Dhaka, Oct 14 (V7N): Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday called for the creation of a "UN-guaranteed safe zone" for displaced individuals in Rakhine, emphasizing the need to find ways to provide them with necessary assistance.

Prof Yunus remarked that establishing such a safe zone would be "the most effective way to deliver aid" and could serve as a "promising start" to addressing the Rakhine crisis, while also helping to prevent a further influx of refugees into Bangladesh.

These comments were made during a meeting with Thomas Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, who visited Prof Yunus at his Tejgaon office.

Special Rapporteur Andrews praised the chief adviser for his three-point proposal on the Rohingya crisis, which he presented on the sidelines of the recent UN General Assembly in New York.

Andrews underscored the gravity of the situation in Rakhine, which has worsened due to ongoing violence, and stressed the need for urgent humanitarian aid for displaced and starving populations, including the Rohingyas. According to the chief adviser's press office, at least 3.1 million people have been displaced in Myanmar, with hundreds of thousands from Rakhine.

In the last few weeks, about 30,000 Rohingyas have fled Rakhine and entered Bangladesh, joining the more than one million Rohingyas already living in camps in Cox's Bazar.

Prof Yunus also suggested working with the international community, including ASEAN, to address the violence and displacement in Rakhine. Additionally, he sought Andrews' support in accelerating the resettlement of Rohingya refugees to third countries.

The discussions also touched on ICC investigations into the atrocities against the Rohingyas in 2017, as well as the recent student-led revolution in Bangladesh.

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