UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and humanitarian partners are mobilizing to respond to the needs of up to 150,000 Rohingya refugees who have arrived in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh over the last 18 months.
Targeted violence and persecution in Rakhine State and the ongoing conflict in Myanmar have continued to force thousands of Rohingya to seek protection in Bangladesh. This movement of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh, spread over months, is the largest from Myanmar since 2017, when some 750,000 fled the deadly violence in their native Rakhine State.
Bangladesh has generously hosted Rohingya refugees for generations. In Cox’s Bazar, these new arrivals join another nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees crammed into just 24 square kilometres – making the camps one of the world’s most densely populated places.
Among the new arrivals, nearly 121,000 had been biometrically identified by the end of June, with more believed to be residing informally in the already overcrowded refugee camps. The overwhelming majority are women and children.
More humanitarian support is urgently required as the new arrivals are largely dependent on the solidarity of those living in the camps, overstretching severely diminished resources. Biometric identification has allowed humanitarian partners in Bangladesh to provide the new arrivals with basic services, including food, medical care, education and essential relief items. However, this will soon dry up without an immediate injection of funds. Access to shelter and other key necessities is also insufficient in the face of limited resources.
With the acute global funding crisis, the critical needs of both newly-arrived refugees and those already present will be unmet, and essential services for the whole Rohingya refugee population are at risk of collapsing.
Unless additional funds are secured, health services will be severely disrupted by September and essential cooking fuel (LPG) will run out. By December, food assistance will stop. Education for some 230,000 children – including 63,000 new arrivals – is at risk of being discontinued.
Refugees in the camps have already felt the impact of these reductions. They fear more cuts are looming. This is fuelling a sense of desperation and anxiety, and driving some to embark on dangerous sea journeys to other countries in search of safety and a more dignified life for their families.
The border between Bangladesh and Myanmar remains officially closed and under surveillance by Border Guard Bangladesh. UNHCR and humanitarian partners are grateful that the Government of Bangladesh has authorized newly-arrived Rohingya refugees to access emergency assistance and key services in the camps in Cox’s Bazar. As the conflict in Myanmar continues unabated, however, we are advocating with the Bangladeshi authorities to provide managed access to safety and asylum for civilians fleeing the conflict.
Over the years, the generous support from Bangladesh and the international community has been critical in meeting Rohingya refugees’ most basic needs and providing protection. Every aspect of the refugee response is affected by the funding scarcity.
UNHCR and humanitarian partners also call on the international community to stand in solidarity with Bangladesh and other countries in the region hosting Rohingya refugees. Until there is peace and stability in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, conducive to safe and voluntary return, the international community must continue to support efforts to provide life-saving assistance to Rohingya forced to flee.
