Bangladesh on Friday urged nations to take a stand against racial discrimination and called for “concrete action” to repatriate Rohingya refugees.

“The global community must engage actively to ensure the early repatriation of the Rohingya to their homeland in Myanmar. We cannot allow racial discrimination to perpetuate cycles of displacement and statelessness,” said a statement from Muhammad Yunus, de facto PM of Bangladesh's transitional government.

On the high-level conference on Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar to be held later this year, Yunus expressed hope that it would serve as an opportunity to mobilise "concrete actions”.

In his message on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Yunus said that the plight of Rohingya "remains a glaring example of how racial discrimination fuels prolonged humanitarian crisis”.

He emphasised that the situation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh “cannot be sustained indefinitely,” adding that the refugees themselves “want to return to their homeland in Rakhine as soon as possible”.

Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.2 million Muslim Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar, most of whom fled Myanmar in August 2017 during a military crackdown that human rights groups have described as genocide. The UN has earlier stated that the Rohingya remain entirely dependent on foreign humanitarian aid.

Yunus urged the international community to “step up” its efforts to find a “sustainable solution” to the prolonged crisis.

Separately, Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, and some others were arrested near the capital Dhaka on charges of murder, illegal entry, sabotage, and militant activities.