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A military response to insurgent attacks on
police posts and an army base in northern Rakhine state last
August pushed almost 700,000 Rohingya Muslims across the border
to Bangladesh, many accusing security forces of killings, rape
and arson.
"Every child deserves a future, an opportunity to contribute to
humanity,” Chopra told a news conference in Dhaka after a
four-day visit to Rohingya refugee camps at Cox's Bazar on the
southern tip of Bangladesh.
“Refugee children are the world’s responsibility because they
don’t have anywhere to go. They don't have anything they can
call their own,” she said.
The United Nations has described the military crackdown as
"ethnic cleansing," which Myanmar has denied, saying its
security forces were conducting a legitimate counter-insurgency
operation against "terrorists."
Chopra urged the international community to tackle the issue of
Rohingya children living without basic rights to food, clean
water, shelter, proper sanitation and education.
"There’s so much more to be done. They need your money, time,
compassion," she said.
In March the United Nations launched an appeal for $951 million
to help the Rohingya refugees for the rest of the year, but it
remains less than 20 percent funded.
(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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