Britain ready for robust global response to Bangladesh tackling Rohingya crisis

The UK stands ready to support a “robust international humanitarian response” to the enormous crisis created by the influx of Rohingyas into Bangladesh, the British government has told the House of Commons International Development Committee.

The UK Department for International Development (DfID) said on May 14: “We continue to work with the government of Bangladesh to ensure that refugees receive the humanitarian assistant they require.”

Listing the urgent requirements, the DfID said a “comprehensive preparedness” for the monsoon and cyclone season in the Rohingya refugee camps is an “important” part.

“We are in close contact with the government of Bangladesh, other donors and humanitarian agencies, to ensure a concerted approach.”

“The UK government has carried out its own comprehensive cross-departmental planning to ensure its readiness to respond. We stand ready to support, if required, a robust international humanitarian response,” it added.

The DfID reiterated its commitment to the five-point plan for addressing the current crisis.

The House Committee had described the Rohingya crisis as a “huge human tragedy and humanitarian crisis staggering in scale and complexity.”

The DfID pointed out that more than 687,000 Rohingya had fled to Bangladesh from Rakhine State in Myanmar since April 2017. And these joined around 300,000 who had fled during previous waves of violence there. 

About 270,000 Rohingya live in areas in Bangladesh at risk of flooding in the monsoon. Of these 24,000 are extremely vulnerable and need relocation.

On March 20, the DfID wrote to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urging her to “fully harness” her country’s expertise in disaster management and reaffirmed  the DfID’s support.

UK biggest donor

The government said the UK remains one of the “biggest” donors to Bangladesh to help it face the Rohingya influx, having given £129 million since August 2017.

This includes £70 million announced on May 7  for the international humanitarian Joint Response Plan (JRP) which targets 1.3 million people including 336,000 host community members.

“UK aid is making a big difference on the ground providing emergency food for up to 367,000 people, and safe water and hygiene for up to 250,000 people,” the DfID said.

UK Aid has built 7000 latrines and helped mitigate cholera, measles and diphtheria through a vaccination campaign covering 391,000 children under seven. The DfID is supporting building of rain proof shelters for 450,000 people.

International campaign

On the international campaign front, the UK had initiated a UN Security Council Presidential statement on Nov 6, 2017 and encouraged and co-led a UN Security Council visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh in April.

The UK co-sponsored a UN Human Rights Council resolution in March as a well as a Human Rights Council and General Assembly resolution in Dec 2017.

Refer Myanmar to ICC

The House of Commons committee on International Development had said in its report the re-settlement process initiated by the Myanmar government “is just window dressing for the Burmese (Myanmarese) army” and called for an “independent review” of the peace process.

It said the Myanmar Army and the government have “created huge human, moral and financial debts “and recommended that the UK and its allies “gather support for the UN Security Council to refer Burma (Myanmar) to the International Criminal Court and to apply targeted financial sanctions to all identifiable key figures.

The UK government, it added, needs to recognise that “State Counsellor Aug San Suu Kyi is now becoming part of the problem”.

The House Committee regretted that the only punitive step taken by the UK is the stoppage of training provided to the Myanmarese Security Forces called Tatmadaw.

“British tax payers must be assured that none of their money is being used to prop up a government accused of crimes against humanity.”

“The DFID must clearly outline all of the UK’s on-going financial commitments in Burma, including those through multinational organizations, identifying in each case, the justification for continued engagement and the due diligence undertaken to reach that position – including results that have been achieved. This is particularly important and urgent in relation to UK aid funded support for the peace process and parliamentary strengthening.”

“If little or no tangible result has been achieved (in human rights), we recommend suspending these (aid) programs,” the committee said.

But it agreed with the government that to disengage would mean loss of influence

The committee also emphasised the need to fund ethnic communities caught up in the conflict like the Kachins and Shans which are trapped in refugee camps on the Thai border.   

Bangladesh Praised

The House Committee praised Bangladesh for unflinchingly accommodating and providing for the Rohingya refugees and lauded the DfID’s work in Bangladesh, a country it described as a “longstanding ally, critical friend and partner.”