The United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, is all set to begin her four-day visit to Bangladesh on Sunday, with main focus on the Rohingya issue.
The visit comes ahead of the fifth anniversary this month of the Rohingya exodus into the southeastern tip of Bangladesh.
The camps house nearly one million Rohingya refugees that fled a military offensive in Myanmar.
Dhaka on Saturday confirmed the first-ever official visit by a UN human rights chief to the country.
“Apart from meeting with the members of the Cabinet Division, she will interact with the National Human Rights Commission, youth representatives, leaders of civil society organisations and academicians during her trip,” the ministry said.
Apart from her meetings with ministers, she will interact with the National Human Rights Commission, youth representatives, civil society leaders and academics during her Dhaka tour.
She is expected to pay homage to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on Aug 15.
She will also visit Cox’s Bazar to interact with the Rohingya refugees to receive “concrete information to press hard” the agenda of their repatriation to their homeland Myanmar.
Foreign ministry officials said Bachelet is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, aside from meetings with several ministers.
Bachelet, who served as the president of Chile for two terms, took office at the United Nations Human Rights Council in August 2018.
Earlier on Friday, Bachelet's office announced that the trip from Sunday to Wednesday was at the Dhaka government's invitation.
During her visit to the capital Dhaka, the UN rights chief is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other ministers.
-20241117133242.jpg)
-20241118072524.jpg)