<div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has sought international community's continuous attention to the Rohingya crisis, otherwise, he warned that it might put the entire region in trouble, not just Bangladesh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We must pay attention," he said while speaking at a high-level discussion on the Rohingya crisis held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon (NY time).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan, IOM Director General Amy Pope, Principal Coordinator on SDGs Affairs Lamiya Morshed, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and CA's Special Assistant Mahfuj Alam, among others, spoke at the event.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chief Adviser Prof Yunus proposed to international community to re-visit approach to Rohingya crisis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said the UN Secretary General may convene an all stakeholders' conference on the Rohingya crisis soonest possible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The conference should review the overall situation of the crisis and suggest innovative and forward looking way outs, he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Secondly, Prof Yunus said, the Joint Response Plan, managed jointly by the UN System and Bangladesh, needs to be energised.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The resource raising mechanism needs further political push in view of the sliding funding situation, he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his third proposal, Prof Yunus said the international community should seriously support the justice and accountability mechanism to address genocidal crimes committed against the Rohingya community.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eventually, the Chief Adviser said, redressing injustice that has been perpetrated by the military junta in Myanmar is the key to long term peace and security.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Honoured to take part in the discussion on Rohingya refugees led by the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh. This is a yearly UNGA event but Dr Yunus’ presence and vision meant that it wasn’t business as usual," said the UNHCR chief.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said they must strive to end the Rohingya people’s discrimination, statelessness and exile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It was a very successful meeting. Everyone appreciated Bangladesh’s efforts and reiterated their continuous support," Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam told reporters on Tuesday night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Additional Foreign Secretary Riaz Hamidullah, Deputy Press Secretaries Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar and Apurba Jahangir were also present.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking at the event, IOM DG Amy Pope said the Rohingya people must not be forgotten.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We must do more and continue to provide much needed assistance and long-term solutions," she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At UNGA, IOM DG said they reaffirm their commitment to doing everything possible to achieve this goal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As UNGA's high-level general debate took place in New York, some of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh sent a message for world leaders gathered here, "Don’t let us down."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rohingya refugees cannot be forgotten, they said a video message.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While participating in the high-level UNGA side event on the Rohingya crisis, US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya announced nearly $199 million in new assistance for Rohingya refugees and communities hosting them in Bangladesh and the region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This funding includes nearly $70 million through the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) and over $129 million from USAID, $78 million of which comes from the Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation which will help USAID to purchase, ship, and distribute food from American farmers to Rohingya refugees and host community members in Bangladesh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This U.S. assistance will save lives and help protect, shelter, and feed those forced to flee violence and persecution.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Additionally, it will be used to: support disaster preparedness and protection for refugees and host communities; bolster access to education and skills training; and prepare refugees for their potential return home when conditions allow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The U.S. government has provided more than $2.5 billion for the regional Rohingya response since August 2017, including more than $2.1 billion in Bangladesh, of which nearly $1.3 billion was contributed through PRM.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The United States remains committed to delivering assistance to crisis-affected communities in Bangladesh and the region and calls on other donors to continue their support.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In August 2017, armed attacks, massive scale violence, and serious human rights violations forced thousands of Rohingya to flee their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many walked for days through jungles and undertook dangerous sea journeys across the Bay of Bengal to reach safety in Bangladesh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, nearly 1 million people have found safety in Bangladesh with a majority living in the Cox Bazar’s region - home to the world’s largest refugee camp.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The United Nations has described the Rohingya as “the most persecuted minority in the world.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>