National
3 years ago

UN failed to push Myanmar to resolve Rohingya crisis, Bangladesh tells int’l community

Published :

Updated :

Bangladesh on Thursday told the international community that the United Nations has failed to put pressure on Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya issue.

The observation was made at the international donor conference for Rohingyas, hosted by the USA, the UK, the European Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam told the press.

He led the Bangladesh delegation in the conference held on a virtual platform.

Bangladesh also made it clear that it is going to put up a fence around the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar and relocate over one million refugees to Bhasan Char island.

Donors have been opposing these moves since the beginning.

Earlier on Thursday, UK pledged £47.5 million for providing life-saving support to Rohingya refugees and help Bangladesh handle the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters.

UK made the move to bring together the international community to raise much-needed funds for the humanitarian response to the Rohingya people, said the UK Foreign Office in a statement.

Some 860,000 Rohingyas live in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar district, without formal education or work opportunities. The advent of the coronavirus pandemic worsened the situation further.

UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab announced the support fund to provide food, water, healthcare, sanitation, as well as care and counseling, for the Rohingya people traumatised by the violence they have experienced in Myanmar.

The funding will also facilitate access to education for 50,000 youth and create isolation and treatment centres for the people infected with COVID-19.

The aid will also support communities in Bangladeshi as the country is hosting the highest number of Rohingya refugees.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, “The people living in Cox’s Bazar face unimaginable hardship and many have been victims of violence. We have imposed sanctions on the perpetrators of this brutality, and this new funding will save lives in the camp and help Bangladesh become more resilient to disasters such as coronavirus.

“Today I urge the world not to turn away from the Rohingya’s suffering and to take the action necessary to allow them to safely return to the homes they fled in terror”, he said.

Today’s summit will bring countries together to express solidarity to the Rohingya people and show support for the nations hosting them.

The conference will also facilitate countries to pledge funds for the Rohingya crisis.

The UN has estimated that it needs $1.0 billion this year to help the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, but so far less than half of that amount has been raised. 

In August 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas left Myanmar to escape brutal and systematic violence. The UK has sanctioned two generals in the Myanmar military since, after a recommendation by a UN independent investigation, which found them responsible for the atrocities.

 

[email protected]

Share this news