Will hold talks with other countries to resolve Rohingya crisis, says EU representative 

Dhaka [Bangladesh], July 31 (ANI): The European Union assured that they will hold conversations with other countries about what needs to be done to resolve the Rohingya crisis, reported Dhaka Tribune.

Eamon Gilmore, European Union’s Special Representative for Human Rights spent a full day in Cox’s Bazar and met the Rohingyas who fled from Myanmar over the past six years.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and Bhasan Char.

He said they are talking to other governments about what needs to be done. “Because we recognize that there is a need for support. And we will continue to work on that. We will continue to keep it on the international agenda,” he said.

Gilmore added that they are particularly conscious about the reductions in food rations that are being made this year, Dhaka Tribune reported.

“It has to be resolved and it has to be resolved in Myanmar. The resolution of that crisis has to happen. And the circumstances need to be created whereby the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh can voluntarily go home safely, with their rights respected and in full dignity,” he said.

Gilmore also said that the food rations for the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar have been cut from USD 12 to USD 10 (per person per month) and then USD 8 due to funding reductions by international donors.

Gilmore heard their problems and assured them that the European Union has not forgotten them despite the current crises going around the world, reported Dhaka Tribune.

While appreciating the Bangladesh government and the office of the Refugee, Relief and Repatriation (RRR) Commissioner, he added, “We are working with countries in the neighbourhood and with the ASEAN countries.”

During his meeting with RRR Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Gilmore appreciated the government’s and Rahman’s “valiant” work. “I credit what the Bangladesh government and the RRR have been doing,” he said, reported Dhaka Tribune.

While talking about the security aspect in the Rohingya camp, The EU special representative said, “They want to see more to be done to see more security, to see a greater degree of safety and they are very willing to work with the authorities to achieve that.”

Gilmore had discussed the issue in the past with the then government in Myanmar about what was needed to ensure a “safe, dignified and voluntary” return to Myanmar.

“They were engaging in that. But of course, what has happened since is that the military has taken over. Now, we have a new situation with the internal situation that has gotten much worse,” he said.

Gilmore said, “You have conflict situations in many parts of the country and some of the conditions in the country are much worse now than they were at that time. We have imposed seven rounds of sanctions on the Myanmar regime.”

However, earlier this year, the EU released over 43 million euro to address the humanitarian needs of people in Myanmar, as well as of Rohingya refugees and their host communities in Bangladesh.

Moreover, the EU said that it will continue supporting Bangladesh in responding to the Rohingya refugee crisis and will provide 23 million euro for that cause. A part of the amount will also contribute to implementing disaster preparedness programmes in the country.

Earlier this month, the EU released an additional 12.5 million euro for the cause of humanitarian needs of people in Myanmar, and for those of Rohingya refugees and their host communities in Bangladesh and the broader region.

Furthermore, the EU has been contributing by providing humanitarian aid to people in Myanmar since 1994 and in Bangladesh since 2022.

Last year, UN rights human chief Michelle Bachelet met with a host of officials, civil society representatives and Rohingya refugees.

During the visit, they talked about the shelter provided to them in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar camp as well as how the UN with partners and NGOs have been supporting them with services.

The High Commissioner reiterated the importance of continuing to ensure that safe and sustainable conditions exist for any returns and that they are conducted in a voluntary and dignified way.