Madam Vice President,

We thank the High Commissioner for Human Rights her oral update. As a close partner and the only land neighbour of both Bangladesh and Myanmar, India has a direct national interest in supporting all constructive efforts to ensure an end to the long-running ethnic conflicts in Myanmar. Therefore, let me reaffirm India’s undiluted commitment to offer Myanmar any assistance it needs to strengthen its democratic institutions, build capacity and infrastructure, and to emerge as a fully democratic stable and peaceful federal union.

Madam Vice President,

2. At the heart of Myanmar’s many social challenges lies the issue of significant underdevelopment. This is why we have repeatedly emphasized that the only sustainable solution to the problems Myanmar is facing in Rakhine State in particular lie in efforts to promote socio-economic development. This is why India, and other partners are working to create the basis of socio-economic development among all communities in the region.

3. Let me also turn to the imperative that we all face with regard to helping ameliorate the burden being shouldered by Bangladesh. We need to ensure that financial assistance and help in kind continues to be provided to Bangladesh, as we have been doing ever since the first waves of displaced persons reached Bangladesh’s borders. But the key issue is to recognize that we cannot expect Bangladesh to host around one million people indefinitely. Proceeding from this premise, it is clear that the way forward must be to encourage the implementation of the agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh for the repatriation of persons verified to have been displaced from Rakhine State. We welcome the extension for another year of the tripartite agreement between Myanmar, UNDP and UNHCR to assist the repatriation process, and we urge a greater effort to help emphasize the importance of starting the process of repatriation at the earliest.

Thank you, Madam Vice President.