UN Special Envoy Urges States To Re-Double Support For Rohingya Refugee Humanitarian Aid

The international community needs to re-double efforts to support the humanitarian aid program for Rohingya refugees, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer said on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2023) The international community needs to re-double efforts to support the humanitarian aid program for Rohingya refugees, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer said on Thursday.

"For the 2023 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, the United Nations and partners have appealed for $876 million. I urge member states to re-double support to meet this extreme need. Now it is not the time for donor fatigue," Heyzer said at a UN General Assembly meeting.

The World food Program (WFP) has had to reduce its supplies for Rohingya refugees due to funding shortfalls and issued an urgent call for $125 million, she said.

Heyzer noted that some 17 million people in Myanmar live in need of humanitarian assistance.

The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic group that mainly resides in Myanmar's Rakhine state, do not have Myanmar citizenship and are considered to be illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

The mass Rohingya migration to Myanmar's neighboring countries began in 2017 after the operation by the country's military in Rakhine state against Rohingya rebels who attacked several police posts and army bases. More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar since to neighboring Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia.