UK for ‘peace and stability’ across Indo-Pacific, announces more funding for Rohingyas
UNB, Dhaka:
The UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, today announced further UK funding of £4.5 million to provide vital humanitarian services to Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh.
She made the announcement at a UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) regional conference in Bangkok on the Rohingya crisis.
The UK minister is attending the conference alongside Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.
Trevelyan said that the UK is committed to finding a long-term solution to the Rohingya crisis. This includes their safe, voluntary and dignified return to Myanmar, when the conditions there allow it, she said.
“Until the Rohingyas can safely return to their homeland, we are committed to providing ongoing humanitarian support. That is why we are announcing £4.5 million of further UK support for protection services, healthcare and clean energy to the refugees in Bangladesh,” she said.
“Today’s conference is an important opportunity to discuss sustainable solutions in Myanmar, and support for the Rohingya and their host countries,” the UK minister added.
The £4.5 million funding includes:
• £2.1 million through the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for healthcare and clean energy for the Rohingya refugees and host communities.
• £2 million through NGOs for the protection of refugees and host communities. The NGOs include the Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee, and Humanity and Inclusion.
• £450,000 through the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and provide sexual and reproductive health services.
Minister Trevelyan will meet Foreign Minister Momen and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi during the conference.
Since 2017, the UK has provided £370 million to support Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, and nearly £30 million to support Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
This has included food, water and sanitation, healthcare and protection services that are vital for women and girls in the camps.
The UK has also said it supports “peace and stability” across the Indo-Pacific and continues to stand with the people of Myanmar, according to a statement from the British High Commission in Dhaka.
“We reiterate our call for an end to all violence and for the protection of civilians and safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all those in need,” the UK minister was quoted as saying.
The UK’s sustained support for the Rohingyas demonstrates its long-term commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, critical to the prime minister’s priority of growing the economy, in line with the Integrated Review Refresh published in March 2023, said the British government.