Arakan News Agency
William Lacy Swing, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), visited the temporary gatherings of Rohingya refugees in the areas of Bangladesh to assess the magnitude of the crisis and the enormous needs of the estimated 800,000 refugees there.
Mr. Swing pointed to the rapid escalation of the crisis. More than half a million refugees have arrived in Bangladesh for almost a month, and the plight of refugees between Arakan and Cox-Bazar states is very disturbing as many are desperate because of lack of support.
Mr Swing also spoke of the humanitarian situation of women and children. He saw mothers carrying babies – just a few days old – fleeing violence and fighting in a stormy atmosphere, and saw orphans after losing their parents. He stressed that the Organization would do all in its power to ensure that such suffering would stop, and that the international community should mobilize adequate resources so that the Organization of Migration could fulfill its obligations.
During his visit, the Director-General met with Bangladeshi officials to discuss further support for Bangladesh as well as Bangladesh’s life-saving assistance to refugees.
The Bangladeshi Government has committed itself to continuing to allow Rohingya refugees to enter the country to escape the violence and has confirmed its willingness to consider additional refugee containment options such as setting up smaller, manageable camps to alleviate public health and security concerns.
Mr.Swing referred to the importance of a peaceful solution to the crisis based on the recommendations of the Arakan Advisory Committee and welcomed the commitment of the Government of Myanmar to implement the Committee’s findings. The first step in the implementation process was to allow UN agencies to resume their work in Arakan.
The United Nations has launched a $ 434 million joint response plan to meet life-saving needs in order to sustain and strengthen ongoing humanitarian efforts.
