There is no real hope of Rohingyas’ repatriation in the near future due to the inaction of the UN Security Council and other global powers on the crisis, says USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman.
She was speaking at a media call at the American Center in Dhaka on Wednesday at the end of her five-day visit to Bangladesh from May 7 to May 11.
Coleman said USAID is working with Asean member states to push for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
"But do I see any prospect of Rohingya repatriation… We must be hopeful that there will be a day when they can return home but it is not on the horizon," she said.
The United States, one of the largest donors to the Rohingya response initiative, has cut down its funding gradually in recent years.
Responding to queries on the matter, the official said: “The United States is committed to continuing its support for the Rohingya response in Bangladesh.”
“I understand that the UN and their Joint Response Plan do not meet all the government's (Bangladesh) funding that they want for this crisis. But we have to understand that there are a lot of humanitarian crises occurring around the world and the US takes a leading position in helping all of them,” she added.
Coleman said that the ongoing Ukraine crisis is affecting humanitarian efforts in an unprecedented way.
After her visit to observe US humanitarian assistance programming in response to the Rohingya refugee crisis at Cox’s Bazar and Bhashan Char, Coleman on Wednesday praised the government’s initiatives at Bhashan Char.
She, however, said that there is still scope for improvement.
Voicing US reservations about Bhashan Char, she said: “It is very remote. It is hard to reach and we heard some concern about the voluntariness of people going there and about the lack of some basic services there."
“Bhashan Char is a low-lying land and a cyclone-prone area. It is a very fragile and in a vulnerable condition environmentally,” she added.
Responding to queries on whether the US has concerns about the environmental impact on Cox’s Bazar due to the housing of the Rohingyas, the US official said that she is well aware of it.
“USAID along with some other organizations has been trying to restore the deforestation that took place and in recent times the situation has improved exponentially,” Coleman told the media.
She also expressed her concern to her Bangladeshi counterpart regarding the livelihood situation of the Rohingya people.
“There are nearly 400,000 Rohingya children stranded in Bangladesh right now for an indefinite period and USAID expects each of them to receive proper education,” she said.
The visiting US official also emphasized the mobility of the Rohingya people, who are now restricted within the island of Bhashan Char and at the camps of Cox’s Bazar only.
During the media call, she also highlighted key successes from USAID's 50 years of partnership with Bangladesh in improving health, education, agriculture and food security.