Rohingya crisis: EU co-hosts ‘pledging conference’ in Geneva tomorrow

The European Union will co-host a "Pledging Conference" on the Rohingya refugee crisis, with Kuwait, in Geneva tomorrow.

The conference will be held in partnership with the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The conference will be an important moment for the international community to respond to and address this major refugee crisis, according to EU Dhaka office.

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"As co-host of this high-level event, the EU is actively encouraging all donors to contribute to a successful conference. It is an important moment to demonstrate solidarity, common approaches and a strong humanitarian face of the international community to meet the needs of the many people that have fled their homes," said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides.

The European Union continues, as a matter of priority, to address the situation in Myanmar directly with the Myanmar authorities.

The EU has reiterated the need for an end to violence, including for the Myanmar authorities to cease military operations; on full humanitarian access to all humanitarian aid workers, including for the UN and international NGOs; and for the government to establish a credible and practical process for the voluntary return of all those who fled their homes to their places of origin.

Some 589,000 Rohingya people -- about 60 percent of them children -- have crossed into Bangladesh since August 25 to join nearly 400,000 of their fellow countrymen who fled violence in Myanmar in phases over the years.

Thousands more reportedly remain stranded and in peril in Myanmar without the means to cross the border into Bangladesh. Refugees arriving in Bangladesh are traumatised, and some have arrived with injuries caused by gunshots, shrapnel, fire and landmines.

The UN and other aid groups are struggling to mobilise fund for the emergency reliefs.