A Critical Analysis of the Conference on Sustaining Support for the Rohingya Refugees

Abstract

A major international donor conference for sustained support for the Rohingya refugees was convened on October 22, 2021. It was a virtual conference organized and co-hosted by the Secretary of State of the United States of America, the High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union and the Vice-President of the European Commission, the Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. This article critically evaluates this important event and explores the extent to which this international aid donor conference was consistent with the main principles of international aid effectiveness. It provides a critical analysis of a large-scale donor conference which reveals gaps in the theories, promises and practices of international aid. The focus is on the ownership of aid policies and who determines the aid agenda in this case of the large number of Rohingya refugees who have fled persecution in Myanmar and sought refuge in Bangladesh.