The United Nations Security Council is set to hold another discussion on the human rights situation of the Rohingya on December 12. This discussion has been scheduled within a week of a special session of the International Human Rights Council, which was held last Tuesday.

According to the UN schedule, Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman will brief the Security Council on latest developments in the Northern Rakhine state and on the Rohingya issue.

“The UN Security Council issued a presidential statement on the Rohingya issue on November 6, and the statement directed officials concerned to brief the council on latest developments after a month,” an official of Bangladesh government told the Bangla Tribune.

The Security Council discussed the Rohingya issue at least four times since August 2017, when the recent refugee crisis began to unfold. In one of those discussions, representatives from Bangladesh and Myanmar were invited to discuss the issue.

The government official added: “Myanmar signed a repatriation deal with Bangladesh on November 23 for taking back the displaced Rohingya people. The Human Rights Council also adopted a strong resolution against Myanmar on December 5 over the issue.

“Under the circumstances, members of the security council have scheduled a closed-door meeting, where Jeffrey Feltman will brief them about the current situation in Myanmar.

China’s stance on Rohingya crisis

Addressing the issue, another government official said: “China has been requesting Bangladesh not to involve the international community in the ongoing Rohingya crisis issue, and they did not change their stance.

“China has veto power in the UN Security Council, and it has so far prevented the UN from taking a firm stance against Myanmar.”

The official pointed out that despite overwhelming evidence of widespread human rights violation in Rakhine state, China continued to back Myanmar by voting in favour of the country in the UN Security Council. On December 5, China made a statement at the UN Human Rights Council saying Bangladesh and Myanmar have signed a bilateral agreement, and any further resolutions against Myanmar would complicate the repatriation process.

“Myanmar has more of China’s support than Bangladesh regarding the issue, but we will continue to hold discussions with China to resolve the humanitarian crisis,” the government official concluded.