UNHCR
Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital to be turned into 500-bed one: Health Minister
Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital will be turned to a 500-bed one from 250 beds to provide better health care to the Rohingya population and rising tourists, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Thursday.
Besides, arrangements will be made to provide dialysis service at the hospital, said the minister.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the newly built "Dr. Abdur Nur Bulbul Bhaban" at Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, a joint initiative of Bangladesh Government and UNHCR.
Read more: Govt to issue health cards for all: Health Minister
Although Cox's Bazar currently has a 250-bed Sadar hospital, 600-700 patients receive health care there every day, he said.
“Patients are receiving treatment staying on the hospital floor as well. That’s why it is important to increase the number of beds in this hospital.”
He said if this three-storied hospital can be turned into a 10-storied one , it will be possible better health services to 28 lakh local people and tourists.
Read more: No unauthorised clinics in Dhaka city, health minister tells JS
26 Rohingya refugees died at sea making perilous journey: UN
At least 26 Rohingya Muslims had died in dire conditions during a month at open sea while making a dangerous voyage that brought scores of others to safety in Indonesia, a U.N. agency said Tuesday, adding there will likely be more.
Exhausted women and children were among 185 people who disembarked from a rickety wooden boat on Monday in a coastal village in Aceh’s Pidie district, authorities said. A distressing video circulated widely on social media showed the Rohingya worn out and emaciated, with many crying for help.
Read more: More Rohingya refugees reach Indonesia after weeks at sea
“They are very weak because of dehydration and exhaustion after weeks at sea,” said local police chief Fauzi, who goes by a single name.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said that survivors told the agency that 26 people died during the long journey.
One of the refugees, who identified himself as Rosyid, told The Associated Press that they left the refugee camp in Bangladesh at the end of November and drifted on the open sea. He said at least “20 of us died aboard due to high waves and sick, and their bodies were thrown into the sea.”
According to UNHCR, more than 2,000 people are reported to have taken risky sea journeys in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal this year, and nearly 200 have reportedly died.
UNHCR has also received unconfirmed reports of one additional boat with some 180 people still missing, with all passengers presumed dead.
“In the absence of an immediate, resourceful, and coordinated response by regional governments to help Rohingya refugees still aboard imperiled vessels, lives may be lost,” Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid said in an statement. “This is unacceptable.”
Read more: Urgently rescue boat carrying upto 200 Rohingyas: ASEAN parliamentarians urge member states, others
Chris Lewa, the director of the Arakan Project, which works in support of Myanmar’s Rohingya, said the latest arrivals were among five groups of Rohingya who had left refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh by smaller boats to avoid detection by local coast guards before they were transferred onto five larger boats for their respective journeys.
More than 1 million Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar over several decades, including about 740,000 who crossed the border starting in August 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal crackdown.
Myanmar’s security forces were accused of mass rapes, killings and torching thousands of homes, and international courts are reviewing charges of genocide against them.
“This year could be one of the deadliest in recent memory for Rohingya people making the dangerous journey by sea. They continue to risk it all because of harsh conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh, where security and other living conditions have deteriorated, and the ever-worsening situation at home in Myanmar, which has been under military rule since a coup almost two years ago,” Amnesty International’s Usman said.
Malaysia has been a common destination for many of the refugees arriving by boat, but they also have been detained in the country. Engine troubles make others seek safety in Aceh province in Indonesia, on the way to Malaysia.
UNHCR praised authorities and Indonesia’s local community who brought ashore more than 200 desperate Rohingya, many of whom were in need of urgent medical attention.
Indonesian fishermen and local authorities rescued and disembarked two groups, 58 on Sunday and 174 on Monday, said Ann Maymann, the UNHCR representative in Indonesia, “We welcome this act of humanity by local communities and authorities in Indonesia.”
'This shocking ordeal and tragedy must not continue'
The UN refugee agency, has said some 190 desperate people are on the verge of perishing at sea, adrift somewhere between the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal as pleas to rescue and disembark them are continuously ignored.
Reports indicate those onboard have now remained at sea for a month in dire conditions with insufficient food or water, without any efforts by States in the region to help save human lives.
Many are women and children, with reports of up to 20 people dying on the unseaworthy vessel during the journey.
Read more: Trawler capsize: 29 Rohingya refugees among 33 detained en route to Malaysia
All states have a responsibility to rescue those on the boat and allow them to safely disembark in line with legal obligations and in the name of humanity, according to a media release received from Bangkok on Friday.
"This shocking ordeal and tragedy must not continue. These are human beings – men, women and children. We need to see the states in the region help save lives and not let people die," said Indrika Ratwatte, UNHCR director for Asia and the Pacific.
Since the first reports of the boat being sighted in Thai waters, the UNHCR has received unverified information of the vessel being spotted near Indonesia and then subsequently off the coast of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. The boat's current location is reportedly once more back eastwards, in the Andaman sea north of Aceh.
The UNHCR repeatedly asked all countries in the region to make saving lives a priority. The agency had alerted the Indian marine rescue centre earlier this week, requesting immediate action to save lives and allow for disembarkation.
"It is devastating to learn that many people have already lost their lives, including children," said Ratwatte. "Sadly, this makes it one of the deadliest years in the seas in the region."
Read more: UNHCR raises concerns over Afghan refugees forced returns from Tajikistan
It is very hard for the UNHCR to verify this information, but if true this will take the number of dead and missing in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea to nearly 200 this year, the UN agency said.
This is a shocking number that represents around 10 percent of the estimated 2,000 people who have taken risky sea journeys in the region in 2022.
Urgently rescue boat carrying upto 200 Rohingyas: ASEAN parliamentarians urge member states, others
Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia have urged ASEAN member states and other countries in the region to urgently rescue a boat carrying up to 200 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, which has reportedly been adrift off the coasts of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and India for weeks.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the boat has been adrift in high seas since late November, and dozens on board have already died during the journey, while survivors have no access to food, drinking water or medication.
“We urgently call on ASEAN member states and other countries in the region to fulfill their humanitarian obligations and launch search and rescue operations for the boat if it enters their waters, and to allow for the proper disembarkation of the refugees. It is disgraceful that a boat filled with men, women, and children in grave danger has been allowed to remain adrift. Neglecting the people on the boat is nothing short of an affront to humanity,” said Eva Sundari, Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), and former member of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
According to media reports and information from human rights organizations, two other boats carrying Rohingya refugees have been adrift in the past weeks.
One, carrying 154 refugees, was rescued by a Vietnamese oil service vessel on December 8. They were handed over to the Myanmar navy.
Read More: https://unb.com.bd/category/Bangladesh/very-limited-spaces-offered-for-rohingya-resettlement-unhcr/106307
Another, carrying 104 refugees, was rescued by the Sri Lanka navy on December 18 and disembarked at Kankesanturai Harbor.
The Rohingyas have been suffering persecution in their country of origin, Myanmar, for decades.
The overwhelming majority of them were rendered stateless in the early 1990s by the authorities, and have suffered the most serious human rights violations since at least the late seventies.
In 2016 and 2017 they were the target of brutal military operations, displacing over 730,000 to neighbouring Bangladesh and for which the Myanmar army has been accused of genocide.
In these desperate conditions, many of them put themselves at the hands of unscrupulous human smugglers to seek a better life in countries like Malaysia, in extremely dangerous journeys through the Andaman Sea.
“In all likelihood, the delay in rescuing these boats has already caused untold suffering and loss of life. Any further delay is unconscionable. This neglect of Rohingya refugees stranded in the sea is nothing new, as it has been going on for years, and has resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths that could have been easily been prevented if the countries in the region fulfilled the most elementary humanitarian principles,” said Charles Santiago, Chairperson of APHR, and former member of Parliament from Malaysia.
Read More: 16 Rohingya including children and women detained in Sreemangal
APHR urged ASEAN to devise a comprehensive and coordinated regional response to the issue of refugees stranded at sea, in order to act effectively, and according to humanitarian principles, in such situations, as saving lives at sea must be a collective effort.
But ASEAN should also address the root causes of the tragedy that befell the Rohingya for so many years, including putting pressure on the Myanmar authorities to restore their citizenship, and receiving the refugees currently living in camps in Bangladesh, APHR said on Tuesday.
ASEAN should also help to hold the perpetrators of atrocities against the Rohingya people accountable, especially now that the army that launched the genocidal military operations against them in 2016 and 2017 has thrown Myanmar into chaos since staging an illegal coup d’état on February 1, 2021.
“ASEAN and the international community at large have stood idly for too long as the Rohingya tragedy unfolded over the years. Those countries who claim to defend human rights have a moral obligation to address the root causes of the human rights crisis afflicting the Rohingya, or these humanitarian tragedies will only repeat again and again. ASEAN member states, as well as their partners in the region and beyond, must ensure that Myanmar restore the rights of the Rohingya people, end all discriminatory practices and holds those responsible for crimes against humanity to account,” said Kasit Piromya, APHR Board Member and former Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Vulnerable Rohingyas: US to consider resettlement recommendations from UNHCR
The United States has said it will consider recommendations, to resettle vulnerable Rohingyas, submitted by the UNHCR (the UN refugee agency).
The United States announced the establishment of a resettlement program for vulnerable Rohingya refugees in collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Read more: Italy contributes €3mn to UNHCR for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
This program, which will be part of the global US Refugee Admissions Program, is one element of a broader comprehensive response to the Rohingya refugee crisis with the main focus on preparing the Rohingyas for voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return to their homeland in Myanmar, said the US Embassy in Dhaka on Thursday.
“The United States is proud of our long-standing support for displaced Rohingya, who have suffered genocide and crimes against humanity at the hands of Burma’s military, and we have provided more than $1.9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees from Burma in Bangladesh and the region, those affected by ongoing violence in Burma, and communities hosting refugees from Burma,” said the spokesperson of the US Department of State.
The United States is also supporting efforts to hold the perpetrators of the genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingyas accountable and to ensure justice for the victims of these atrocities.
Read more: More Rohingya female teachers need training for increasing literacy among their community
Resettlement of the most vulnerable Rohingyas from Bangladesh reflects the United States’ long-standing leadership on refugee resettlement in the face of an unprecedented displacement crisis as record numbers of people around the world have been forced to flee war, persecution, and instability, it said.
The US thanked the Government of Bangladesh for being a generous host to the Rohingya refugees and for their support of this important resettlement initiative.
Italy contributes €3mn to UNHCR for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has welcomed the generous contribution of Euro 3 million by the government of Italy for the continued protection and humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
The announcement was made today by Enrico Nunziata, Ambassador of Italy in Bangladesh, and Johannes van der Klaauw, UNHCR Representative.
This contribution from the government and the people of Italy will help UNHCR continue providing lifesaving protection and assistance for almost one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who remain reliant on humanitarian assistance for survival. This includes access to health, water and sanitation, as well as crucial protection services, and also support for refugees’ education and skills development, particularly for women and children, said Johannes van der Klaauw.
Read: More Rohingya female teachers need training for increasing literacy among their community
“This generous contribution from Italy, which comes from its foreign policy budget, highlights the longer-term nature of this commitment and is all the more welcome now that we anticipate significant reduction in financial support from the international community,” he added.
The grant of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is a contribution to the activities of the Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh and UNHCR on Rohingya’s protection as set up in the Joint Response Plan, in line with the commitment of the Italian government to maintain access to critical and life-sustaining services for refugees living both in Cox’s Bazar camps and on Bhasan Char.
Italy praises the efforts and generosity of the Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh in hosting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees within its territory. “Since the beginning of the Rohingya refugee crisis in August 2017, Italy has constantly given its contribution through main international organizations and UN agencies," said Enrico Nunziata.
Read: UK continues to push for a long-term solution through safe repatriation of Rohingyas: Dickson
The contribution from Italy will enable UNHCR to provide protection services such as registration, access to justice, support for survivors of gender-based violence, community-based protection and child-friendly spaces, said UNHCR in a media release on Wednesday.
It will also empower the refugee communities, through education, by training teachers to implement the Myanmar curriculum in the camps, and through skills development for women, to improve their resilience until they can return to Myanmar.
The funds will also support the delivering of essential services, such as shelter, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, as well as the provision of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a safe and clean source of cooking energy, a key contributor in the prevention of degradation of the environment in and around the camps.
Five years after being forced to flee violence in Myanmar, some 920,000 Rohingya refugees are currently hosted in densely populated camps in Cox’s Bazar, with an additional 30,000 refugees residing on Bhasan Char.
Very limited spaces offered for Rohingya resettlement: UNHCR
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has welcomed and greatly appreciated the announcement by the United States to increase the number of resettlement places for Rohingya refugees.
However, there are very limited spaces offered for resettlement, and these are dependent on many factors, UNHCR said.
"Any resettlement will have to be part of a comprehensive approach with the main focus to remain on preparing the Rohingya for voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return," said Mostafa Mohammad Sazzad Hossain, spokesperson at UNHCR office in Dhaka on Sunday.
At the same time, he said, they need to work towards improving refugees’ resilience while living in the camps and investing in their self-reliance to make them less dependent of humanitarian assistance.
Read more: UNHCR seeks more support from international community for Rohingyas
Responding to a question, he said resettlement may be considered an option for refugees living in extremely vulnerable conditions and who, for various reasons, are unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin.
The primary solution preferred by a large majority of Rohingya refugees is a dignified, safe, voluntary, and sustainable return, once conditions in Myanmar are conducive for such return, said the UN Refugee Agency.
UNHCR’s ROLE:
Resettlement is conducted according to precise criteria established by resettlement countries.
Once a country establishes the criteria for resettlement, UNHCR can provide support.
Resettlement is mostly reserved for extremely vulnerable cases.
It is not a visa process, meaning refugees cannot apply for resettlement.
Read more: Take care of Rohingyas like Bangladesh: UNHCR to regional countries
Extremely vulnerable cases identified through registration or protection activities, which meet pre-established criteria by the resettlement country, may be considered for resettlement.
The final decision on the resettlement of each refugee is made by the resettlement country.
UNHCR seeks urgent action to save lives on boat adrift in Andaman
The UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has urged countries in the region to immediately rescue and safely disembark a group of Rohingya refugees in distress, reported to be drifting in a non-sea-worthy vessel in the Andaman Sea.
The UNHCR had earlier received reports of some 200 Rohingya refugees being stranded on a boat off the coast of Thailand, needing urgent help. Reports suggested the boat was adrift since December 1, after its engines broke down.
Read: UNHCR seeks more support from international community for Rohingyas
Those on board have been without food and water for days and are suffering extreme dehydration.
Unverified information suggests several Rohingya refugees have already lost their lives, among them, women and children. There is a significant risk of additional fatalities in the coming days if people are not rescued and disembarked to safety.
"In line with international obligations under the law of the sea and longstanding maritime traditions, the duty to rescue persons in distress at sea should be upheld, irrespective of nationality or legal status," the UN agency said.
"We appeal to all authorities in the region to fully deploy their rescue capacities and promptly facilitate disembarkation for this group to a place of safety. The priority must now be to save lives and avoid even greater tragedy."
Read: Japan, UNHCR sign $3.5 million partnership deal for protection of Rohingyas in Bangladesh
This incident echoes UNHCR's recent call for support and solidarity amid the rise in risky Andaman Sea crossings.
The UNHCR and humanitarian partners observed a dramatic su
Merkel chosen for UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award
Dr Angela Merkel, the former Federal Chancellor of Germany, has been named for the 2022 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, made the announcement on Tuesday that she will receive the award.
Read: Japan, UNHCR sign $3.5 million partnership deal for protection of Rohingyas in Bangladesh
The award will be presented to the former German Chancellor in Geneva on October 10 at a ceremony along with the regional winners.
Each year, the award – named after the Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen – is given to an individual, group or organisation who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect refugees, internally displaced or stateless people.
Under then Federal Chancellor Merkel’s leadership, Germany welcomed more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers in 2015 and 2016 – at the height of the conflict in Syria and amid deadly violence in other places.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, praised former Federal Chancellor Merkel’s determination to protect asylum-seekers and to stand up for human rights, humanitarian principles and international law.
“By helping more than a million refugees to survive and rebuild, Angela Merkel displayed great moral and political courage,” Grandi said. “She showed what can be achieved when politicians take the right course of action and work to find solutions.”
The selection committee said it was recognizing former Federal Chancellor Merkel’s “leadership, courage and compassion in ensuring the protection of hundreds of thousands of desperate people” as well as her efforts to find “viable long-term solutions” for those seeking safety.
Read: UNHCR raises concerns over Afghan refugees forced returns from Tajikistan
The UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award selection committee has also honoured four regional winners for 2022.
This year marks a century since Fridtjof Nansen – the first High Commissioner for Refugees – was awarded the 1922 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to repatriate prisoners of war and to protect millions of refugees displaced by conflict, revolution and the collapse of the Romanov, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires.
It is also 100 years since the creation of the Nansen passport, an identity document for refugees, many of them stateless, that also enabled its holders to move across borders in search of work.
Japan, UNHCR sign $3.5 million partnership deal for protection of Rohingyas in Bangladesh
The government of Japan and UNHCR on Wednesday signed a partnership agreement to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas in Bangladesh.
The contribution of US$ 3.5 million [JPY 505 million] will be used to maintain access to critical and life-sustaining services for refugees living in the Cox’s Bazar camps and on Bhasan Char.
“UNHCR is grateful for the support from the Japanese Government and its people towards Rohingya refugees, and their solidarity with the government and people of Bangladesh hosting them,” said Johannes Van Der Klaauw, UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh.
Japan was the first to support the humanitarian response on Bhasan Char, Klaauw said, adding that its contribution has allowed UNHCR to strengthen local NGO work on the island, including providing protection and access to essential services.
As per the agreement, UNHCR will continue its humanitarian response in the camps in Cox’s Bazar and on Bhasan Char, focusing on providing key services, such as legal and community-based protection, access to health, hygiene and sanitation, nutrition support and core relief items.
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki said his country decided to provide assistance to this project, with the strong hope that it will improve the protection, healthcare and livelihood opportunities of the Rohingya population on Bhasan Char, and enhance their security in Cox’s Bazar.
Read: UNHCR seeks more support from international community for Rohingyas
“During my recent visit to Cox’s Bazar, I saw the dedicated and innovative work of UNHCR and its partners. As the Rohingya crisis has turned into the sixth year, it is imperative to continue funding for better and dignified lives of refugees, while making every effort for the early repatriation to Myanmar,” he said.
With the view that durable solutions of this crisis will be conducive to realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific region, the envoy said Japan will stand by the government and the people of Bangladesh in supporting the Rohingya response.
Skills development and livelihoods activities will be strengthened to provide refugees with the capacities to support their communities and to help them prepare for a safe and sustainable return to Myanmar, once conditions are conducive, according to the UN refugee agency.
The crisis is in a protracted situation, and Rohingya refugees’ lives are still dependent on humanitarian assistance.
The support from Japan comes at a crucial moment, as the Rohingya response is one of the underfunded refugee situations in the world, it said.
Since the beginning of the emergency in August 2017, Japan has been a steadfast supporter of the Rohingya response in Bangladesh, contributing over US$ $170 million to UNHCR and other UN agencies and NGOs in Bangladesh, including through this new funding.