Stateless Rohingya could soon be the ‘new Palestinians’, top UN official warns

Special rapporteur Olivier De Shutter calls for action on neglected crisis after finding absolutely terrible' conditions on visit to Cox's Bazar camps in Bangladesh

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are at risk of becoming the new Palestinians", according to a UN head, who said they are trapped in a protracted and increasingly neglected crisis.

Olivier De Schutter, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said the almost 1 million people living in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar should be given the right to work in their host country of Bangladesh, and that forcing them to rely on dwindling international support was not sustainable.