Canada pledges $300m fund to address Rohingya problem

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled his country's strategy to step up its response and meet the need of most vulnerable and displaced Rohingyas, reports UNB.
Canada will dedicate significant funding - $300 million over three years - to address the region's humanitarian, development, and stabilisation needs in a coordinated and timely way, says a press release issued by its high commission in Dhaka on Thursday.
The grave humanitarian and security crisis in Myanmar is a global tragedy. It has led more than 717,000 Rohingya to flee their homes in Rakhine State and seek refuge in Bangladesh, Canadian government says.
This comprehensive strategy is based on recommendations highlighted in the final report from the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to Myanmar Bob Rae, it said.
Guided by the Feminist International Assistance Policy, the strategy places a central emphasis on the needs of women and girls. The strategy also puts forward concrete and timely initiatives to promote human rights, gender equality, human dignity, and peace and security in the region, said the release.
Canada will lead on several initiatives, including those to improve living conditions of Rohingya refugees in camps and settlements, it said.
"We will support efforts to bring perpetrators of gross human rights violations to account, and to achieve a political solution to the plight of the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities in Myanmar. We will also help coordinate international efforts to address the crisis," said a statement.
Canada was one of the first countries to respond to the crisis, and remains one of the top humanitarian donors.
"This strategy builds on our current efforts, and represents our commitment to do more while continuing to work closely with the international community and the United Nations on a path forward."
Justin Trudeau said Canada will not stand idle while hundreds of thousands of people - Rohingya communities and other minorities suffer from gross human rights violations.
"We share a global responsibility to respond to this crisis. We commend others who have acted in a compassionate and generous way," he said.
We praise especially the Government of Bangladesh and host communities in the region which continue to provide safe refuge to their neighbours in need," he added.
The Canadian Prime Minister said they will continue to step up to protect human rights while working towards sustainable peace and true reconciliation in Myanmar.
Since the beginning of 2017, Canada has provided $45.9 million for aid partners to deliver life-saving and gender-responsive support for refugees, displaced people, and the communities who are hosting them.
This includes $12.5 million for the Myanmar Crisis Relief Fund that matched the generous contributions Canadians made to charities last year between August and November 2017.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Rohingyas in camps in Cox's Bazar district are at imminent risk of landslides, Human Rights Watch has said in a newly released online video.
Bangladesh authorities with assistance from the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies should urgently relocate refugees to safer grounds, it said.
Thousands of hand-built tarpaulin and bamboo shelters are threatened by strong winds and cyclones during the upcoming monsoon, the rights body said on Wednesday.
The Rohingya refugees living on the steep, deforested slopes of sand and clay in the Kutupalong-Balukhali camps face added dangers of landslides.
Altogether over 700,000 recent Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are living in camps in Bangladesh.
"The situation in the Rohingya camps is a disaster waiting to happen," said Bill Frelick, refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch. "Already, after a few bouts of rain, some shelters were blown away and the narrow paths are slippery and dangerous."
"Many Rohingyas want to return to Myanmar if their rights and identity are respected, but sadly that won't happen anytime soon," Frelick said. "In the meantime, people like Nobi Hassan and his family desperately need a safe place to live."