UN refugee chief urges intensifying support for minorities in Myanmar

(MENAFN) The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, called on the international community on Tuesday to increase assistance for Rohingya Muslims and other minority groups from Myanmar, warning that gaps in funding are placing lives at serious risk.

"As in other crises and given the way conflicts are conducted by parties across the country, too often disregarding the rules of war, civilians are killed, wounded, deprived of the basics; 5.1 million are displaced, of whom 1.6 million have taken refuge in neighboring countries," Grandi said during a high-level UN conference addressing the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities.

Highlighting the particularly challenging circumstances of the Rohingya, he added:
"Their plight is somehow unique, not only do they continue to be discriminated, deprived of rights and abused -- a situation they have endured for decades -- but they are also caught in one of several ethnic conflicts affecting the country, except it is not their own: the one pitching the Arakan Army in Rakhine State against the de facto authorities."

Grandi described how Rohingya communities "live with the threat of arbitrary arrest and detention, with restricted access to health care and education. They cannot move freely. They are subjected to forced labor. Forced recruitment. Their lives are defined by fear."

He praised host nations, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, while singling out Bangladesh for sheltering nearly 1.2 million refugees. Yet he cautioned that "the humanitarian response in Bangladesh remains chronically underfunded, including in key areas like food and cooking fuel. The prospects for funding next year are grim."

Grandi urged the international community to act, saying: "We must do more, please. I call on all of you. Funding will save lives, there is no question about that," and stressed that "the most important, however, is not to forget that this crisis originates in Myanmar. And that is where the solution lies."

Since 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar following military crackdowns and armed violence, with most seeking refuge in Bangladesh and some traveling to Indonesia after perilous sea journeys.

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