Arakan News Agency
The UAE is performing an influential and effective role in supporting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, as part of its efforts to promote international peace and security as well as improve the lives of people.
The UAE’s experience in helping the Rohingya refugees reflects the values of its community, such as tolerance, compassion and respect for all cultures, religions and races, according to a report.
The report further states that the value of Emirati aid provided to the Rohingya between August 2017 and March 2018 reached around Dhs24.3 million ($6.7 million), in the form of urgent relief aid and development projects to create decent living conditions in refugee camps.
The UAE is one of the first countries to provide political, diplomatic and humanitarian support for the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and to demand an end to the brutal practices and ethnic cleansing they are facing.
The UAE also condemned the deteriorating humanitarian conditions of the Rohingya refugees and the use of force by the Myanmar authorities.
In September 2017, during its speech at the 36th Session of the Human Rights Council, the UAE called on the international community to end the tragedy of the Rohingya Muslims.
Since the start of the crisis in Myanmar and the collective displacement of the Rohingya to Bangladesh, the UAE has provided various forms of support for the refugees, the report added.
During its participation in the “Pledging Conference on the Rohingya Refugee Crisis” in Geneva on Oct.23, 2017, the UAE pledged to donate $7 million.
Under the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE operated an air bridge to transport food and rescue aid to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Nine aircraft transported over 550 tonnes of supplies worth Dhs8.5 million ($2.31 million), in cooperation with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The report added that the UAE is also managing health services for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, through the UAE-Bangladesh Volunteer Field Hospital in Cox’s Bazar, as the first Arab country to run a field hospital for the Rohingya.
