Indonesia has called on member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to support ASEAN’s efforts in ensuring the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya Muslim refugees currently settled in Bangladesh, its top diplomat said during a stopover in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.

The Southeast Asian bloc was currently facing challenges on the issue of the Rakhine refugee crisis, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said at the 46th session of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers in Abu Dhabi.

“From early on, Indonesia has been contributing [in] placing priority on human welfare,” she said, according to a prepared speech seen by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

“Working to bring the refugees back from Bangladesh to [Myanmar’s] Rakhine state in a [voluntary], safe and dignified manner is [a] priority,” she told other members of the OIC.

In 2017, an extensive military crackdown, following attacks by insurgents, prompted about 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee into neighboring Bangladesh.

Efforts to repatriate them have stalled over humanitarian concerns, with the United Nations saying that conditions were not conducive for the minority to return to Myanmar.

ASEAN has stepped in to offer a possible solution to the repatriation effort, by bridging the gap of what Retno calls a “trust deficit” within the communities in Rakhine and between Myanmar and other states.

Under a recent mandate given by the region’s leaders, the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Center) — originally set up for engaging with natural disasters — is being prepared for deployment to assist in preparations for the repatriation process.

The agency is expected to work on a preliminary needs assessment on March 4, followed by the deployment of a “comprehensive team”, Retno explained.

Last month, an ASEAN official said Indonesia had managed to convince other members of the bloc to expand the AHA Center’s mandate beyond its preliminary assessment duties, giving it the authority to provide a comprehensive assessment of the situation and allowing it to oversee the process over an extended period of time.

“Progress has to be made in Rakhine state. Myanmar has to work very hard to show that progress can take place soon,” she said on Friday. “I hope OIC members can give ASEAN full support.”

In addition to the Rohingya crisis, the minister also highlighted the Middle East crisis between Palestine and Israel.

Retno said she would head to the Jordanian capital Amman after the OIC event to officially handover Indonesian assistance for the Palestinian people and funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, among other things.

“The OIC only has one option: Present a bold and solid position to support Palestine; render the OIC real and concrete support to Palestine,” she told other OIC members.

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