UNICEF seeks humanitarian access to Myanmar

Improved security and unimpeded humanitarian access to Myanmar are essential before sending back Rohingya children to the Rakhine State from Bangladesh, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth said on Wednesday. 

“Some 58 per cent of the Rohingyas are children, many of them are still traumatised by their experiences of violence”, said a press release citing Forsyth. He made the comments after visiting Kutapalong Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar, reports BSS.

“It is critical that their rights and needs in terms of protection and aid are front and centre in any agreement to return families to Myanmar. Return of them to Myanmar must be voluntary, safe and dignified," he added.

The vast Kutupalong camp shelters over 688,000 Rohingyas who have fled across the border from Myanmar's Rakhine State following an outbreak of violence there in late August last year. More than half of the refugees are children, said the press release added. 

“The Bangladesh authorities deserve enormous credit for all they have done to help these desperate people," he added.

UNICEF is one of a range of international and national agencies working alongside the Bangladeshi authorities to provide services and support to the Rohingya population and nearby host communities.