UN calls conference to aid Bangladesh in Rohingya crisis

The United Nations has lauded Bangladesh for sheltering the Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar and has called a conference to collect funds for the refugees. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have also urged the international community to stand by Bangladesh. In a joint statement, the three organisations urged nations to join the pledging conference, scheduled for October 23, to send a “strong message” to the Rohingya refugees and Bangladesh that the world is there for them. More than half a million mainly-Muslim Rohingya have escaped to Bangladesh since late August to evade persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. The UN has described the exodus as the world's fastest-growing humanitarian emergency. “We call on the international community to intensify efforts to bring a peaceful solution to the plight of the Rohingya, to end the desperate exodus, to support host communities and ensure the conditions that will allow for refugees’ eventual voluntary return in safety and dignity,” the OCHA, the IOM and the UNHCR said in a joint statement on Monday. “The origins and, thus, the solutions to this crisis lie in Myanmar,” it added the UN High Commission for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, the UN aid chief, Mark Lowcock, the Director General, of IOM, William Lacy Swing. The statement praised Bangladesh for keeping its border open and offering shelter and safety to the fleeing Rohingya. The refugees are staying in cramped camps or other sites and are totally dependent on aid for all basic needs. Little or no access to water and sanitation are also raising health risks for them as well as the locals. The statement called for ratcheting up efforts to provide the refugees with basic needs and acceptable living conditions. The OCHA, IOM and UNHCR are organising the ministerial-level pledging conference in Geneva. It will be co-hosted by the European Union and Kuwait. They have requested $434 million aid to help 1.2 million Rohingya and their host communities.