The Crime Desk: The UN’s position against sending Rohingya refugees back to unsafe places is firm, said Stephen Dozeric, the spokesperson of the organization’s Secretary General Antonio Guterres. He said, “We take a strong stand against the forced return of refugees to ‘unsafe’ places.”
He said this in response to a journalist’s question about the complaint filed by the legal firm Guernica Thirty-Seven at the International Criminal Court on the charge of forcibly sending Rohingyas from India to Bangladesh.
In a press briefing on Wednesday (May 29) local time, the journalist asked: The Bangladesh government has already announced that they will not shelter any more Rohingya refugees. Have the authorities agreed to take in new refugees? What is the UN’s comment on the recent complaint filed by Guernica Thirty-seven International Criminal Court that India is forcing Rohingya refugees to enter Bangladesh?
In response to the question, Stephen Dozeric added, “All we can say is that we take a strong position against the forced return of refugees to places that are ‘not safe’.” Refugees should be given the opportunity to return home voluntarily and with safety and dignity.
He also said that Bangladesh is clearly becoming a very generous host for a large Rohingya population. I think the local community in Bangladesh is very generous. We hope the international community will continue to support our humanitarian efforts there.
