The head of the UNHCR calls for a new approach to the Rohingya crisis
NEW YORK: United Nations (UN) refugee agency High Commissioner Filippo Grandi is calling for a new approach to the Rohingya crisis, saying the international community must do more to end the misery of more than one million Rohingya in camps in Bangladesh.
United News of Bangladesh (UNB) reported that he discussed the Rohingya crisis with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at a hotel in New York on Thursday.
Grandi said they discussed the unresolved Rohingya refugee issue amid the many challenges posed by the complex transition in Bangladesh.
“I assured Dr Muhammad Yunus of UNHCR’s full commitment, also to mobilize international support,” he said.
Grandi said the appointment of Professor Yunus as Bangladesh’s new leader had increased global interest in the Rohingya crisis, and he hoped there would be more funding for the humanitarian response.
“US$700 million from the World Bank is a good start,” he said, adding that the UN is ready to support more for the education of Rohingya children.
Professor Yunus stressed the need to find a quick solution to the crisis and do more for the future of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya children growing up in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
“We need to resolve this matter before it’s too late. We need to find a solution,” said the Chief Advisor.
Gilbert Houngbo, Director General of the International Labor Organization, also held a meeting with the chief adviser at a hotel on Thursday.
Houngbo offered the UN labor agency’s support for the Provisional Government’s move to implement the ILO convention in Bangladesh.
“We are ready to help you,” he said, adding that the ILO would answer his call “if and when” he needed it.
The Chief Adviser said labor reform was a priority for his government, as it saw the issue as key to making Bangladesh a world-class manufacturing hub.
“We are very serious about this,” Professor Yunus said, adding that addressing the labor issue would attract more foreign direct investment in Bangladesh.
— BERNAMA