STR/AFP/Getty Images(LONDON) — Actress and human rights activist Angelina Jolie on Tuesday met with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement.
This was Jolie’s first trip to Bangladesh as an UNHCR special envoy and the visit comes as the United Nations attempts to raise $920 million for the refugees.
The Rohingya people, who escaped brutal persecution at the hands of the Myanmar military, have fled into neighboring Bangladesh since August 2017.
“The people responsible for human rights violations must be held accountable for their actions,” Jolie said. “While UNHCR is ready to support efforts to improve conditions, there have been very little progress on the ground. The Rohingya cannot return to Myanmar at this time.”
Jolie said she would stand with the men, women and children who escaped the violence.
“I want to say, I am humble and proud to stand with you today,” she said. “You have every right to live in security, to be free and practice your religion and to co-exist with people of other faith and ethnicities. You have every right not to be stateless. And the way you have been treated shames us all.”
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