Humanitarian aid cuts by US, Europe a crime: UN

UN Secretary-General Anténio Guterres said on Friday that the humanitarian aid cuts by the United States and other countries in Europe “are a crime.”

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He made the comment during a four-day visit to Bangladesh, where he is assessing the plight of more than 1 million Rohingya refugees whose future remained uncertain over possible aid cuts soon.

The UN would do everything possible to arrange adequate funding for the Rohingya refugees after recent announcement of dramatic aid cuts by the US and other countries in Europe, Guterres said.

As a result, the UN's food agency recently said it would have no option but to cut food aid by half for the Rohingya from April if they fail to arrange adequate funds to feed them.

In a meeting with Bangladesh's interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus in the capital, Dhaka, Guterres expressed his concern over Western nations’ decision to boost defense spending while humanitarian aid is squeezed across the world.

“(Aid) cuts are a crime,” the UN chief was quoted as telling Yunus by the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha agency during Friday's meeting.