A 10-member delegation of officials from the US Congress is scheduled to visit Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Ukhiya and Teknaf areas from August 26 to 28 to assess the humanitarian situation and review aid-funded activities.
Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, confirmed the visit. He said the trip is part of regular visits by US delegations to Rohingya camps to assess conditions on the ground.
According to Mizanur Rahman, the United States is the largest donor of international assistance for Rohingya refugees. The US government seeks to ensure that taxpayer-funded resources are being used appropriately, making field visits an important part of monitoring programs supported by American funding.
He described the inspection as being similar to an audit, saying delegation members would visit camps where various activities are being implemented with US financial support and assess how those programs are operating in practice.
Foreign Ministry officials said Noel Dayna, a senior legislative assistant to the US Congress, will lead the delegation. Two officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will also be part of the 10-member team.
According to the itinerary, the delegation will visit six Rohingya camps in Ukhiya on August 26 and 27. On August 28, the team will travel to Teknaf to inspect two additional camps.
During the visits, the delegation is expected to observe the living conditions of Rohingya refugees, assess the overall situation in the camps and review various programs being implemented with US funding.
The Rohingya refugee crisis intensified after August 25, 2017, when a large-scale military crackdown and violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Within months, around 750,000 refugees had arrived in Ukhiya and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar. Around 400,000 Rohingya were already living in camps in the area before the 2017 influx.
Additional Rohingya refugees have entered Bangladesh at various times since then, leaving Cox’s Bazar to accommodate a large refugee population for years and creating a major humanitarian and administrative challenge for the country.
Against this backdrop, continued international assistance and effective management of humanitarian aid remain critical to addressing the protracted Rohingya crisis.
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) and Foreign Ministry officials