4 November

Myanmar will not shirk its responsibility to take care of the security and rights of all those who must be protected

STATE Counsellor  Daw  Aung  San  Suu  Kyi  responded to the remarks made by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres regarding the Rakhine issue. She underscored that Myanmar will not shirk its responsibility to take care of the rights and security of all those whom it must protect.

In the opening session of the 10th ASEAN-UN Summit in Bangkok on 3 November 2019, the UN Secretary  General  expressed  concern  over  the  situation  in  Rakhine  State  and  the  plight  of  the  refugees in Cox’s Bazaar. He also stressed that it was Myanmar’s responsibility to ensure a conducive environment for safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees.  

In  response  to  the  remarks  of  the  Secretary  General, the State Counsellor underscored that the issue  of  Rakhine  is  a  most  complex  one  and  that  the UN and its agencies which have been present in the region for ten times longer than the present Government  has  been  in  office,  must  have  some  idea of the extent of the complexities. 

She stressed that the Government will not shirk its  responsibility  to  take  care  of  the  security  and  rights of all those who it must protect. She added that  the  Government  of  Myanmar  was  fully  committed to take back the verified returnees based on the bilateral agreement signed with Bangladesh and the trilateral agreement signed with UNHCR and UNDP. She expressed appreciation to ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat and the AHA Centre for their constructive contribution to our efforts in creating the  most  suitable  environment  to  which  the  dis-placed people can return in peace and security and voluntarily. She reaffirmed Myanmar’s intention to continue its work with the help of our friends who approach the problems in Rakhine in a practical and balanced way, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

MNA