United Nations: About 1.5 lakh Rohingya refugees, who fled violence in Myanmar to settle in crowded camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, are living in flood-prone areas and must be relocated ahead of the coming rainy season, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
"In relation to Cox's Bazar, the monsoon is the biggest concern. We believe that about 150,000 people are in areas that are flood-prone or can be negatively impacted by the monsoon in a dangerous way for the people," he told reporters here on Thursday.
The UN chief was responding to a question on the need to relocate the Rohingya refugees currently living in camps in the border town of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. Guterres said he has had the opportunity to discuss with the Bangladesh government the best way to relocate these people. "And I think the best way to relocate these people is in higher areas that can be outside... treated to accommodate this group that, of course, is extremely vulnerable to the monsoon," he said.
He added that on-ground officials of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and other agencies will be talking with the Bangladesh authorities on the issue. "We believe the higher ground is the best place for this kind of relocation," he said.
When asked why has he not yet appointed a special adviser on Myanmar, Guterres said he has been conducting a number of consultations for that appointment. "I hope it will come soon. It is not an easy function that everyone is ready to accept, but I'm sure that we will have a solution soon," he said. Veteran Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar had served as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Special Adviser on Myanmar from 2010 till December 2016. Guterres is yet to name his successor. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation appealed to the international community to contribute generously to enable appropriate and timely health services to the Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar, now facing grave risks to their lives and health in view of the coming rainy season. "This is one of the biggest humanitarian crisis in recent times. No single agency or the government of Bangladesh alone can meet the massive health needs of such a large population group," WHO South-East Asia Regional Director Poonam Khetrapal Singh said at a meeting of partners in Dhaka.