UNHCR special envoy and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie on Monday urged the Myanmar authorities to show a genuine commitment to end the cycle of violence, displacement and improve the conditions for all communities in Rakhine State, including Rohingyas. She made the call after visiting the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar – the world’s largest refugee settlement where nearly one million Rohingya Muslims are now staying — in a bid to drag international attention ahead of a United Nations $920 million funding appeal. Over 730,000 Rohingyas fled Myanmar in August 2017 in the wake of a military crackdown. In total, the number of Rohingyas, new and old, is about 1.3 million.
A UNHCR spokesman said Jolie would spend three days visiting the camps to assess the needs of the Rohingyas and the challenges that Bangladesh faced as a host country. She is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen where she would focus on “the need for safe and sustainable solutions to the plight of the Rohingyas.” Meanwhile, Jolie also said the people responsible for human rights violations must be held accountable for their actions and laid emphasis on implementation of the recommendation of Rakhine Advisory Commission. She, however, said Rohingyas cannot return to Myanmar at this stage.
Jolie’s visit could be termed as well-timed as the refugee situation has now taken a critical turn while the supply for them is running short day by day. Though heads of state and government of different countries have already visited Rohingya camps to see their plights, the amount of relief or donation for them is too little. It becomes really difficult for Bangladesh to bear the expenses of the huge number of refuges for a long time. The UN agencies had launched a $950.8 million appeal last year but it didn’t get the expected response from global community. At this time, the UN fund arrangement is very important for survival of the refugees.
Jolie’s visit would hopefully help the Myanmar authorities to take the miseries of their own nationals under consideration. We strongly believe, taking back the Rohingyas to their home country is the only and permanent solution to the crisis.
