Experts call for regional action to address Rohingya crisis

A panel of diplomats, academics, and policy experts at a programme called for stronger regional action to find a solution to the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Providing them with local solutions in education and skill until their repatriation to their home country is important considering the humanitarian needs, they said.

The experts came up with the recommendations at a session titled 'Rohingya Refugee Crisis: Regional Security Risks, Repatriation Pathways, and Livelihood Challenges' on the concluding day of two-day 'Bengal Delta Conference 2025' organised by the Dacca Institute of Research and Analytics (DAIRA) at a city hotel on Saturday.

Bangladeshi diplomat and former ambassador Tariq Ahmed Karim, Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Professor Dr. Niaz Ahmed Khan, academician Dr. Faheem Hussain, and BNP leader Shama Obaid spoke, among others.

Addressing the conference, Tariq Karim provided a historical context, tracing the roots of the crisis to post-partition identity politics and British colonial social engineering. He was highly critical of past diplomatic efforts with Myanmar, which he deemed naive and ineffective.

Representing the political opposition, BNP's Shama called for a renewed, unified national and international effort. She emphasised that repatriation is impossible without ensuring safety, security, and citizenship for the Rohingya in Myanmar and advocated for bringing the Myanmar military to justice. She warned against using the crisis for political credit and called for practical solutions to education, nutrition, and livelihood within the camps today.

Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan outlined three options: repatriation, unacknowledged local integration, and underfunded resettlement. He highlighted the sharp fall in international funding and the rising tensions between the host community and refugees, stating that current livelihood programmes merely provide 'training for survival' and inadvertently pave the way for local integration.

"The camps would require $42 million in 2025. However, only one-third has been promised-not delivered-- so far," he said. So the challenges are formidable and there are no quick-fix solutions, he added.

The panelists unanimously called for the inclusion of Rohingya voices in all dialogues and agreed that the ultimate solution must be driven by intensive regional diplomacy and pragmatic long-term planning within Bangladesh.

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