30,000 flee as China rebukes Burma

(DVB)–Around 30,000 refugees have crossed into China according to UN estimates as fighting between Burmese troops and ceasefire groups sparked a rare admonishment from China’s foreign ministry.

A spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that between 10,000 and 30,000 civilians have fled Burma’s northern Shan state into China in recent days.

Fighting broke out between Burmese army troops and the Kokang ceasefire group yesterday after weeks of heightening tension.

Kokang troops yesterday attacked a police outpost near to Laogai town close to the China-Burma border, killing one Burmese police officer and injuring two.

The Kokang group has been joined by the United Wa State Army, Burma’s largest ceasefire group who had held a 20-year truce with the government.

Today China’s foreign ministry issued a statement urging Burma to "properly deal with its domestic issue to safeguard the regional stability in the China-Myanmar [Burma] border area".

"We also urge Myanmar to protect the safety and legal rights of Chinese citizens in Myanmar," said spokesperson Jiang Yu in the statement.

China is a key ally of Burma’s ruling junta, and seldom criticizes the internal affairs of its southern neighbour.

The mass of refugees pouring into China however, in addition to reports that a Burmese army shell fired across the border today killed a Chinese troop, has created a rare fissure between the two countries.

China has reportedly increased its troop patrols along the border area, and is said to be assisting the refugees.

“We have been informed that local authorities in Yunnan Province have already provided emergency shelter, food and medical care to the refugees,” said the UNHRC spokesperson Andrej Mahecic.

Local sources report that a number of civilians have also escaped into inner Shan state.

Reporting by Francis Wade

READ MORE---> 30,000 flee as China rebukes Burma...

Bangladesh to compile list of Rohingyas for repatriation: UNHCR

Dhaka, Bangladesh (Kaladan): The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), South and Southeast Asian representative, based in Bangkok, Kitty McKinsey has said it is necessary for Bangladesh to have a list of the Rohingyas living in the country, unregistered, otherwise Burma, may object to repatriating the Rohingyas who are not registered.

UNHCR Regional Representative, Raymond Hall, said an initiative should be taken to resolve the Rohingya issue, but cautioned that Burma may raise objections in repatriating the Rohingyas living in Bangladesh, if they were not registered by August 9.

“Burma has allowed UNHCR to work there. The UN body has taken initiatives to improve the residential areas of the Rohingyas,” Hall told Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque.

On other hand, Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni thanked the UNHCR representative for their support to Bangladesh, regarding the Burmese refugees living in Bangladesh, on August 9 at the Foreign Ministry Office. She mentioned that more than 28,000 registered refugees were living in two camps and nearly 4,00,000 unregistered refugees living outside the camps, were a heavy burden on Bangladesh economically, socially, environmentally and also in terms of law and order.

Bangladesh has called on the Burmese regime to improve living conditions for Burma’s Rohingyas in order to stem the flow of refugees. Both Dipu Moni and Hall agreed that Burma must improve its internal environment to stop the influx of Rohingya refugees, into Bangladesh, according to the Bangladesh Foreign Minister’s statement after the meeting.

“They are a heavy burden economically, socially, environmentally on Bangladesh,” Moni said. “Burma has to improve its environment to stop the influx of Rohingya people into Bangladesh,” she emphasized.

A total of 236,599 Rohingyas have been repatriated since 1992, when an influx of the community began from Arakan in Burma, following religious and political persecution. But, their repatriation came to a halt since July 2005, raising concerns for the government.

During the meeting, Dr Dipu Moni and Dr Razzaque said repatriation and rehabilitation of the Rohingyas in their homeland, Burma, is the permanent solution, and this must be done without delay. Bangladesh will take a bilateral initiative to address the problem and sought UNHCR assistance in this regard.

Regarding registering the Rohingyas, the minister said whenever any initiative was taken to register them, they infiltrated into Bangladesh in more numbers.

“Bangladesh has provided shelter to the Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds, but they are spreading to different areas of the country and creating pressure on the limited resources here and creating social problems as well,” the Minister told the UNHCR representative.

“If the Rohingyas are registered, they will get international organization assistance, and they would be able to go to any developed country for permanent residence,” said the Minister.

However, the UNHCR representative said the Rohingyas enter Bangladesh because Burma restricts their movements, marriages and sends them to jails for violation of the restrictions.

READ MORE---> Bangladesh to compile list of Rohingyas for repatriation: UNHCR...

Displaced in Burma lacking medical aid

(DVB)–Internally displaced persons hiding in jungles in eastern Burma are suffering from outbreaks of malaria and dengue fever with almost no medicine or medical facilities, according a Karen aid group.

Around 9000 people in Bago division’s Taung-ngu district are internally displaced (IDPs) and are having difficulty accessing food, water and medicine, said the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP).

The prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases soars during the rainy season, and is a particular threat to people living in bush areas.

“Their traditional method of making smoke to keep mosquitoes away is dangerous because the Burmese army might see [the smoke] and find them,” said Saw Eh Wah from the CIDKP.

At least two or three people in each household are infected with either malaria or dengue fever, many of whom are pregnant women and children under age of 10, he said.

No deaths have yet been reported and IDPs are said to be using traditional medicines to combat the diseases.

“There are no hospitals or clinics; sometimes they get one or two medical workers from the Karen National Union and the Free Burma Rangers [medical group],” he said, adding that the IDPs are using “herbs and tree roots” as medicine.

Burma is also home to over 500,000 internally displaced persons, the majority of which are in eastern Karen state.

Many of these have been forced out of their homes by fighting between the Burmese army and the Karen National Union.

A report released by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in June said that around 723,571 people are considered to be stateless in Burma, the world’s third highest population of stateless persons.

Reporting by Naw Noreen

READ MORE---> Displaced in Burma lacking medical aid...

Burmese Injured in Malaysian Camp Riots

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

Eight Burmese detainees were wounded after a small riot broke out at the Semenyih Immigration camp near Kajang Township, in Malaysia on Wednesday.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Aung Lwin Oo, one of the detainees involved in the riot at the camp, said the trouble started at 8pm after camp authorities beat 30 detainees who were refusing to board a truck that was to take them to another camp.

The detainees began breaking up the walls of their rooms and throwing plates at security officers, demanding prison authorities release the 30 people who had been loaded onto the truck.

The police used tear gas to break up the riot.

“We are very angry after we heard they had beaten and forced fellow prisoners to get on a truck and be moved another camp. When they came for them they said it was only to meet officials from the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees],” he said.

Aung Lwin Oo was in hiding as he talked to The Irrawaddy by phone from the camp. Camp authorities ban the use of mobile phones.

“On Tuesday, two Burmese detainees were also seriously beaten when they went to the clinic to ask for medicine. One detainee was beaten around the eyes,” Lwin Oo reported.

“We don’t know if he will regain his vision because his eyes are filled with blood. At the moment he can’t see,” he said. “The other detainee suffered cigarette burns on his body and is in serious condition now.”

Yante Ismail, a spokesperson for the UNHCR based in Kuala Lumpur told The Irrawaddy, Thursday, that a group from UNHCR left for the camp that morning to investigate the riot.

She said that she was unable to provide any further details on what happened at the camp.

The Malaysian National News Agency announced on their Bernama website that no one was injured during the riot and that the situation was under control.

According to Burmese rights groups in Malaysia, there are about 700 Burmese detainees at the Semenyih Immigration camp. They are accusing camp authorities of keeping people who have already served sentences in detention.

Roi Mon, a member of the Mon Refugees Organization based in Malaysia, said that inmates do not have enough food and water, and the camp is crowded because the authorities have refused to release detainees.

Meanwhile, in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 released in June, the US State Department put Malaysia back on the Tier 3 blacklist for its record of abuse and exploitation of migrant workers. Malaysia joins 16 other countries including Burma, North Korea, Sudan and Zimbabwe on the blacklist.

The report accused Malaysia authorities of deporting Burmese detainees to the Thai-Malaysia border and selling them to human traffickers, who then demanded ransoms for their release.

If payments were not made, the victims would be forced to work as slave labor on fishing boats in Thailand and Indonesia, and women could be forced to work as prostitutes in brothels.

Malaysian authorities have disputed the report’s conclusions.

According to the Kuala Lumpur-based Burma Workers’ Rights Protection Committee, about 500,000 Burmese migrants work in Malaysia, legally and illegally.

READ MORE---> Burmese Injured in Malaysian Camp Riots...

50,000th Burmese refugee from Thai border to be resettled in West, says UN

Geneva (The Nation)- The 50,000th refugee from Burma to leave the camps along the country's border with Thailand for resettlement abroad will arrive in the US on Tuesday, the United Nations Refugee Agency said.

Some 112,000 refugees remain along the Thai-Burmese border, in a problem that has now being going on for 20 years.

The man who will be the 50,000th refugee to be flown to the West, will resettle in New Jersey with his wife and daughter, after living and teaching primary school in a camp since 1996.

The resettlement of Burmese refugees is the largest project of its kind in the world, as the UN generally pushes for refugees to return to their home nation once problems have been settled.

The UNHCR said it does not expect the 112,000 remaining refugees in camps there to be able to return home "any time soon."

The Burmese refugee resettlement programme has been running since 2004. //DPA

READ MORE---> 50,000th Burmese refugee from Thai border to be resettled in West, says UN...

Arakanese Urban Refugees Protest UNHCR in Bangladesh

By Takaloo, Cox’s bazar (Narinjara): Arakanese urban refugees taking shelter in Bangladesh staged a protest on Sunday outside the UNHCR office in southern Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, for alleged discrimination and neglect against the refugees.

"We are now in great trouble because the UNHCR has stopped not only our subsistence allowances but also assistance for medical treatment and children's education," said Phoe Hla, an urban refugee.

He added that the urban refugees were being discriminated against particularly in relation to resettlement in third countries, but were also facing neglect of aid by the UNHCR.

More than 200 Arakanese democracy activists who fled persecution by the Burmese military regime are recognized as refugees by the UNHCR in Bangladesh, according to the community. The UNHCR office in Dhaka was unavailable for comment on the issue.

"I am not able to send my only child to school because the UNHCR has halved the monthly educational assistance of 1200 taka for her," said Ma Fru Chay, a widow refugee with one daughter. 1200 taka equals approximately 17.65 US dollars.

She added that she has had great difficulty maintaining food and shelter due to the reduction in UNHCR assistance.

Most refugee parents have been unable to send their children to school since the UNHCR stopped their monthly subsistence allowances. The allowances were cut after they implemented a self-reliance business project that involved an average lump sum payment of 15,000 taka, or 220 USD, for each head of the family, say the refugees.

They said that the self-reliance projects failed shortly after implementation due to local competition and discrimination against Burmese.

"The UNHCR never listens to what the refugees have to say. It operates according to its plans and targets without practical assessment of the refugees' situations," said Khaing Pray Thein, another refugee.

He added that, "There is a great communication gap between the UNHCR and refugees. The UNHCR never tries to protect the vulnerability of refugees who are struggling for their livelihoods in remote rural areas. It usually delays its response or action on cases regarding health and protection, even though they receive adequate notice from the refugees."

According to the refugees, one UNHCR recognized urban refugee named Min Wa died in custody in Chittagong jail last year, after the UNHCR failed to step in and protect him according to their role.

Most of the refugees would prefer to be resettled in a third country so they can rebuild their lives, because they can not return to their homes and find it increasingly difficult to lead their daily lives in Bangladesh.

"The UNHCR should open resettlement for us. It should consider how we have to risk for our livelihoods here. We are badly suffering in every aspect of our lives. We have nothing except the hope of resettling in a country, where our rights are regarded and secured, for rebuilding our future," said one refugee.

They added that some western countries have shown their sympathy in offering resettlement for the urban refugees, but the UNHCR has rejected their offers on the grounds of preventing the exodus of more Arakanese refugees from Burma.

"More than 50 Arakanese had fled persecution after the Burmese junta cracked down on the Saffron Revolution protests in September 2007, and they have sought asylum here, but most have been rejected by the UNHCR on the claim that they do not meet the refugee status determination criteria," said U Khaemida, a Buddhist monk who has recently been registered as an urban refugee.

He said that newly recognized refugees and asylum-seekers are suffering difficulty due to the lack of UNHCR assistance.

"Short-cut solutions of the UNHCR have worsened the plight of urban refugees," he said.

READ MORE---> Arakanese Urban Refugees Protest UNHCR in Bangladesh...

Brief situation report of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia

(Kaladan Press) -The Arakan Rohingya Refugee Committee (ARRC) released a brief report on situation of Rohingya refugee in Malaysia, on the occasion of world refugee day 2009.

Brief Report on Rohingya in Malaysia 2009

READ MORE---> Brief situation report of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia...

Bangladesh, Burma Work to Resolve Rohingya Repatriation

By ARKAR MOE
The Irrawaddy News

The influx of Rohingya refuges into Bangladesh will not stop until there is a change in Arakan State and Burmese officials agree to repatriation, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said at a press conference on Friday.

“If there is no qualitative change in the place they come from, the influx will be continuing no matter how serious we are in trying to resolve the crisis,” Dipu Moni said.

She made the comment in response to media reports that more Rohingya refugees were entering Bangladesh through the Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban districts.

The foreign minister said nearly 30,000 Rohingya currently reside in two makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar District and many more live outside the designated camps.

The foreign minister recalled that Burma claimed that the Rohingya were Bangladeshi at the Bali Conference on human trafficking in April.

“But I presented the historical facts and necessary evidence on the Rohingya, their origin in Burma, at the conference to convince the international community,” she said.

During her visit to Burma on May 16-17, Dipu Moni said the Burmese government agreed to take Rohingya refugees back if a proper list was provided. “Progress has been made in this regard,” she said.

“We will provide the list to Rangoon in consultation with the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM),” she said.

The UNHRC earlier called the Rohingyas issues a “protracted” humanitarian problem that began 30 years ago.

Khine Mrat Kyaw, an editor at the Bangladesh-based Narinjara news agency, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that he didn’t believe the Rohingya issue would be easily solved.

Under a subsequent tripartite agreement between Dhaka, the UN refugee agency and Rangoon, Burma had agreed to take back Rohingya following Bangladesh refusal to shelter them for an indefinite period, calling it an "economic burden."

Khine Mrat Kyaw said, “When I asked them [Rohingya], they don’t want to go back to Burma. If the Bangladesh government sent them by force, they would protest and demonstrate. Bangladesh needs to negotiate with the UNHRC and Burma.”

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain told the press briefing: "Unless the situation in Burma improves to restore the confidence of the Rohingya, the problem is unlikely to be resolved despite the tripartite agreement or Rangoon's statements."

Rohingya have alleged widespread, systemic human rights abuses by Burmese authorities, saying the government deprives Rohingya citizens of free movement, education and rightful employment.

Rohingya have migrated to Bangladesh since the late 1970s, and, more recently, Malaysia and Indonesia.

READ MORE---> Bangladesh, Burma Work to Resolve Rohingya Repatriation...

900 boatpeople seized en route in Indonesia

(The Australian) -ALMOST 900 suspected asylum seekers have been detained by Indonesian police while en route to Australia.

As border protection authorities prepare to spend millions of taxpayer dollars in an effort to disrupt people-smugglers before they set sail, a top Indonesian defence official has warned that Australia should get used to an increased flow of boats.

Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said stemming the flow of boatpeople from the archipelago would require even closer bilateral co-operation between Australia and Indonesia.

"I think you are condemned by your prosperity to be a magnet for all kinds of people - illegal fisherman, refugees," Dr Sudarsono told The Australian in Jakarta yesterday. "I can't find a long-term solution for you. The best we can do is to increase our capacity to intercept."

Yesterday, a Senate estimates committee hearing was told that since September, Indonesian police had detained 887 people suspected of entering the country with a view to travelling to Australia.

Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner Tony Negus told the committee the figure did not include the 749 asylum seekers caught by Australian border protection authorities.

"So you're talking well in excess of 1500 people in the last six or seven months," he said.

The figures came as outgoing commissioner Mick Keelty denied reports the AFP had produced intelligence briefings for the Rudd Government warning that policy changes would encourage people-smugglers. Under questioning from Opposition legal affairs spokesman George Brandis, who appeared to be reading from part or all of an AFP document, Mr Keelty said the AFP did not produce intelligence reports for government.

"There is no report that I have authored to the minister or any minister in this Government to describe in any way, shape or form the impact of their policy on people-smuggling," he said.

But in a cryptic line of questioning, Senator Brandis asked Mr Keelty if he was familiar with a document entitled Strategic Forecast for Transnational Criminal Trends and Threats. Mr Keelty said he was not.

Senator Brandis then asked. "Did that document contain these words? 'Reporting indicates that people-smugglers will market recent changes in Australia's immigration policy to entice potential illegal immigrants. This may cause a rise on the number of attempted arrivals."'

Citing a long-standing convention that intelligence matters not be discussed at estimates, Mr Keelty refused to answer.

Dr Sudarsono said he saw the issue of illegal migrants linked with political stability in Indonesia as a long-standing security concern for Australia.

He said he fully understood Canberra's concern that Indonesia not become a filter for illegal migrants from other parts: "You are an attractive place economically, and you are so underpopulated that you are a constant magnet from various parts of the world. Indonesia has been a staging point for many of these illegal migrants."

READ MORE---> 900 boatpeople seized en route in Indonesia...

Protection visa system leaves a family torn apart

Refugees ... Mrs Hashimi with children Zahra, Hossein and Qasseme. Inset, Amer Hashimi, who held a temporary protection visa but is now in detention in Jakarta.

A former Sydney resident has been left to languish in jail, writes Tom Allard in Jakarta.

* May 23, 2009 - SMH

LOCKED in a crowded cell at Jakarta's immigration detention centre, his life savings gone and family separated from him, Amer Hashimi has plenty of time to contemplate his misfortune.

Like many Faili Kurds from Iraq, Hashimi has experienced his share of persecution and hardship. Perhaps more heartbreaking still, he has also had a taste of a "dream life" in Australia snatched away.

The genial 43-year-old truck driver is one of many former holders of temporary protection visas who have attempted to return to Australia in the past year, making the perilous journey by boat from Indonesia for a second time.

The visa - a centrepiece of the Howard government's immigration policy - allowed refugees to stay in Australia, but barred them from bringing their immediate families to join them.

Amid a recent wave of boat people attempting to reach Australia, there have been calls for its reintroduction as a deterrent. The Opposition is considering endorsing a new type of visa that contains many of its features.

But Mr Hashimi's decade-long struggle to find a safe place for his family shows how the visa can compound misery.

"In 1999, I first come to Australia in a big boat, maybe 370 people," Mr Hashimi said during a telephone interview from his cell block. "I like this country very much. I live there more than four years, but I can't see my family for this time."

After paying a human trafficking syndicate $US2500 ($3200), Mr Hashimi could not afford to bring his wife, Nahle Abd Uan, and his three children with him. They stayed in Iran, where they had fled from Iraq.

He lived in Sydney's western suburbs, and worked six or seven days a week, sending his wife money so she could pay bribes to allow their children to attend school.

"My wife and children is having a very hard time in Iran. They only have white card, so not allowed for school, for working," he explained.

Mr Hashimi had hoped that if his refugee status was reconfirmed after three years in Australia he would get a permanent visa and be able to bring his wife and children out to live with him.

But while judged to be a genuine refugee by Australian immigration officials he was issued with a second temporary protection visa. It was a devastating blow. His family were being harassed in Iran and threatened with repatriation to Iraq, then in the grips of the US-led war to topple Saddam Hussein.

In April 2004, he was granted a travel document and returned to Iran for a reunion. He believed, incorrectly, he could return to Australia. On his way back he was imprisoned for four months in Iran, then deported to Iraq. He slipped illegally back into Iran to see his family and plead his case with consular officials at the Australian embassy in Tehran.

"They said they couldn't help me," he said.

Increasingly desperate, Mr Hashimi took his family to Indonesia to apply for refugee status with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in late 2005.

Nothing happened for two years. The Australian embassy in Jakarta refused to see him.

"It's very hard to live here and just wait. We do nothing. We just sit at home," Mrs Hashimi said. Frustrated and depressed, Mr Hashimi decided to engage a people-smuggler.

His last $US3000 and wife's gold jewellery paid for the passage. But the boat was small and overcrowded, and after setting out from Lombok in November last year its main engine failed and the passengers landed on a remote beach on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa.

"We walked for five hours to find someone," said Mr Hashimi. When they did, they were arrested by local police. Indonesian authorities considered Mr Hashimi a flight risk and have put him in detention while his family live an hour away in the hills of Puncak.

Last month, Mrs Hashimi and her children had their claim for protection as refugees finally approved.

Even so, it could still be years before they are resettled in another country. And, while the successful claim gives Mr Hashimi hope, it also fills him with anger.

"If they had given it more quicker, I would never tried to catch the boat. Now I am in jail," he said. "Please, I just want to come back to Australia."

READ MORE---> Protection visa system leaves a family torn apart...

One million flee fighting

From correspondents in Islamabad
Agence France-Presse

May 17, 2009 12:15am

(News.com) -MORE than 1.1 million people have fled fighting between Pakistani government forces and the Taliban in the northwest of the country during the last two weeks, the UN refugee chief said.
"We have registered since May 2, 1,171,000 displaced persons,'' UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said.

The figure was a leap of more than 183,860 people registered since Friday evening, as desperate families pile onto trucks and tractors, or stream on foot out of the three worst-affected districts to hastily set up camps.

They join another 500,000 people who fled bouts of fighting in the northwest last year, where extremist Taliban militants have been fighting to gain control and impose a harsh brand of Islamic law.

READ MORE---> One million flee fighting...

Australia supports Rohingya refugees

(KPN)- Australia will provide A$ 700,000 to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar. The fund will be used to construct improved shelters for 492 Roingya families, as part of UNHCR’s on-going shelter replacement project.

Announcing the new funding pattern, the Australian High Commissioner Dr Justin Lee said, “Australia’s funding of the UNHCR will provide better living conditions including more space, privacy and protection to around 3,000 refugees, until a durable solution can be found.”

Australia also granted earlier this month A$ 3.2 million in humanitarian aid to Rohingya people living in Burma’s northern Arakan (Rakhine) State. This takes Australia’s total contribution to A$ 8 million in this financial year to assist Rohingya in both Bangladesh and Burma.

“This reflects Australia’s commitment to a permanent solution to the Rohingya issue, “Dr Lee said.

The UN refugee agency warmly welcomed the Australian donation. UNHCR representative in Bangladesh, Pia Prytz Phiri said, “Australia’s commitment to the refugee programme in Bangladesh, especially by funding new shelters has already resulted in improvement in the health and protection of the refugees.

According to insiders, the Burmese military junta will provide 30 percent and the UNHCR will provide 70 percent for the development of health, education and communication of Rohingya people in Arakan State. But, the Burmese military regime will take the 30 percent of the funds from Rohingya businessmen.

The Deputy Home Minister Brig General Phone Swe had already taken some millions of kyat from Rohingya businessmen for the development of health, education and communication in northern Arakan, said a businessman from Maungdaw Town

READ MORE---> Australia supports Rohingya refugees...

Australia to give Tk 3cr to UNHCR for Rohingyas

Dhaka, Apr 30 (bdnews24.com)—Australia will provide Aus $700,000 or around Tk 3.15 crore to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the construction of refugee camps for Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar.

A press release of the Australian High Commission in Dhaka said Thursday the funds will be used to construct improved shelters for 492 Rohingya families as part of UNHCR's ongoing shelter replacement project.

Australia earlier this month announced Aus $3.2 million humanitarian funds for the Rohingya people living in Burma's northern Rakhine State.

"This reflects Australia's commitment to a permanent solution to the Rohingya issue," the statement quoted Australian high commissioner to Bangladesh Justin Lee as saying.

"Australia's funding to UNHCR will provide better living conditions including more space, privacy and protection to around 3000 refugees, until a durable solution can be found", he said.

The UNHCR also welcomed the assistance.

"Australia's commitment to the refugee program in Bangladesh, especially by funding new shelters, has already resulted in improvements in the health and protection of the refugees," UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh, Pia Prytz Phiri said in the statement.

"This additional funding will ensure that over 80 percent of all shelter needs are met in both camps," she said.

Bangladesh has been hosting over 28,000 Rohingya refugees refusing to return to Myanmar.

They constitute a residual caseload of 250,000 who entered Bangladesh in 1991 and 1992.

UNHCR has been providing assistance to Rohingya refugees since 1991 when hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims poured into Bangladesh following a crackdown on them by the Burma's military junta.

bdnews24.com/krc/bd/1521h.

READ MORE---> Australia to give Tk 3cr to UNHCR for Rohingyas...