Elham Asaad Buaras
A UN special rapporteur has urged countries to reverse “the shameful, catastrophic cuts” to food rations for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
The cuts triggered by a lack of funds for the UN World Food Program (WFP) are, according to Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, a “stain on the conscience of the international community.”
“I have spoken with desperate families in the camps who have already had to cut back on essential food items due to a price spike. Reversing these food aid cuts is a matter of life and death for Rohingya families,” Andrews said on March 2.
The UN warned that food ration cuts would affect nearly a million Rohingya refugees fleeing genocidal attacks by Myanmar’s military in Rakhine State in the Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian nation. The appeal comes as 12 Rohingya community organisations expressed concern the cuts would force Rohingya living in Bangladesh into human trafficking, child marriage, or even prostitution.
The UN expert issued his plea in a letter to UN member states on what could be a series of cuts in food rations for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The reductions in allocations for Rohingya refugees could exceed 30%. “It is past the time for UN Member States to replace empty declarations of support with life-saving action,” Andrews said.
“Unless they are quickly reversed, the impact of these cuts will be catastrophic and long-lasting,” he added. Andrews has warned that malnutrition and adverse health outcomes could spike in the community, severely impeding the development of Rohingya children and that the consequences of these cuts will be felt for generations.
“The WFP has announced that cuts to the already insufficient food rations will be only the first round of ration reductions if additional funding is not forthcoming,” said Andrews. The value of the monthly food ration allocation for each Rohingya refugee in the Bangladesh camps has been reduced by 17%, he explained.
“Without additional support, these cuts will be even deeper over the next two months, with food rations reduced by a third,” the Special Rapporteur said. “That would mean that, on average, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh camps would need to try and survive on $0.27 per day.”
The WFP reportedly needs $125 million immediately to halt the ration cuts. A £5.26 million funding package to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh was announced by the UK Foreign Office earlier this month, with £4.26 million allocated to the WFP and a million to UNHCR for pressure cookers.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the UK Minister of State for Indo-Pacific Affairs, announced the aid package during a meeting with Bangladesh PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal on March 10. In a statement, Trevelyan said, “The UK is committed to supporting the Rohingya people who continue to live in Cox’s Bazar. We are helping the World Food Programme feed 449,000 people as well as providing pressure cookers that can help reduce the consumption of cooking gas.”
She also vowed “the UK continues to push for a long-term solution that will enable the Rohingya to return to Myanmar on a safe, voluntary, and dignified basis.”
Over 1.2 million forcibly displaced Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have been housed in 33 congested refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
Photo: A centre for malnourished children in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, run by the World Food Programme
(Credit: Peter Biro/EU)
