December 11, 2017 — Following the release of a new Foreign Affairs Committee report into ‘Violence in Rakhine State’, the International Rescue Committee welcomes the recommendations for the UK Government but warns there are other vital factors that must be considered in responding to the fastest growing refugee crisis of our time.
Melanie Ward, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee said:
“We welcome this report from the Foreign Affairs Committee and believe it has gone further than any public government analysis on the Rohingya crisis.
“The IRC has been working in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, since early September providing technical support for violence against women and girls. We therefore fully support the Committee’s recommendation for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to send an expert team to gather evidence of sexual violence against the Rohingya. Our own assessments have shown that nearly half of women and girls accessing women-friendly spaces in Cox’s Bazar have reported incidents of violence.
Ward added: “This report highlights why we need to work towards longer-term solutions for the Rohingya to rebuild their lives. Yet missing is the vital role the UK Government has to play in supporting diplomatic negotiations with the Government of Bangladesh to develop a sustainable strategy. The GoB and its people have generously opened their borders to people in desperate need. But they are not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and have no domestic laws designed to protect refugees.
“The Foreign Affairs Committee has been right in recommending the UK Government not support a repatriation deal that does not include comprehensive safeguards. The IRC has and will continue to push for any future return of the Rohingya to Myanmar to be safe, voluntary and informed.
“Until that time, the international community must support the GoB with long-term and flexible funding to help provide Rohingya refugees with shelter, basic services and opportunities for work in order to live a safe and dignified existence.”
The International Rescue Committee has been working in Myanmar for nearly a decade and in Rakhine State since 2014, where we are gradually resuming critical health and protection programs - serving both Muslim and Rakhine communities. But humanitarian access remains restricted for humanitarian groups and thousands remain out of reach of lifesaving aid.