UNHCR admires EU’s continuous support of Rohingya refugees

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, has admired the European Union for multi-year contribution, worth €14 million (almost Tk 139 crore), to protect and assist Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi host communities in Cox’s Bazar.

Steve Corliss, UNHCR representative in Bangladesh,  said: "In these unprecedented and immensely challenging times, our life-saving and essential work, and the overall humanitarian response in support to the government of Bangladesh, would not be possible without the EU’s sustained support and commitment to Rohingya refugees and local communities in Bangladesh."

UNHCR and other humanitarian actors have been supporting the  Bangladesh government in delivering a wide range of assistances to the refugees and surrounding host communities since 2017.

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 The EU has been one of the most active supporters of the response for Rohingya refugees and one of the long-standing donors for UNHCR Bangladesh since 2005. 

“This funding provided to UNHCR is an important contribution to Bangladesh’s continuous generosity and humanity in hosting the Rohingyas who fled neighboring Myanmar”, said Ambassador Rensje Teerink, head of the delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh.

The new contribution from the EU will support the registration exercise, jointly organized by the Bangladesh government and UNHCR, to enhance assistance and protection of the refugees in Bangladesh, ensuring efficient access to aid and targeted protection for those with specific needs.

The contribution will also support camp management, promote the empowerment of refugees and host communities, enhance peaceful co-existence between the communities, as well as support the Covid-19 response, including mitigating the socio-economic impact of the virus in Cox’s Bazar.