Rohingya crisis

Since the outbreak of violence in Rakhine state in Burma in August 2017 over 600,000 Rohingya refugees have crossed the border into Bangladesh, creating what the UN Secretary-General has described as a “devastating humanitarian situation”. The US Secretary of State said the situation in northern Rakhine State “constitutes ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya”. Hundreds of thousands of mostly Rohingya people have fled what human rights agencies are reporting as grave human rights abuses by the Burmese military. Aung Sang Suu Kyi, Burma’s leader, has come under repeated criticism for her response to the crisis.

The Prime Minister has joined with the international community in calling on the Burmese authorities to stop the violence, allow the safe return of refugees and allow full humanitarian access. The Government has donated £47 million in aid and has pledged to match £5 million in donations to the Disaster Emergency Committee appeal for people fleeing Burma. The UK has suspended educational training programmes for the Burmese military in light of crisis.

On 23 November 2017 Burma and Bangladesh signed an agreement to repatriate refugees, though Burma gave no details on how many would be allowed to return home. Repatriations are expected to begin within two months.