Dhaka, 12 September 2018: A 19-member delegation of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC) completed a three-day visit to Bangladesh today to observe first-hand the situation of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar sheltered in Cox’s Bazar.

Learning about the dire circumstances which forced the Rohingyas to flee their homeland, the delegation condemned the systematic brutal acts committed by the Myanmar forces against this community. They assured to take up the issue with their respective parliaments. They also called upon all PUIC Member Parliaments to continue their efforts together with those of the international community and the UN in order to ensure sustainable return of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas to their ancestral homeland in Rakhine State in safety, security, dignity, and with full right of citizenship.

Earlier during their visit, the delegation called on Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and was given a tour of the Bangladesh Parliament. They also called on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam M.P. at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The delegation included the Secretary General of PUIC and the Members of Parliament from 6 member states of PUIC, namely Algeria, Iran, Malaysia, Morocco, Sudan and Turkey.

The PUIC delegation visited Bangladesh following a decision of the 13^th PUIC Conference in Tehran in January 2018, which mandated the member states to visit Rohingya camps in Bangladesh to take stock of their condition and consider the possibility of extending humanitarian aid to the displaced. The 45^th OIC CFM held in Dhaka earlier in May this year garnered special attention and solidarity of the largest association of Muslim countries on the Rohingya issue.