The United States reaffirmed its commitment to supporting survivors of the Rohingya genocide, as Washington marked the anniversary of the atrocities committed by Myanmar in 2017.
鈥楾he United States stands with the survivors of the Rohingya genocide and is committed to providing life-saving assistance to affected members of Rohingya communities and those affected by the crisis in Burma [Myanmar], Bangladesh and the region,鈥� said US secretary of state Antony J Blinken in a statement marking the Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day.
He said that the ongoing humanitarian crisis and human rights abuses in Burma exacerbated difficulties faced by members of many of Myanamr鈥檚 ethnic and religious minority groups and Rohingya in particular.
Over the past seven years, he said that the US had contributed nearly $2.4 billion to humanitarian assistance while it conducted extensive documentation of the atrocities and abuses committed against Rohingya and all civilians.
鈥極ur support for the people of Burma in their aspirations for a democratic, inclusive, and peaceful future is unwavering, as are our calls on all parties to protect civilians from harm,鈥� Blinken said in the statement.
Since August 25 in 2017, Bangladesh has been hosting over million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox鈥檚 Bazar and most of them arrived there after a military crackdown by Myanmar, which the UN called a 鈥榯extbook example of ethnic cleansing鈥� and other rights groups dubbed it as 鈥榞enocide鈥�.
In the last seven years, not a single Rohingya went back home.
Myanmar agreed to take them back, but repatriation attempts failed twice due to trust deficit among the Rohingyas about their safety and security in Rakhine state.