision of free books, stipends and scholarships to students for promotion of education. School feeding programmers have also been introduced.

Talking about women empowerment, she said that the present government had ensured female representatives on the local government bodies.

Besides, job opportunities had also been created for the female to attract them to education, she said.

She said that as a result now the parents were more interested to send their daughters to educational institutions.

In this regard, the PM said that girls were now outnumbering the boys in schools, while almost cent per cent enrolment has been achieved in the country.

During the meeting, the UN resident coordinator highly appreciated Bangladesh’s stunning progress and achievements in socio-economic front as well as in women’s empowerment, girl’s education, and in achieving MDGs and SDGs, spokesperson Nazrul said.

Gwyn Lewis assured that the UN would remain beside Bangladesh in the days ahead in overcoming various challenges like it had been in the past.

About child labour situation in the country, Hasina said that there was no such case in formal sectors as it had been almost abolished although there might be some in informal areas.

Referring to the climate change, the prime minister said that her government had undertaken adaptation and mitigation programmers to face its adverse impact and had constructed cyclone tolerant houses as well as created green belts along the coastal areas.

About measures to fight climate change the PM said they had taken adaptation and mitigation programme for making Bangladesh climate change resistant.

She said Bangladesh was building climate resistant houses and green belt along the coastal areas as measures to fight the climate change impacts.

She said Bangladesh set up a Climate Trust Fund with its own finance.

She however expressed dissatisfaction over the climate promises made by the rich nations.

‘The rich countries are giving promises, but they are not complying with those,’ she said.

The prime minister and UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh spoke of the important cooperation between the UN and Bangladesh in responding to climate-related disasters and economic volatility, according to UN office in Dhaka.

They reaffirmed commitments to strengthen the UN-Bangladesh partnership on the Rohingya response, despite funding shortages that forced cuts in food assistance for Rohingyas living in camps in Cox’s Bazar.

They also exchanged views on Bangladesh’s economic growth ahead of the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha, Qatar, on 5-9 March.