UN chief Guterres calls for urgent global support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged the international community to extend financial and political support to Rohingya refugees and their host communities in Bangladesh to prevent a humanitarian crisis, state-run BSS news agency reported.

During his four-day visit to Bangladesh starting March 13, Guterres held a joint press briefing in Dhaka, a day after visiting Cox’s Bazar in solidarity with the Rohingya refugees.

The future of over 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar remains uncertain amid the looming threat of aid cuts.

Following his visit to the overcrowded camps in southeastern Bangladesh, where Rohingya refugees have taken shelter after being forced from Myanmar’s Rakhine state, Guterres condemned the humanitarian aid reductions by the United States and European nations, calling them a crime.

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On Saturday. He reiterated his call to the international community to provide more support for Rohingyas to avoid humanitarian disasters in refugee camps in Bangladesh, according to the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).

I strongly appeal to the international community to allow us to avoid any tragedy, he said and called upon the international community to take greater responsibility and provide necessary financial and political support for both the refugees and their host communities.

Guterres also highlighted Bangladesh’s extraordinary generosity in responding to the Rohingya crisis, the BSS said and quoted the UN chief as saying: It is a testament to your enduring humanitarian spirit.

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By offering Rohingya refugees sanctuary, Bangladesh has demonstrated solidarity and human dignity, often at significant social, environmental and economic cost, Guterres said.

The UN is fully committed to working with Bangladesh and others in finding a lasting solution to the Rohingya crisis that enables their safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return to Myanmar, the BSS quoted Guterres as saying.

He said planning is also well underway by UN Member States for a High-Level Conference on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar.

This year, I decided to come to Bangladesh to express my solidarity with Rohingya refugees and the Bangladeshi people that host them, the UN chief said.

With inputs from agencies