UNITED NATIONS, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Heads of three UN agencies helping nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh will go to Dhaka this week to meet senior officials, then visit crowded Cox's Bazar to meet refugees, a UN spokesman said on Monday.
In the Bangladeshi capital, they will hold talks with senior government officials, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen "to explore ways the international community can provide further support to Bangladesh as hosts to the Rohingya," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The three officials are UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi; Antonio Vitorino, head of the International Organization for Migration; and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock, Dujarric said.
The visitors are scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday, and after meeting government officials, head to the southwest of the country to Cox's Bazar to meet refugees, assess preparations under way ahead of the monsoon season and visit projects, including those involving food distribution and shelter, the spokesman said.
Monsoon season usually begins the end of May or early June.
In Cox's Bazar, the UN officials will meet refugees who are working as volunteers and observe a joint registration exercise of the UNHCR and government of Bangladesh, Dujarric said. Registration is to provide identity cards to all refugees, ensuring their access to aid services and protection and to establish their right of return to Myanmar.
Most of the Rohingya began fleeing in droves from their Myanmar villages, under attack from militia and vigilante groups, in August 2017, joining earlier Myanmar refugees to swell the camps to nearly 1 million people.
Most of the refugees do not have proof of citizenship and are reluctant to return.
The United Nations says refugees must have the right to return but they should be allowed to return voluntarily and in dignity to a site where they want to live.
