UN cannot avoid responsibility of Rohingya genocide: Momen

The UN cannot avoid the responsibility of the genocide against the Rohingya in Rakhine state of Myanmar, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said today.

"UN believes in the principles of humanitarian laws of promoting respect for all, but has not acted accordingly. They suppressed a lot of things. They are surely responsible for it," he told reporters after a seminar at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies in Dhaka.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Diplomatic Correspondent Association of Bangladesh (DCAB) jointly organised it marking the 70th anniversary of Geneva Convention.

Hatred was created against the Rohingya for many years but the UN was not aware of it, he alleged. "They [UN] are surely responsible for it," he said adding, "After the violence in Rakhine, UN is making a lot of statements, but more on centering Bangladesh, but not Myanmar where it is more important. UN's situation in Rakhine is very weak."

He said all should create a mindset of removing conflicts and hatred and promote respect for others irrespective of caste, religions, ethnicity and color.

Geneva Convention was formulated after the Second World War for the sake of humanity. However, it is regretful that these conventions are being applied in very discriminatory ways, Momen said.