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UNHCR urges intensified support for Rohingyas, host communities in Bangladesh

News Desk | banglanews24.com
Update: 2022-05-25 19:20:05
UNHCR urges intensified support for Rohingyas, host communities in Bangladesh

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Wednesday appealed for sustained and predictable support for Rohingya refugees and their local host communities in Bangladesh.

He made the plea while emphasising the need to maintain refugees’ hopes for voluntary return to Myanmar once the situation allows.

Grandi wrapped up a five-day trip to Bangladesh where he met Rohingya refugees, the country’s top leadership, UNHCR donors and humanitarian actors.

 “The world must remember the crisis that Rohingya refugees and their hosts have been facing for the last five years. The refugees’ lives depend on how the international community responds in caring for them,” Grandi said while addressing a press conference at Hotel Le Meridien, after visiting the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char island.    

Filippo Grandi appealed to the regional countries including neighbouring country India to take care of the refugees already being hosted by those countries and relieve Bangladesh from any additional burden.

 “They should try to take care if these people like Bangladesh dies…,” he told reporters at the press conference.

Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and India hosts the Rohingyas but nothing compares to the number here in Bangladesh which hosts the highest number of Rohingyas.

He also urged the ASEAN countries to help find resolve the Rohingya crisis using their leverage.

He said it would be more difficult than before in terms of fund flow due to crises in other parts of the world including the crisis in Ukraine.

Bangladesh hosts some one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled for their lives from Myanmar in 2017 while others arrived many years earlier.

Grandi expressed gratitude to Bangladesh and underlined the important strides in the refugee response under the leadership of the government, including COVID-19 vaccinations for more than 88 per cent of the refugee population over 18 years of age.

 “Bangladesh, which has led in assisting nearly a million refugees, remains a priority partner for UNHCR, but continued international support is crucial to provide life-saving assistance and build hope,” Grandi stressed.

 “This is why I am here, to try to shine a spotlight on Bangladesh, its people, and the Rohingya refugees it has been hosting for decades, and to remind the international community of the importance of their support, including flexible funding to protect Rohingya refugees until they can safely return home.”

The High Commissioner said the solutions lie within Myanmar. While UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and UNDP continue to work on community projects in Rakhine state under a tripartite agreement with Myanmar, initiatives must be scaled up and more support is needed to create conditions for voluntary returns in a just, safe, and sustainable manner.

“The Rohingya refugees I met reiterated their desire to return home when conditions allow," Grandi said, adding that the world must work to address the root causes of their flight and to translate those dreams into reality.

BDST: 1920 HRS, May 2022
MSK

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