Director General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope has said making the Rohingyas more self-reliant with a much more comprehensive approach does not mean that they will stay in Bangladesh forever, reports UNB.
"I don't think this means that people will stay forever because what we have heard, especially from the Rohingya people, that they would love to go home. What we hear from the Rohingya is that if they could go home, they will go home. They are not looking to stay forever here in Bangladesh," she told reporters at a press conference, noting that the needs in the camps are overwhelming.
Pope, who became Director General of the IOM on 1 October 2023, described the complex situation and said at this moment going home means risking their (Rohingyas) lives.
She said their goal has to be to come up with a much more comprehensive approach including investment and solutions for people within the camp with increased donor support so that they have more dignity and more self-reliance instead of their reliance on humanitarian aid only.
"Right now the communities are wholly reliant on humanitarian support. So our goal is to bring awareness to the situation to drive engagement with a wide range of donors not relying on the same ones, and to encourage them…," Pope, the first woman to hold the post in IOM's 73-year history, said.
She said they call upon all of the states who are involved in the peace negotiation process to continue to push for peace.
The IOM DG observed that humanitarian support is being stretched across multiple complex and multiple protracted conflicts and one of the best solutions is to increase their self-reliance.
"So our goal is to work with the host community to work with the host government to build self-reliance, particularly when we're in a state of a protracted conflict," she said.
Responding to a question, Pope said it was very clear to her sitting down and listening to the refugees directly about what they had experienced that one of the most significant and growing issues is the security in the camps.
She said they heard from women and girls who are fearful at night that they might be sexually assaulted. "We've heard of families who are concerned about the safety of their children, whether they will be recruited by armed gangs or by other criminal actors. We heard from people who were concerned about abductions and very little resources in order to protect them. So this is a very fundamental fear."
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