Rohingya crisis: FM urges global community to scale up funding
He urged the global community to scale up funding, ensure stability and security in Rakhine State, and take urgent measures to safeguard human rights.
Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has voiced deep concern over the declining level of international donor assistance for the Rohingya population.
He urged the global community to scale up funding, ensure stability and security in Rakhine State, and take urgent measures to safeguard human rights.
The foreign minister made these remarks while speaking as a panelist at a session titled "Global Refugee Protection System in the Face of Displacement Crisis" at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026 in Turkey on yesterday (17 April).
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He emphasised that international engagement must go beyond humanitarian aid, calling for a more proactive and constructive role in fostering conditions conducive to the safe, dignified, and voluntary repatriation of the Rohingyas, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today (18 April).
Highlighting the root of the crisis, he noted that a sustainable and lasting solution lies within Myanmar's Rakhine State.
The foreign minister said that since assuming office, he has received a positive response from both the Myanmar government and the Arakan Army.
Reiterating his stance, the foreign minister described the Rohingya crisis as resolvable - provided there is a coordinated global initiative backed by sustained international cooperation.
Earlier, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) urgently called on the international community to step up solidarity and sustain funding to support lifesaving assistance for Rohingyas in Bangladesh as well as support for the Bangladeshi host communities.
The UN agencies said the promise of better wages abroad, often coupled with misinformation spread by smuggling networks, drives individuals, Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals, to take significant risks.
These factors, they said, create conditions in which smugglers and traffickers can exploit vulnerabilities, placing lives at grave risk.
Ongoing violence in Rakhine state has faded hopes of safe return in the near future, while shrinking humanitarian assistance, challenging living conditions in refugee camps, and limited access to education and livelihoods are pushing refugees to take such dangerous sea journeys in search of safety and opportunity.
The Andaman Sea continues to claim the lives of people undertaking these perilous journeys.
As Bangladesh marks its new year, the UN agencies said, this tragedy is a reminder of the efforts urgently needed to address the root causes of displacement in Myanmar and create conditions that would allow Rohingya refugees to return home voluntarily, safely and with dignity.
Without collective action, the organisations said, more lives will be lost at sea and on desperate journeys through deadly routes.
