Dhaka – A team of European Parliament is expected to visit Bangladesh next week to discuss issues related to human rights and review the situation of Rohingya Muslims living in squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar after they fled persecution in Myanmar.
The five-member delegation, to be headed by Mounir Satouri of France, is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on September 16, accorsing to a statement by the European parliament.
During the three-day visit the delegation is expected to have discussion with officials, civil society actors, labour groups and multilateral organisations operating in Bangladesh.
The visit ahead of Bangladesh’s next parliamentary election in February 2026 under the interim administration of Muhammad Yunus is seen important as the European Union and Bangladesh have resumed negotiations on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA).
Bangladesh is currently under the European Union’s “Everything But Arms” (EBA) scheme, which involves enhanced engagement to systematically monitor compliance with human rights and labour rights commitments.
“The European Parliament delegation is visiting the country to learn more about the work of the interim government in promoting good governance and advancing human rights,” the statement said.
The delegation will see international labour standards, and will also discuss the EU-Bangladesh partnership in specified areas.
The MEPs are scheduled to travel to the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar to assess the humanitarian situation of more than one million Rohingya who fled persecution in Myanmar. Of them, over 750,000 Rohingya crossed the border in 2017 when Myanmar military launched a military offensive against the ethnic group in northern Rakhine state.
The delegation includes Isabel Wiseler-Lima (EPP, Luxembourg), Arkadiusz Mularczyk (ECR, Poland), Urmas Paet (Renew Europe, Estonia), and Catarina Vieira (Greens/EFA, Netherlands).
