The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the international community should not forget the plight of the Rohingya people as humanitarian assistance has become more difficult for them amid other crises in other regions of the world.
During the sidelines of a regional meeting on Rohingya refugee assistance in Bangkok on 17 October, High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said that more support is needed for ethnic Rohingya refugees who fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh.
“Voluntary, dignified return to Myanmar by the Rohingya refugees is the most desirable solution, but it is acknowledged there are many challenges that need to be overcome,” Grandi said.
“What I have asked the participants in this meeting is to make big pledges in support of the Rohingya refugees: open policies for the host countries, contributions for the donor countries and for everybody else across the world, and attention by the international community,” he added.
The meeting in Bangkok was attended by delegates from Bangladesh, Britain, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the United States, as well as representatives of Rohingya-led organizations.
Security for Rohingya people has worsened after Myanmar’s military took over power in February 2021.
UNHCR has recorded more than 1 million Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar in successive waves of displacement since the 1990s.
Armed conflicts across Myanmar after the military coup have triggered displacement of civilians, and the total number of displaced persons within the country reached more than 1.8 million.
According to UNHCR report, the number of Rohingya people who are taking refuge in Thailand is 92,000 and in India 21,000, with smaller numbers settling in Indonesia, Nepal and other countries across the region.
Bangladesh and Myanmar recently initiated a two-year repatriation programme to return Rohingya refugees to their homeland. However, the efforts are unlikely to be successful due to ongoing conditions
in Myanmar, such as armed conflicts, the discriminatory citizenship law and restricted mobility for Rohingya refugees.
