Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to arrive in Manila for an ASEAN leaders’ summit amid an escalating Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to a summit of southeast Asian leaders as the Rohingya refugee crisis shows no sign of easing.
A Canadian government spokesperson said Ottawa is not abandoning nearly one million Rohingya expelled from Myanmar into Bangladesh.
Secretary of state for international development Randeep Sarai said he visited the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh last month and met Rohingya children who were born in the camp nearly a decade ago.
Sarai said the federal government is continuing efforts to help Rohingya refugees gain skills to support themselves within the camp and, ideally, after they return to Myanmar.
The crisis began after Myanmar launched a military campaign about a decade ago that forced roughly 700,000 Rohingya to flee.
Rights groups suspect Myanmar officials have committed genocide, a charge Myanmar denies; Amnesty International reported in October that 150 to 700 new Rohingya refugees were arriving weekly in Bangladesh.
The International Court of Justice is set to rule later this month on whether Myanmar committed an act of genocide.
The instability intensified after a military junta overthrew Myanmar’s civilian government in 2021, and the violence has driven families into neighbouring Bangladesh, where many remain in an overcrowded camp in Cox’s Bazar.
Carney is expected to arrive Saturday in Manila for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders’ summit, where he is expected to pursue new trade arrangements with the region.
The federal government’s role is also framed by a broader regional challenge, with Canada described as having limited leverage in the ASEAN format built around non-interference in domestic affairs.
Sarai said ASEAN countries have a duty to apply pressure on Myanmar to return Rohingya refugees to a safe place, and he added that Canada is committed to supporting programming inside the camp, including solar-powered self-sufficiency initiatives and training for women and youth.
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