Border News Agency
Dhaka Sept 3, 2025

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), a network of present and former lawmakers from Southeast Asia, has proposed convening an international conference involving Bangladesh, China, and ASEAN member states to seek a political solution to the protracted Rohingya crisis.

The proposal was made on Wednesday when an APHR delegation met Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna.

“Two things should be done on a priority basis. One is an ASEAN-led effort to raise funds for Rohingyas. The other is a high-level ASEAN-Bangladesh-China political summit to resolve the Rohingya issues,” said Charles Santiago, former Malaysian lawmaker and Co-Chairperson of APHR.

Chief Adviser Yunus welcomed ASEAN’s engagement and reiterated Bangladesh’s call to be included in the regional bloc. “We want to be a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN. Since we are not part of ASEAN, we cannot bring the issue forward. This is important because the crisis must be addressed,” he said.

The Chief Adviser also urged APHR to create a dedicated ASEAN parliamentary group on the Rohingya issue and invite Bangladesh to join as a partner. “It has become a burden for us. ASEAN should create a platform that does not exist now and tell the rest of the world about the crisis we are facing,” he added.

Charles Santiago recalled that ASEAN lawmakers visited Rohingya camps in 2018 and have since monitored the situation. “We are always trying to flag the Rohingya issue as an ASEAN concern. But I must confess, for the last two-three years we had been quiet because we were focusing on restoring democracy in Myanmar,” he said.

Other members of the APHR delegation included Malaysian parliamentarian Wong Chen, former Philippine lawmaker Raoul Manuel, and Chonlathan Supphaiboonlerd, Program Director of APHR.