May 1, 2025
RHRC-Bangladesh is engaging both Myanmar’s junta government and the Arakan Army to push for stability in Rakhine State and create conditions conducive to the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees, National Security Adviser Major General Md Khalilur Rahman said on 29th, April 2025.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Khalilur said Dhaka is in direct communication with Myanmar’s military regime in Naypyidaw and coordinating with the Arakan Army through the United Nations. The Arakan Army, a powerful non-state armed group, currently controls nearly 80 percent of Rakhine State, which borders Bangladesh.
“As the UN wants to provide humanitarian aid, we would like to support that. This can help stabilize Rakhine State and create conditions for Rohingya repatriation,” Khalilur stated.
He clarified that the proposed humanitarian channel being discussed is intended solely to assist the UN in delivering aid under international supervision. “The discussion is ongoing and we will definitely make it public to the nation at the right time,” he added.
Khalilur, who also serves as the chief adviser’s high representative on Rohingya issues, noted that the UN will host a high level conference on the Rohingya crisis in New York this September. “We are working for the solution to the Rohingya crisis,” he said.
Concerns were recently raised by political parties in Bangladesh about the implications of cross border humanitarian aid, following Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain’s statement supporting the UN proposal “in principle,” but with conditions related to national sovereignty and security.
A spokesperson for the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh told The Daily Star that any humanitarian delivery from Bangladesh to Myanmar would require formal consent from both governments. “The UN has a legal obligation to obtain permission from the governments concerned to deliver cross-border assistance. Without this, the UN’s direct involvement is limited,” the spokesperson said.
Rakhine State remains in a deepening humanitarian crisis, with ongoing clashes between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army displacing hundreds of thousands. Since November 2023, approximately 113,000 more Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, raising the total refugee population to over 1.3 million.
Additionally, the UN has repeatedly expressed concern over the worsening situation in Rakhine. On 28th, April 2025, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told the UN Security Council that Bangladesh’s caretaker government has opted to engage with both sides in the Rakhine conflict in pursuit of a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis.
