Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Bangladesh’s foreign secretary stated that his country is committed to establishing a Palestinian peace process and denouncing Islamophobia.
Masud Bin Momen, speaking at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) 48th Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan on March 22-23, expressed his country’s position.
He also reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to condemning anti-Muslim hate crimes and combating all forms of terrorism, including terrorism financing, radicalization, and violent extremism.
The 57-member body, which is the world’s second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations, held its annual session this year under the theme “Partnering for Unity, Justice, and Development,” with several political leaders attending.
Momen added, “Bangladesh will continue to engage with the OIC, which has always been guided by the principles of peace, prosperity, and development.”
Resolution on the Rohingya Muslims
The council also unanimously adopted a resolution titled “Situation of the Rohingya Muslim Community in Myanmar” to maintain pressure on Myanmar’s authorities “to ensure the safe and dignified return of the Rohingyas to their homeland (in Myanmar’s Rakhine State).”
Momen urged member states to contribute voluntarily to the OIC’s fund to prosecute Myanmar at the United Nations’ top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for allegedly committing genocide against the Rohingya.
According to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency, Myanmar’s state forces have killed nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims, thrown over 34,000 into fires, beaten over 114,000, raped up to 18,000 Rohingya women and girls, burned down over 115,000 Rohingya homes, and vandalized over 113,000 others since Aug. 25, 2017. (OIDA).
Following the August 2017 crackdown, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh, bringing the total number of persecuted people in Bangladesh to more than 1.2 million.
On November 11, 2019, Gambia, a Muslim-majority country, filed a genocide lawsuit against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), marking the first legal action taken in response to the murders, rapes, and arson attacks.