Britain pledges fresh support for Myanmar’s displaced as UN warns of worsening humanitarian crisis in Rakhine and refugee camps in Bangladesh…reports Asian Lite News
The United Kingdom has pledged an additional $36 million in aid to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and vulnerable communities in Myanmar, warning that without urgent international intervention, the world risks a looming famine in Rakhine State.
Speaking at the United Nations High-level Conference on the Situation of Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar in New York, Ambassador James Kariuki, the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, stressed that the plight of the Rohingya people must not be allowed to fade from global attention.
Kariuki praised Bangladesh for its “generous hospitality” in sheltering nearly one million Rohingya who fled violence in Myanmar since 2017, but cautioned that eight years on, the crisis is deepening rather than easing. “Systematic blockages of aid and trade exacerbate needs, with malnutrition and food insecurity reaching emergency levels,” he said, adding that 1.5 million people in Rakhine are now resorting to “extreme coping measures” just to survive.
The British envoy warned starkly: “Without intervention, there is a real risk of famine.”
The new UK contribution will focus on meeting the immediate needs of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, including food, clean water, healthcare and protection services. Since 2017, Britain has provided $596 million to assist Rohingya communities in Bangladesh, alongside more than $154 million in direct support to conflict-affected populations within Myanmar itself.
Kariuki emphasised that beyond humanitarian funding, there must also be a concerted international effort to create the conditions necessary for the safe, voluntary and dignified return of the Rohingya to their homeland. “We need to create safe conditions for the Rohingya to be able to return,” he told delegates. “All actors must ensure full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. And all actors must cease violence against civilians, including airstrikes.”
The UK, as penholder on Myanmar in the UN Security Council, has pledged to keep the crisis on the international agenda despite competing global emergencies from Ukraine to Sudan. “In a world with so many humanitarian crises, we must not allow the Rohingya crisis to be forgotten,” Kariuki stressed.
The latest injection of British funds also includes programmes aimed at equipping Rohingya refugees with skills and tools to support themselves while in camps in Bangladesh, reducing their reliance on aid and preparing them for eventual repatriation when conditions permit. London hopes this twin-track approach – combining urgent humanitarian relief with longer-term resilience-building – will encourage other international donors to step up.
Since the 2017 exodus, Bangladesh has borne the brunt of the humanitarian burden, hosting nearly a million Rohingya in sprawling, overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar and on the island of Bhasan Char. While Dhaka has repeatedly called for international assistance and greater burden-sharing, donor fatigue and waning media attention have left the Rohingya crisis struggling to compete for funds against newer conflicts.
Aid agencies warn that cuts to food rations and services have left refugees increasingly vulnerable to malnutrition, disease outbreaks and exploitation. Conditions in the camps remain dire, with limited access to education, restricted movement and a growing sense of hopelessness among young people.
Within Myanmar, the situation has deteriorated further since the 2021 military coup. In Rakhine, where the majority of Rohingya once lived, renewed conflict and restrictions on humanitarian access have made it almost impossible to deliver life-saving assistance. Human rights groups report continued abuses, including airstrikes on civilian areas, arbitrary detentions and widespread displacement.
Kariuki used the conference to call on all parties in Myanmar to halt attacks on civilians and to allow unfettered humanitarian access. He also urged fellow UN member states to increase their financial commitments, warning that without immediate action the crisis risks slipping into a protracted humanitarian catastrophe. “With the unprecedented scale of displacement into Bangladesh, we urge others to join us in increasing financial support and pushing for vital humanitarian access,” he said.
The UK envoy’s intervention comes at a critical moment. International attention on the Rohingya has waned in recent years, eclipsed by newer conflicts. Yet aid agencies caution that neglecting the crisis now could have far-reaching consequences for regional stability and human security.
For the Rohingya themselves, many of whom have spent nearly a decade in exile, the prospects of return remain distant. With Myanmar’s military junta showing no sign of compromise and conditions in Rakhine still unsafe, refugees remain caught between despair in the camps and uncertainty about their future.
By pledging fresh support and pressing the international community to keep focus on the crisis, Britain is seeking to ensure that the Rohingya are not left to face starvation, persecution and abandonment.
As Kariuki concluded in New York: “Today’s conference is an opportunity to maintain focus on the crisis in Rakhine and on dire funding needs in the refugee camps. We must not allow the Rohingya crisis to be forgotten.”
