The interim government's chief advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus has said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in a student uprising, will be charged in the International Court of Justice (ICC). The chief advisor made this statement when International Crimes Tribunal (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim A Khan paid a courtesy call on the chief advisor at the Jamuna State Guest House in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Dr. Yunus said that the interim government will charge Sheikh Hasina's government with crimes against humanity at the ICC, which includes killings during the July-August mass movement and thousands of disappearances during her nearly 16-year-long rule.

In this regard, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim A Khan said that they want to cooperate with the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh. This court has issued arrest warrants against Sheikh Hasina and members of her political party. During the meeting, they discussed the Rohingya crisis, the situation in Myanmar, humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya, and the prosecution and accountability of atrocities during the July-August popular uprising.

Karim A. Khan informed the Principal Advisor that the ICC Office has formally requested an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military government head Min Aung Hlaing for crimes against humanity against the Rohingya minority.

Karim Khan supported the Principal Advisor’s call for a special international conference on the Rohingya crisis. The UN General Assembly has approved the conference in 2025. He expressed hope that the conference would provide a new sustainable direction for resolving the crisis. The overall agenda, including the venue and date, would be decided in the first quarter of 2025.

The Principal Advisor said that the conference would bring together all international stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the crisis, especially the plight of the Rohingya and their children in camps in Bangladesh. “We need to ensure that it does not explode,” said Professor Yunus, referring to the youth who grew up in the despair of the Rohingya camps.

The influx of several thousand Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh in recent months and the latest situation in Myanmar have raised concerns in Bangladesh. The Principal Advisor reiterated his recent call for the establishment of a safe zone in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, saying that this safe zone would be effective in assisting displaced people and addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The security of this zone should be ensured by the United Nations. When the fighting stops, people in this safe zone will be able to easily return to their respective places.

The meeting was attended by the Principal Advisor’s High Representative on Rohingya Affairs, Khalilur Rahman, the Principal Coordinator for SDGs in the Principal Advisor’s Office, Lamia Morshed, and Riaz Hamidullah, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.