Commissioner Lenarčič in Bangladesh: EU provides €12 million for displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh and Myanmar

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Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič is concluding today a three-day visit to Bangladesh to see the situation on the ground in the context of the worsening humanitarian crisis affecting Rohingya people. In the margins of his visit, he announced an additional €12 million in humanitarian aid funding for the Rohingya in Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Commissioner for Crisis Management Lenarčič said: “The EU is providing an additional humanitarian aid for the affected Rohingya in Bangladesh as well as in Myanmar, where the root causes of this crisis lie. This new funding reaffirms the European Union stands by Bangladesh and its people which hosts nearly a million Rohingya, who had to flee their homes to save their lives. At the same time I wish to commend our partners, who are supporting the refugees on a daily basis. We closely monitor the humanitarian situation in the region and remain committed to provide life-saving assistance, including through innovative ways to elevate displaced Rogingya’s standard of living, as well as long-term support to Rohingya and host communities in Bangladesh and Myanmar”.

While in Cox’s Bazar, Commissioner Lenarčič visited the world’s largest refugee settlement, the Kutupalong camp, meeting with the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner and representatives of the United Nations, humanitarian and civil society organisations. Upon arrival to Dhaka, the Commissioner met with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, Bangladeshi Minister of Disaster Management and Relief, Dr Md. Enamur Rahman, and the Bangladeshi Minister of Water Resources, Mr Zahid Faruk. The massive influx of Rohingya populations into Bangladesh is the largest refugee movement in the region in decades, and the fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world since the Syrian emergency.

Background

Bangladesh continues to be a safe haven for over 884,000 Rohingya refugees. They fled brutal repression and wide-ranging discrimination in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and currently live in refugee camps in the Cox’s Bazar district. Being the world’s largest stateless population, most of them without formal refugee status, the Rohingya cannot pursue education or formal employment. They remain vulnerable to exploitation and serious protection risks. Living in refugee camps, they depend entirely on humanitarian aid.

In 2021, the European Union has contributed €28.15 million* in humanitarian aid and disaster preparedness funding to Bangladesh. Since 2017, the EU has allocated over €283 million for the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh, Myanmar and the region.