UN Secretary General urges Myanmar to be more proactive in solving the Rohingya crisis, asks ASEAN countries to cooperate with Myanmar

Guterres is in Thailand for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit. Myanmar is a member of the group.

The Rohingyas, who lived in the northern Rakhine province of Myanmar, are mostly Muslims by faith.

According to a BBC report, an ethnic minority, the Rohingyas claim they are descendants of Arab traders and other groups who have been in the region for generations but Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhish country, claim Rohingyas are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Over 7,00,000 Rohingya refugees have fled their homeland in Myanmar since the campaign against them which began in 2017., according to media reports.

"The message is very clear. It is absolutely essential for the government of Myanmar to assume as a clear priority, the reconciliation, the internal reconciliation, leading the way to address the root causes the displacement and allowing for the return, voluntary and in safety and dignity, of the refugees to Myanmar. Some steps have been done, but they are too small. We need to do much more," said the UN Secretary General.

He emphasised that UN encourages ASEAN countries to also be involved in cooperating with the government of Myanmar to seriously address the root causes of this conflict and seriously create the conditions that make return possible.

"Overcoming the obstacles that we all know are still there. We need to be more determined, and we need to move much more quickly than in the recent past." said Guterres.

According to media reports, member countries comprising ASEAN have shown varied interests in resolving the Rohingya crisis.