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Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh Will Soon Exceed 1 Million, U.N. Says U.S. Threatens to Punish Myanmar Over Treatment of Rohingya
(about 9 hours later)
GENEVA — The Bangladesh population of Rohingya Muslims who have fled deadly persecution in neighboring Myanmar will soon exceed one million and the crisis shows no sign of easing, the United Nations said on Monday. WASHINGTON — The Trump administration threatened on Monday to take punitive actions against Myanmar unless it pulls back from its violent military campaign against Rohingya Muslims, expressing what it called “our gravest concern” over a crisis that has killed or displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
The assessments came during an emergency donors conference in Geneva to raise money for aid groups struggling to help Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest countries, deal with the Rohingya crisis. The State Department said it has already cut off travel waivers allowing current and former senior military leaders into the country and was considering further actions to impose economic measures against those responsible for atrocities against Myanmar’s ethnic minority. The department said that all military units involved in operations against the Rohingya were ineligible for American aid.
“The government of Burma, including its armed forces, must take immediate action to ensure peace and security; implement commitments to ensure humanitarian access to communities in desperate need; facilitate the safe and voluntary return of those who have fled or been displaced in Rakhine State; and address the root causes of systematic discrimination against the Rohingya,” the department said in a statement issued Monday night, using the former name for Myanmar.
The American warning came as the United Nations said the Rohingya Muslims who have fled deadly persecution in Myanmar to Bangladesh would soon exceed one million.
That prediction loomed over an emergency donors conference in Geneva to raise money for aid groups struggling to help Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest countries, deal with the crisis.
Doctors Without Borders, the medical charity, called the health conditions of the refugee encampments a “time bomb.”Doctors Without Borders, the medical charity, called the health conditions of the refugee encampments a “time bomb.”
More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have battled terror, exhaustion and hunger to reach safety in Bangladesh since Myanmar’s army began a campaign of what the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing in late August. The new arrivals joined more than 300,000 Rohingya who had escaped in recent years.More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have battled terror, exhaustion and hunger to reach safety in Bangladesh since Myanmar’s army began a campaign of what the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing in late August. The new arrivals joined more than 300,000 Rohingya who had escaped in recent years.
The number of people crossing the Naf River that divides the two countries has slowed to around 1,000 to 3,000 a day, down from a peak of 12,000 to 18,000 a day earlier in the crisis, said William Lacy Swing, the director of the International Organization for Migration, a part of the United Nations. The number of people crossing the Naf River that divides the two countries has slowed to about 1,000 to 3,000 a day, down from a peak of 12,000 to 18,000 a day earlier in the crisis, said William Lacy Swing, the director of the International Organization for Migration, a part of the United Nations.
Still, he said, “even at that rate the numbers are expected to exceed a million shortly.”Still, he said, “even at that rate the numbers are expected to exceed a million shortly.”
Edouard Beigbeder, the Unicef representative to Bangladesh, said that the crisis had shown “no sign of abating” and that the refugees’ needs were “increasing at a much faster pace than our capacity to respond.”
More than 300,000 children are among the Rohingya refugees. Mark Lowcock, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, told reporters that many were acutely malnourished.More than 300,000 children are among the Rohingya refugees. Mark Lowcock, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, told reporters that many were acutely malnourished.
States had previously committed around $116 million toward the $430 million sought by the United Nations for humanitarian aid over the next six months. Pledges received from governments on Monday raised the total to about $340 million, Mr. Lowcock said, expressing confidence that additional contributions would flow in coming days.States had previously committed around $116 million toward the $430 million sought by the United Nations for humanitarian aid over the next six months. Pledges received from governments on Monday raised the total to about $340 million, Mr. Lowcock said, expressing confidence that additional contributions would flow in coming days.
Even so, humanitarian agencies face enormous challenges delivering relief. Hundreds of thousands of refugees were crammed on a strip of land that lacked roads or infrastructure to support the delivery of aid.Even so, humanitarian agencies face enormous challenges delivering relief. Hundreds of thousands of refugees were crammed on a strip of land that lacked roads or infrastructure to support the delivery of aid.
“It’s basic mud land,” said Joanne Liu, the international president of Doctors Without Borders. “Right now everything is difficult.” With 210 hospital beds available to support more than 900,000 people living with little access to clean water, sanitation or medical care, the refugees’ situation is a “time bomb ticking toward a full-blown health crisis,” Joanne Liu, the international president of Doctors Without Borders told the meeting.
With 210 hospital beds available to support more than 900,000 people living with little access to clean water, sanitation or medical care, the refugees’ situation is a “time bomb ticking toward a full-blown health crisis,” Ms. Liu told the meeting.
The United Nations food aid agency said that it had distributed food to 580,000 people since the crisis erupted, but that it had so far received less than one-third of the $77 million it needs to aid a million people over six months.The United Nations food aid agency said that it had distributed food to 580,000 people since the crisis erupted, but that it had so far received less than one-third of the $77 million it needs to aid a million people over six months.
Alongside the appeal for aid, relief agency officials expressed concern that the humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh should not eclipse the need for diplomatic and political steps to end the violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State and to create conditions that would enable the refugees to return. Queen Rania of Jordan, who visited some of the camps on Monday, expressed shock at the conditions. “It is unforgivable that this crisis is unfolding, largely ignored by the international community,” she said in a statement.
“This is not an isolated crisis,” Mr. Lowcock told the meeting. “It is the latest round in a decades-long cycle of persecution, violence and displacement.”
Queen Rania of Jordan, who visited some of the makeshift camps on Monday, expressed shock at the conditions. “It is unforgivable that this crisis is unfolding, largely ignored by the international community,” she said in a statement. “The world response has been muted.”
The Geneva meeting coincided with a visit by Bangladesh’s home affairs minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, to Myanmar for talks on the Rohingya crisis, refugee repatriation and border security.
Myanmar’s de facto head of state, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, announced plans in early October for establishing a civilian agency to help resettle and provide assistance to Rohingya Muslims. Humanitarian groups fear that the plan remains a distant prospect.
The persecution tactics adopted by the Myanmar security forces — burning entire villages and destroying fields, crops, livestock and even trees — “render the possibility of the Rohingya returning to normal lives and livelihoods in the future in northern Rakhine almost impossible,” United Nations investigators reported this month.