UNHCR chief meets Yunus, calls for new approach to Rohingya crisis

US senator Durbin, ILO DG call on CA

FE Team | Published: September 27, 2024 22:47:24

NEW YORK, Sept 27 (UNB): High Commissioner of the UN refugee agency Filippo Grandi has called for a new approach to the Rohingya crisis, saying that the international communities should do more to end the miseries of more than one million Rohingyas in the camps in Bangladesh.
He discussed the Rohingya crisis with Chief Adviser (CA) Prof Muhammad Yunus at a New York hotel on Thursday.
Grandi said they discussed the unresolved issue of Rohingya refugees - amidst the many challenges posed by the complex transition in Bangladesh.
"I assured Dr Muhammad Yunus of UNHCR's full commitment and also of mobilising international support," said.
Grandi said the assumption of Professor Yunus as the new leader of Bangladesh has increased global interest in the Rohingya crisis, and he hopes there will be more funding for humanitarian responses.
Professor Yunus stressed the need for finding a quick solution to the crisis and doing more for the future of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya children growing up in the refugee camps in Bangladesh.
"We have to resolve this before it is too late. We have to find a solution," the CA added.
Meanwhile, US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin has met with Dr Yunus.
Durbin has been a steadfast supporter of the work of Yunus for almost two decades, and greeted his appointment as leader of Bangladesh's interim government with a speech on the floor of the Senate.
Gilbert Houngbo, Director General (DG) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), also called on the CA at a hotel on Thursday.
Houngbo offered the UN labour agency's support for the Interim Government's move to implement ILO conventions in Bangladesh.
"We are at your disposal," he said, adding the ILO would respond to his call "if and when" he needed it.
The CA said labour reforms are a top priority of his government, as it sees the issue as a key to turning Bangladesh into a world class manufacturing hub.
"We are very serious about this," Professor Yunus said, adding that addressing labour issues would draw more foreign direct investment in Bangladesh.