Rights bodies, Rohingya concerned over WFP's plan to cut food aid

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Several international human rights organizations have expressed concern about the World Food Program's (WFP) plan to reduce food aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

The world food assistance provider under the United Nations this week declared that it would cut food rations to Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, by 17% from March 1, to US$10 per person.

Referring to the economic crisis, the UN agency noted that the decision was due to a sharp drop in international funding, and said further cuts were likely in April unless donors urgently provided a further $125 million.

“This could have devastating consequences for Rohingya in the (Bangladesh) camps. There are already restrictions on access to livelihoods imposed by Dhaka,” John Quinley, director at Fortify Rights, told Anadolu in a written note on Sunday.

Underlining that food aid is essential for Rohingya, he added it is important that donor governments continue funding the response in southern Bangladesh.

In a statement, the UK-based Rohingya rights watchdog, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), on Saturday night said that food security has been a major issue in the camps even before the WFP’s ration cuts were announced.

“These cuts will put close to one million Rohingya lives at risk. These refugees have survived genocide and are almost completely dependent on aid in the camps. Cutting their food rations will have devastating consequences,” the statement quoted Tun Khin, President of BROUK, as saying.

The statement noted that Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are essentially barred from working and earning their own living, meaning that they are almost wholly dependent on aid from the UN and NGOs.

According to an estimation by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, at least 1,920 Rohingya took to boats in 2022 – a sharp increase from 287 in 2021 – to illegally migrate to a third country through the risky sea routes.

At least 119 people were reported dead or missing in 2022, according to the UNHCR.

Meanwhile, Rohingya community leaders in squalid makeshift camps in Bangladesh have also expressed concerns over the WFP's plan to cut food assistance for them.

“Such a step will increase poverty among us and force our young members to indulge in criminal activities,” Rohingya community leader (Majhee), Abdur Rahim, told Anadolu over the phone.

Bangladesh is currently hosting more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in the congested camps in the country's southern border district of Cox's Bazar. Most of these persecuted people fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state in August 2017.