Jordan’s queen said on Monday that the international community must respond effectively to end the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled to Bangladesh to escape persecution by Myanmar authorities.
Queen Rania, who visited a refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district on Monday, spoke of the “shocking escalation of violence” against Rohingya and urged the international community to step in.
Since August 25, more than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh amid a global outcry for an end to the violence. The United Nations (UN) has termed Myanmar’s actions a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.
Bangladesh has been hosting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled Myanmar dating back to 1978. The UN said some 800,000 Rohingya Muslims are now living in temporary settlements there, about 58 per cent of them children up to 17 years old.
The UN says it needs more assistance to handle the crisis.
“One has to ask, why is the plight of this Muslim minority group being ignored?” Rania said in a statement on Monday. “Why has this systematic persecution been allowed to play out for so long?”
The queen said she was shocked by the limitations of basic services to health care and other lifesaving support.
“It is unforgivable that this crisis is unfolding, largely ignored by the international community,” she said. “The world response has been muted. I urge the UN and the international community to do more to ensure we can bring peace to this conflict.”
