The Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue Dr. Hanif Al Qassim appealed to the world community to provide financial, technical and material assistance to Bangladesh and the UN in providing adequate housing and shelter to the approximately 500,000 Rohingyan refugees - entrenched in Bangladesh - after fleeing persecution and oppression in Myanmar.

Al Qassim’s appeal came in the wake of the deplorable humanitarian situation unfolding in the region and on the occasion of the 2017 World Habitat Day.

"The world community has a responsibility to provide support and assistance to neighbouring states providing refuge to the Rohingyans fleeing persecution, ethnic cleansing and maltreatment in Myanmar," stated Dr. Al Qassim.

The Geneva Centre’s Chairman noted that the provision of adequate shelter to refugees "is stipulated in Article 21 of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and in Article 18 of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. International law guarantees the realization of the right to adequate shelter and housing to refugees in the context of forcible displacement of people."

Dr. Al Qassim likewise echoed the views of the United Nations calling upon the government of Myanmar to allow for an international fact-finding mission to investigate the gravity of the human rights violations perpetrated against the Rohingyans by Burmese security forces in line with Resolution 34/22 - adopted on 24 March 2017 - by the UN Human Rights Council.

"Evidence from satellite images - as reported by international media - confirms that more than 200 villages have been pillaged and burned to the ground in a deliberate attempt to forcibly expel – once and for all - the Rohingyans from Myanmar.