The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will co-host a donor videoconference 22 October to increase support for Rohingya refugees in their host communities and for those displaced in Myanmar, their homeland.
The United Nations has appealed for more than $1 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh this year, but to date less than half of this amount has been disbursed. There is therefore still a major funding gap, aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the co-organisers said in a statement.
The aim of the conference is to raise urgently needed funds to assist vulnerable displaced Rohingya and to fund essential services in host communities throughout South and South-East Asia.
The conference will be an opportunity for the co-organisers to reaffirm that any lasting solution to this crisis must include the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and other displaced persons to their homes or to a place of their choice.
In this regard, the co-organisers will reiterate the UN Secretary General’s call for a global ceasefire and an end to the fighting to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all communities in need of assistance. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)