The UN refugee agency said on Monday both the origin of the Rohingya crisis and its solution lie in Myanmar.
The statement came when the United Nations (UN) warned of growing humanitarian needs amongst the Rohingya refugees, who fled violence in Rakhine state of Myanmar. One month on since the start of the refugee influx, the UN sought urgent funding to meet their life-saving needs.
"The violence has to be stopped in Myanmar for return of refugees and, for this Myanmar government must implement the recommendations of Advisory Commission on Rakhine State led by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan," UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said.
The UNHCR said it agreed with Bangladesh's proposals to resolve the Rohingya crisis, but it is sceptical about a safe zone inside Myanmar for the Rohingyas.
UNHCR said it is not in a position to create a safe zone, it has to be decided by the Myanmar government, otherwise the Security Council's intervention will be required, which is a "complex exercise, he said replying to a question.
He was speaking at a press briefing following his two-day visit here when he visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.
He said he spoke to refugees in Cox's Bazar and heard disturbing stories there.
"I saw very harrowing stories of loss and sufferings. There were widespread physical violence, sexual violence and intimidation," he said.
Grandi thanked Bangladesh for keeping its border open during the crisis and called the international community to step up support for the Rohingyas.
"I thanked Sheikh Hasina and I thank people of Bangladesh for keeping its borders open to these refugees," he said. "In today's world that is something that cannot be taken for granted and should be appreciated."
He said the solution is in their (Rohingya refugees) return to Myanmar, but it has to be "voluntary, safe and with dignity".
"In order to make that happen, the condition has to be changed in Rakhine, violence has to be stopped and access of humanitarian agencies has to be restored."
They are now stateless, a condition that he identified as the "root cause" of their plight. "This is a refugee crisis of major proportions," he said.
On the safe zone, he said it needs to be defined, and how it can be kept safe.
"This is not something UNHCR can determine. It is for the international community to discuss," he said, but adding that there are two choices for creating that safe zone.
Asked about whether they get the refugee status, he said it is the host government to certify that.
"From our point of view, it's very clear that they flee from discrimination, persecution, violence, conflicts, and these are all causes that qualify somebody who flees as refugees. This is our point of view. The determination of that status belongs to the sovereign government of the country."
But whether officially refugee or not, "this does not prevent us or government and anybody from providing assistance to what they need. That is the most important."
Grandi also thanked the government for starting the registration process even before international support.
The UNHCR chief said the donors and international communities need to increase the financial assistance for ensuring sanitation, health, food and education for children.
"We are estimating the needs, but it will be more than US$77 million," he said.
Earlier, UNHCR said humanitarian agencies operating in Cox's Bazar urgently need US$77 million to assist people who have fled violence in Rakhine, Myanmar as Rohingya population.
BSS adds: The United Nations (UN) warned on Monday of growing humanitarian needs amongst the Rohingya refugees, who fled violence in Rakhine state of Myanmar, seeking urgent funding to meet their life-saving needs.
"One month on since the start of the Rohingya refugee crisis, there is an urgent need to continue scaling up humanitarian operations to meet the growing needs of the refugees," said a statement issued by the UN Resident Coordinator office in Dhaka on Monday.
"In just one month, more than 436,000 Rohingyas have fled across land and water to seek refuge in Bangladesh. All available land is now in the process of being built on as the refugees have put up shelters that can offer them some protection," the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Robert Watkins said.
"The UN and its NGO partners are working to support the government to provide the refugees with life-saving assistance. The scale of the needs is immense, and we urgently need funding to rapidly increase the support we are providing," he added.
The refugees, who fled to Bangladesh since August 25, are settling in severely overcrowded camps and makeshift settlements where there is very limited access to basic services such as food, clean water and shelters, the statement said.
The majority of the refugees are women and children, with one in five households estimated to be headed by women, it said, adding that growing numbers of separated and unaccompanied children are being reported and support-services for gender-based violence have been identified as a critical need.
Humanitarian actors are also providing access to temporary learning spaces and safe spaces for children, psychosocial support and mental health care services and specialised support for survivors of violence.
Watkins said, "As we mark one month since this crisis started, I take this opportunity to thank the national authorities and the people of Bangladesh for their generosity and to commend the tireless work of the aid workers, teachers, volunteers and the host communities for their support to the refugees."
According to the release, a preliminary Response Plan for $77 million was launched in August.
However, with the number of refugees having increased dramatically, this is currently being revised and a new Plan and funding target will be launched at the beginning of October to support the refugees and the host communities for six months, it added.
According to UNB, a new report says about 607,735 undocumented Rohingyas have been identified in four upazilas of Cox's Bazar district and 53 per cent of them are women and girls.
The assessment was done in four upazilas of the district -- Cox's Bazar Sadar, Ramu, Teknaf and Ukhia.
A total of 429,308 undocumented Rohingyas have arrived since August 25 due to the current ongoing outbreak of violence in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
A total of 143 locations in 85 sites were assessed between September 5- 21, 2017.
A comprehensive registration system is still missing and therefore individual identification and information on the demographic breakdown is currently done through an extrapolation and estimation process, said the report.
An estimated seven per cent of undocumented Rohingyas are children under one year old, 29 per cent are children under five years old and four per cent are 60 years or older, according to preliminary findings of the report.
Ten per cent are pregnant or lactating women, said the report adding that 12 per cent of the undocumented Myanmar nationals households are headed by women, a situation that likely increases their vulnerability.
The report identified 1,480 unaccompanied and separated children.
While there were around 113,735 undocumented Myanmar nationals in makeshift settlements in the beginning of August, that number has increased three-fold to 350,041 during the current reporting period.
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