International conference to be held for urgent Rohingya support
“The conference aims to raise urgently needed funds to help vulnerable displaced Rohingya living in and outside of their native Myanmar"
International powers including the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union along with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have called for a conference to address the Rohingya crisis and urgent humanitarian support for the refugees and the host communities.
The virtual conference, to be held on 22 October, will urge the international community to increase assistance for Rohingya refugees, host communities, and internally displaced people in Myanmar.
According to a UNHCR press release, "The UN has appealed for more than $1 billion in aid to meet the humanitarian needs of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh this year, but so far less than half has been contributed. This leaves a significant funding gap, made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic."
"The conference aims to raise urgently needed funds to help vulnerable displaced Rohingya living in and outside of their native Myanmar. The funds raised are also expected to support critical services in host communities throughout South and Southeast Asia," it reads.
The international community is also expected to emphasise at the conference on the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and other displaced people to their homes or to the place of their choosing.
Currently, 860,000 Rohingya refugees is living in Cox's Bazar in camps, while other countries in the region host up to an additional 150,000 Rohingya refugees. An estimated 600,000 live in Myanmar's Rakhine State.
