UK, Switzerland pledge $24m more for Rohingyas

The United Kingdom and Switzerland have pledged additional $24 million as assistance for the Rohingya people who are crossing into Bangladesh to escape persecution of Myanmar's Rakhine State.

UK decided to commit $15.78 million (£12 million) and Switzerland $8 million (CHF 8 million), read two separate press releases issued respectively by British High Commission Dhaka and Embassy of Switzerland today.

With this fresh financial aid, UK, currently top on the donors' list, pledged $63 million and Switzerland $8.8 million so far over the "world's fastest growing humanitarian catastrophe" since August 25.

"Ethnic cleansing, sexual violence, starvation and the murder of children have no place in our world. Today's pledges are only just the start, and the world cannot afford to wait as innocent men, women and children continue to lose their lives," UK said in the press note.

Read more: Rohingya crisis: Next UN report will be more detailed

Meanwhile, to address the growing needs in terms of protection, water, food and sanitation for the Rohingyas Switzerland has decided to increase its assistance in Bangladesh to CHF 8 million, the press release by Embassy of Switzerland said. 

Both the two European countries made the commitment after an international pledging conference took place yesterday in Geneva over the Rohingya crisis in South Asia.

Donors including governments and the European Union pledged roughly $340 million at the pledging conference.

The UN and its partners are seeking $434 million to help the Rohingya through February.

So far, over 603,000 Rohingyas fled violence in Myanmar to Bangladesh since August 25 following Myanmar's security forces operations against them in response to insurgent attacks.

The crisis created a global outcry, but the UN Security Council has failed to take any decisive action against Myanmar, where the Rohingyas are denied citizenship and have been persecuted for decades.