Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs; Credit: MAEE

On Thursday 22 October 2020, Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, participated in the donors' video conference in support of Rohingya refugees.

The international conference was co-hosted by the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Mike Pompeo, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles, and the Minister of State for the Commonwealth and South Asia of the United Kingdom, Lord Ahmad, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The objective of the conference was to raise awareness among the international community of this unprecedented migratory crisis in South Asia, to mobilise resources to help the displaced populations and the main host communities as well as to promote a better coordinated engagement of the various key players, as the crisis is further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For its part, Luxembourg has acted in favour of Rohingya refugees and migrants since the start of the crisis in 2017. Through its long-standing partners, the Grand Duchy is contributing humanitarian aid to the Rohingyas and has allocated almost €5 million to humanitarian projects since the start of the crisis. This aid was channelled mainly through the UNHCR, the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UNHCR's Humanitarian Fund in Myanmar, as well as Luxembourg NGOs.

On the political level, Luxembourg has been pleading for years for an end to the massive violence against the Rohingyas by supporting several initiatives at the level of multilateral forums, such as the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar. In his speech, Minister Jean Asselborn highlighted the importance that Luxembourg attaches to ending impunity in Myanmar and urged the Myanmar authorities to cooperate with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and implement the measures recommended by the court to protect the rights of the Rohingya people.

As an extension of humanitarian aid and political commitment, Minister Jean Asselborn announced at this conference that Luxembourg is continuing to support Rohingya refugees through a contribution of €1.17 million in 2020.