Estonia gives €50,000 to help humanitarian situation of Rohingya refugees
Estonia has pledged €50,000 to the United Nations Refugee Agency in support to help alleviate the humanitarian situation of Rohingya refugees.
The pledge was made at an international donor conference on sustaining support for the Rohingya refugee response held on the initiative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
Minna-Liina Lind, Ambassador at Large for Human Rights and Migration representing Estonia said: "Coping with this humanitarian crisis has become even more challenging during the global pandemic, which is why it is essential that the global community continues to show commitment to the plight of Rohingya refugees. Estonia commends the UNHCR's tireless work in providing humanitarian assistance."
She said the long-term solution to the crisis must be based on the safe, voluntary and dignified return of Rohingya refugees to their homes in Myanmar. To this end, the international community must work together to defend human rights and freedoms.
Estonia remains deeply concerned about the continuous reports of human rights violations in Myanmar, including in the Rakhine state, the government said in press release.
At the conference, the government of Myanmar was urged to respect the call for a global ceasefire of the UN Secretary-General, to address the root causes of violence and displacement in Rakhine state and create the conditions needed for the return of the Rohingya.
In total, $600 million was raised at the donor conference.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were forced to leave Myanmar in 2017 due to a military operation. There are currently more than 800,000 Rohingya refugees living in the Cox's Bazar region in Bangladesh, and hundreds of thousands are in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and other nearby countries. An estimated 600,000 Rohingya remain in the Rakhine state in Myanmar where they are facing violence and human rights violations.
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Editor: Helen Wright