Shawdesh Desk:

A high-level delegation from the OIC and humanitarian partners have called for sustained support for the forcible displaced Myanmar’s rohingya populations temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh amid brutal military crackdown in Rakhine state in 2017.

They also stressed the need for similar support for the host communities in Bangladesh.

The delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), joined by representatives from the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF), the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) and Kuwait’s Zakat House concluded their visit to Bangladesh August 10, said a press release of the UNHCR.

During the visit, they also witnessed how opportunities can be created for both communities to reduce reliance on aid and advance livelihoods through skills development and capacity-building programmes in community centers. The mission was organised and co-led by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, within the framework of the OIC-UNHCR partnership Plan of Action concluded in 2022.

The visit shed light on the worsening humanitarian situation and compounded needs of Rohingya refugees and their hosts in the district of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh as the situation approaches the six -year mark of the unprecedented 2017 influx of Rohingya from Rakhine State in Myanmar.

The delegation visited several programmes supported by UNHCR and partners and observed the acute needs of the refugees and their hosts. They also witnessed how opportunities can be created for both communities to reduce reliance on aid and advance livelihoods through skills development and capacity-building programmes in community centers.

The visit came during a period of heavy monsoon rains that had caused severe damage to shelters, facilities and infrastructure adding to the predicament of the already fragile displaced communities.

The delegation witnessed firsthand UNHCR’s disaster risk management and preparedness activities aimed at mitigating climate-related risks and averting a further deterioration of living conditions caused by adverse weather. Assistant Secretary General of the OIC, Ambassador Tariq Ali Bakheet, commended the Government and people of Bangladesh for their generosity in hosting one of the most vulnerable refugee populations in the world.

He lauded the initiatives undertaken to facilitate access by Rohingya children to the Myanmar curriculum in the Myanmar language in the learning centers in the camps in preparation of voluntarily return and reintegration in their ancestral society in Myanmar.

“I call on all countries, especially the Member States of the OIC, to continue showing solidarity by generously supporting the Government of Bangladesh and humanitarian partners in responding to the pressing needs of the Rohingya population and their hosts,” he said.

“The diplomatic track must advance hand in hand with humanitarian efforts to deal with the root causes of the problem and reach a permanent solution to the Rohingya crisis in accordance with the OIC’s relevant resolutions” he added.