UNHCR to help BD find lasting solution to Rohingya crisis

Newly-appointed UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh Steven Corliss on Monday said he would devote his full efforts to support Bangladesh in protecting and finding a lasting solution to the Rohingya crisis and addressing the important impacts on the host communities in Cox's Bazar.

"I look forward to building upon UNHCR's historical relations with Bangladesh and becoming a trusted partner in the challenging humanitarian response for nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar," he said.

Corliss assumed the function of Representative in Bangladesh after presenting his credentials to Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, said the UN refugee agency.

He becomes UNHCR's 10th Representative in a partnership with the government of Bangladesh that dates back to 1971, reports UNB.

Corliss will be the highest official of the High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in the country and a key partner for refugees, the government, humanitarian community, and civil society.

After taking up his new role, Corliss said, "I'm very grateful to the government of Bangladesh for this opportunity to work in a country that has long offered safety and care to refugees."

The UNHCR chief in Bangladesh said the government and the people of Bangladesh have shown remarkable solidarity and generosity to the Rohingyas.

Following the events of 2017, some of UNHCR's early actions included airlifting more than 1,500 metric tonnes of emergency life-saving aid to Bangladesh to meet the needs of new arrivals, supporting the building roads to facilitate access to the refugees, supporting site planning, building latrines and wells, improving the water and sanitation facilities and distributing shelter materials.

UNHCR also rapidly increased its presence in Cox's Bazar through the deployment of emergency teams and relief specialists.

Today, UNHCR has more than 300 staff working in Bangladesh, over two-thirds of whom are Bangladeshi nationals.

Nearly 18 months on, and under the leadership of the government of Bangladesh, UNHCR and partners have collectively scaled up their response to meet the critical needs of nearly one million refugees, ensuring that their protection, food, health, shelter, water and sanitation needs are met, said the UN refugee agency.

From the outset, UNHCR and the government of Bangladesh have committed to working toward solutions for Rohingya refugees, including their voluntary repatriation in a safe, dignified and sustainable manner.

In this connection, both sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding relating to voluntary returns of Rohingya refugees in April 2018.

Corliss, a national of the United States of America, brings more than 30 years of experience with UNHCR in diverse assignments around the world.

Most recently, as Special Adviser to the High Commissioner on Internal Displacement, Corliss led efforts to strengthen UNHCR's global engagement with internally displaced people.

He first worked in Pakistan in the late 1980s and later served with UNHCR in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, as well as in senior assignments in Turkey, Yemen and Tanzania.

UNHCR first began its operations in Bangladesh in 1971 to support and enable the return of some ten million refugees displaced during the Liberation War.

Since then, UNHCR has supported the government of Bangladesh to protect Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, particularly following large-scale influxes in both the early 1970s and 1990s.

Today, UNHCR works in support of the Government, together with many humanitarian partners, to meet the massive needs of nearly one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled to Bangladesh since August 2017 due to violence in Myanmar.