14, Feb 2018 | CJP Team

Filippo Grand, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, addressed the Security Council on February 13, 2018 regarding the Rohingya crisis. He said that although the numbers are significantly reduced, Rohingya continue to flee Myanmar for Bangladesh; around 1,500 have already reached in Bangladesh this month. He said that despite a large-scale humanitarian response, conditions in Bangladesh’s refugee camps “remain overcrowded and precarious for many,” with outbreaks of diseases like diphtheria posing a significant threat. He noted that the monsoon season is imminent, and that more than 100,000 refugees reside in “areas prone to flooding or landslides,” with several thousand requiring relocation. Grandi stressed that “conditions are not yet conducive to the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees” to Myanmar, because the “causes of their flight have not been addressed”. He recommended that eventually there should be a “tripartite agreement” between the UN refugee agency and the governments of Bangaldesh and Myanmar. Grandi emphasised that the “restoration of rights” is vital for the refugees’ repatriation. He noted that there are around 120,000 internally displaced people in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, most of them Rohingya who were forced from their homes due to “inter-communal violence,” and confined to camps for years. Granting these people “freedom of movement, allowing them to return home, and fast-tracking confirmation of their citizenship” would build confidence in Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, Grandi said. His complete address may be read here.