Diplomats vow to continue support to resolve Rohingya crisis

Foreign diplomats have committed to continuing their support towards achieving a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis.

Ambassadors and High Commissioners of 14 countries expressed their promise in a joint statement marking the fifth anniversary of the Rohingya influx in Bangladesh on Thursday.

The countries include Australia, UK, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

The statement said they will continue their engagement for effective implementation of the return arrangements.

August 25 marks five years since the beginning of the massive refugee influx of Rohingya people and other communities from Myanmar’s Rakhine State into Bangladesh.

The last exodus began on 25 August in 2017, when violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, forcing thousands of Rohingyas to seek shelter in Bangladesh.
Most arrived in the first three months of the crisis and the vast majority reaching Bangladesh are women and children, and more than 40 per cent are under age 12, according to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.

Today, over 1.1 million Rohingyas continue to live in dire conditions. Nearly 90 per cent of them are living in a network of 30-plus camps in Cox’s Bazar district, where crowding and sanitation conditions leave them vulnerable to the COVID-9 pandemic.

Bangladesh continues to bear the burden of Rohingyas as no repatriation took place over the last five years amid ‘lack of initiative’ from the Myanmar side and ‘inadequate steps’ by the international community.