A camp of Rohingya refugees near the border with Bangladesh (Photo: AFP/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The United Nations (UN) and Myanmar on June 6signed an agreement enabling the UN to approach and join hands in dealing withthe crisis in Rakhine state and returning Rohingya refugees.
The UN Secretary-General’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said a Memorandumof Understanding (MoU) was signed between Myanmar and the UN Refugee Agency(UNHCR) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to create conditions conduciveto voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable Rohingya refugee returns fromBangladesh.
Most of the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority in overwhelminglyBuddhist Myanmar, lack citizenship or even proof of residence after fleeingburning villages.
Under the MoU, the UNHCR will join hands with the Myanmar government inimplementing voluntary repatriation and conducting assessments at theirpotential pilot project sites, and will work with the UNDP in preparation forrecovery and resilience-based development in potential area.
The UNDP will also cooperate with the Myanmar government in undertakingthe planning process for resilience-based recovery and development that willbenefit all communities and promote social cohesion among the communities aswell as support access to livelihoods.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement, sayingthis is the first step to address the root causes of the conflict in Rakhine.
He also called for an end to violence, accountability for perpetrators,redress for victims, humanitarian access to all areas in Rakhine State, and theimplementation of the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on RakhineState headed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Around 700,000 Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh after the government’stroops launched crackdowns against rebels in August 2017. They have been inmake-shift refugee camps in hilly southernmost Bangladesh and now endureflooding from monsoon rains.
Myanmar and Bangladesh signed in November 2017 an agreement on thereturn of Rohingya refugees but only a small group had come back home due tosecurity concerns.-VNA
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