A UN special rapporteur’s recent statement about how the Rohingya refugee crisis will continue to worsen without addressing its root cause coincides with what Bangladesh has been saying for the past couple of years.

The statement was made in response to the growing number of Rohingya refugees who are continuing to arrive in Indonesia in overcrowded vessels away from Bangladeshi refugee camps. While the Bangladeshi government has been doing everything it can to ensure acceptable living conditions for the Rohingya, it goes without saying that we have been stretched to the absolute limit, and not only due to the rapidly dwindling aid from our international partners.

Bangladesh has housed over a million Rohingya refugees within its borders ever since their 2017 exodus from Myanmar. Since then, the number has kept on growing, putting unimaginable strain on Bangladesh and on our socio-economic resources. While the authorities have taken a number of measures to ease the Rohyingya’s stay here, this was never a long-term solution.

Repatriation has always been the only way out for the Rohingya.

While Bangladesh has repeatedly emphasized on the need for repatriation, too many within the international community have chosen to simply pay lip service to it with little to no actions. Repatriation has to occur voluntarily, and the only sticking point now appears to be Myanmar itself.

While it is good that UN spokespeople are calling a spade a spade, the UN as an organization needs to enforce the clauses of mutual cooperation that they claim to stand for. Our neighbouring countries, who have formal trade relations with Myanmar, can also play a large role in facilitating repatriation of the Rohingya.