OIC welcomes appointment of UN Special Envoy to Myanmar Dhaka, Dec 25 – The UN General Assembly has urged Myanmar to end a military campaign against the Muslim Rohingya minority. A resolution brought by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)…
Category: Migration
Bethlehem trek’s like today’s migrations: Pope Francis
Vatican City, Dec 25 (AP/UNB) — Pope Francis in Christmas Eve remarks Sunday likened the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem to the migrations of millions of people today who are forced to leave homelands for a better life…
No sign Rohingya will be allowed to return home
Bangkok, Dec 24 (AP/UNB) — After facing international outrage and charges of ethnic cleansing, Myanmar made a pledge: Rohingya Muslims who fled the country by the hundreds of thousands would start their journey home within weeks.
UN study says women migrants not fully protected in Middle East
Hundreds of thousands of women migrant workers from South Asian countries in the Middle East have signed employment contracts that they do not understand or do not adequately protect them against discrimination and abuse, says a new report. The study…
Turkey seeks permanent solution to Rohingya crisis
Dhaka, Dec 19 – Visiting Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Tuesday told BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia that their country has been working for a permanent solution to Rohingya crisis as it thinks Myanmar nationals who fled persecution in Rakhine…
Burma: Methodical massacre at Rohingya village Tula Toli
Yangon – The Burmese army carried out systematic killings and rape of several hundred Rohingya Muslims in Tula Toli village in Rakhine State on August 30, 2017, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The massacre was part…
Iranian Red Crescent opens hospital for Rohingyas
A 20-bed field hospital, built by the Iranian Red Crescent, has started its operation in Cox’s Bazar to provide healthcare services to Rohingyas and Bangladeshi residents. The hospital is equipped with various sections, including medical services, nursing care, gynecology, environment…
BD-Myanmar form joint working group for Rohingya repatriation
Bangladesh and Myanmar on Tuesday formed a joint working group to start next step of work for repatriation of Rohingyas living in Bangladesh and signed the terms of reference (TOR). The agreed TOR mandates the JWG to undertake all necessary…
Rohingyas ask for rights – safety for return to Myanmar
Rohingyas living in Bangladesh say they will not go back to Myanmar until their safety can be guaranteed and they have equal rights, including being able to work and travel freely, said Oxfam in Bangladesh. Many – especially women –…
Turkish PM to have talks on Rohingya issue Tuesday – visit camp
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim arrived here on Monday night on a two-day official visit at the invitation of his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina to discuss Rohingya and other issues. The Turkish PM is leading a 21-member delegation, including his…
Working groups for Rohingya repatriation talks Tuesday
Bangladesh and Myanmar will hold talks here on Tuesday morning to finalise the formation of a joint working group to start the repatriation of Rohingyas living in Bangladesh. A delegation, led by Myanmar’s Permanent Secretary Myint Thu arrived, here on…
Bangladeshi migrants worry they’ll pay price for NYC subway bomb
New York, (AP/UNB) – When an immigrant from Bangladesh set off a bomb in New York city’s subway system this week, he was the only person injured. But New York city’s vibrant Bangladeshi community is worried that it, too, may…
Delhi-based envoys call for return of Myanmar nationals
Dhaka, Dec 17 – Ambassadors, high commissioners and diplomats of concurrently accredited countries to Bangladesh with residences in New Delhi on Sunday called for ensuring the rightful return of the Myanmar nationals, who were forcibly displaced from its Rakhine State,…
One million BD migrant workers get jobs abroad in ’17
Dhaka – Bangladeshi workers going on jobs abroad are expected to exceed one million (10 lakh) this year and it would the highest ever number in a year in the expatriate sector in the country, said minister for expatriates’ welfare…
Bangladesh to bring diplomats from New Delhi to see Rohingya plight
The foreign ministry is taking 15 non-resident diplomats to Cox’s Bazar to see Rohingya plight as Dhaka continues to exert pressure on Myanmar to take back its nationals using diplomatic tools. The ambassadors or high commissioners are of Bosnia and…
Felling Rohingyas carried one vital asset – solar panel
“When we saw they were carrying a solar panel with them, I was surprised. I would never do this in such a situation,” Jashim Uddin, a tea stall owner in Ukhiya, in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Migrants’ contribution to society needs to be fully recognised
Migrants’ contribution to society needs to be fully recognized, and states should encourage discussions about them to be positive, inclusive and facts-based, a group of UN human rights experts has said. In a call to mark International Migrants’ Day that…
Rohingya refugees endure lingering trauma
By Farid Ahmed Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Dec 14 (IPS) – Twelve-year-old Rubina still struggles with the horrors she witnessed in her homeland in Myanmar before fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh three months ago.
Global warming to displace One-third of coastal people
Dhaka – One-third of people in coastal areas of Bangladesh will be displaced from their households by 2050 due to climate change. Besides, severe floods, tidal surges and cyclones will increase due to an increase in global temperature and the…
At least 6700 Rohingyas killed in first month
At least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in attacks during the first month of a military crackdown in Myanmar in late August, Médecins Sans Frontières estimates. The aid group interviewed several thousand Rohingya refugees in four camps in Bangladesh in late…
One million enslaved migrants, victims of ‘Europe’s complicity’
By Baher Kamal ROME, Dec 13 2017 (IPS) – “European governments are knowingly complicit in the torture and abuse of tens of thousands of refugees and migrants detained by Libyan immigration authorities in appalling conditions in Libya,” Amnesty International charged…
Rohingya repatriation policy to fail without accountability: UN
Rohingya repatriation and reconciliation policies will fail without accountability and non-discriminatory rule of law and public safety measures to address the fears and distrust among communities in Rakhine, says a top UN political official. “…but the origins and solutions to…
Civil society summit wants Int’l action on climate migration
By Megan Darby Suva, Fiji, Dec 12 (IPS) – Civil society leaders from more than 100 countries called for action on climate-induced displacement at a summit in Suva, Fiji last week.
Redraft Rohingya return agreement – involve UN: HRW
Terming Rohingya return deal bad one, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said Bangladesh and Myanmar should invite UNHCR to join in the drafting of a new tripartite agreement. “After the widespread atrocities, safe and voluntary return of Rohingyas will require…
Challenges facing Rohingya repatriation process
Dhaka, Dec 11 – The process to repatriate Rohingyas living in Bangladesh is likely to face ‘serious challenges’ as these displaced Muslims are unwilling to return immediately in absence of any future safeguard for them.
100,000 medical consultations in 100 days
By International Organization for Migration Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Dec 11 (IOM) – If Morisha’s family had waited a matter of minutes before bringing her to the UN Migration Agency(IOM)’s health post in the Balukhali makeshift settlement, she would be dead. Full-term,…
Rohingya refugees: Woes of women (Part 2)
By Sohara Mehroze Shachi Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Dec 8 (IPS) – Under pouring rain, hundreds of young and expectant mothers stand in line. With her bare feet and the bottom of her dress covered in mud, Rashida is one of…
Persecution of Ruhingyas prove HR still vulnerable: EU
Dhaka – On 10 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has been accepted by virtually all States and has been incorporated into their laws and legal obligations. In 2017, the world…
Hasina urges int’l community to ensure rights of Rohingyas
Reaffirming Bangladesh’s full support to and cooperation with all UN human rights mechanisms, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the international community to work for ensuring the fundamental rights of Rohingya people. “Bangladesh continues to urge the international community to…
Myanmar forces may be guilty of genocide: U.N. says
Stephanie Nebehay Geneva (Reuters) – Myanmar’s security forces may be guilty of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority and more of them are fleeing despite a deal between Myanmar and Bangladesh to send them home, the top U.N. human rights…