OIC forms committee to handle Rohingya issue

Rohingya refugees protect themselves from rain in Balukhali refugee camp near the Bangladesh town of Gumdhum. (AFP)

• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation decided to form a ministerial committee to handle and monitor the Rohingya issue on an international scale
• The committee will collect information and evidence for accountability purposes, and will support UN organizations

DHAKA: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday decided to form a ministerial committee to handle and monitor the Rohingya issue internationally.
The decision came on the last day of its Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting. Abubacarr Tambadou, Gambia’s attorney general and justice minister, tabled the proposal.
The committee will collect information and evidence for accountability purposes, and will support UN organizations, the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other NGOs working with Rohingya to sustain international political pressure on Myanmar, he said.
Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali said: “We will come up with a proper formula for the establishment of this committee, and this will be circulated by the OIC secretariat later on.”
Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin, former OIC vice chairman and former Bangladeshi ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Arab News that the organization “should work as a united force and play a more active role on the world stage.”
He added: “The OIC needs to take a very bold step, and the leadership should come from Saudi Arabia.”
Former Bangladeshi Ambassador Mohammed Jamir said the formation of the committee “will help not only to create pressure, but also political and financial engagement from OIC member states that are keen to resolve the crisis in the shortest possible time.”
The OIC on Sunday condemned Myanmar for its atrocities against Rohingya Muslims, and commended Bangladesh for its humanitarian efforts.