UN General Assembly
2025

My generation has witnessed how a system of interdependent economies made conflict too costly and helped preserve peace. Today, more than 120 armed conflicts are raging across the globe. If economic interdependence collapses, these conflicts will only multiply, development will falter, and peace itself will be destroyed. Madam President, the ongoing conflict in our neighboring country, Myanmar, has created a situation of deep concern for the entire region. It threatens not only regional stability, but also the prospects for the safe return of the forcibly displaced Rohingya sheltered in Bangladesh. Eight years on, the Rohingya crisis continues without any solution in sight. Moreover, Bangladesh faces a slow but regular flow of the Rohingyas seeking protection. Evidently, deprivation of rights and persecution of the Rohingya rooted in cultural identity-based politics continue in Rakhine. Reversal of the process of marginalization of the Rohingya cannot wait any further. Most of the discriminatory policies and practices that made them vulnerable can be reversed and remedial measures can be advanced without waiting for a comprehensive national political settlement in Myanmar.