A SENIOR official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said at a press conference in Dhaka on Thursday that repatriation of Rohingya refugees would require international presence and monitoring to make sure safe and sustainable return to prevent further waves of displacement. It suggests no matter Myanmar takes all safety measures Bangladesh can’t return refugees without safety although they are indulging in crimes and causing law and order situation.
It may be a critical issue soon for Bangladesh to convince international organizations that Rohingyas are going with safety when such guarantee is missing in the deal from Myanmar side. Myanmar is already beyond the reach of international community following the signing of the deal as a bilateral issue sidetracking international organizations.
The UNHCR official said the present conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are not safe to enable safe and sustainable return of the refugees. Returning from a visit to refugee camps at Cox’s Bazar she said refugees are afraid of returning without guarantee for safety fearing reprisal. But they can’t be returned precipitously and prematurely. But question is how Bangladesh can make sure safety on the other end.
She has rightly raised the question saying the MoU signed by Myanmar and Bangladesh government on repatriation of refugees itself is not enough unless it meets international refugee and human rights standard. The fact is that these are missing in the deal. The official has also genuinely pointed to the deep divisions between communities in Rakhine State saying without resolving tension and making sure access of humanitarian assistance refugees are not willing to leave.
It appears Bangladesh has signed the deal with Myanmar that is full of deception to defeat the cause while it appears that it is as if the responsibility of our government to create the environment of safety within Myanmar. Our government has stepped into the trap agreeing to sign the deal without involving the international community. Had it involved them, the UNHCR and other human rights organizations could represent refugees and negotiate the deal with the required safety measures.
In that case Myanmar would have little room to exert pressure that it has used on Bangladesh to sign the deal with the help of its few but powerful regional allies. Now that we have a situation in which Myanmar is up for misleading the international community in matter of repatriation denying its involvement in the process, there is hardly any one to bring pressure on Myanmar. Its military has committed genocide and it appears that they are escaping from facing justice.
We have no less than 700,000 new arrivals, in addition to similar number of Rohingyas who remained stuck up without repatriation in the past. It is big humanitarian crisis posing unprecedented pressure on the country’s limited resources to give them food and shelter. But it appears that the crisis may not end sooner.
It may be a critical issue soon for Bangladesh to convince international organizations that Rohingyas are going with safety when such guarantee is missing in the deal from Myanmar side. Myanmar is already beyond the reach of international community following the signing of the deal as a bilateral issue sidetracking international organizations.
The UNHCR official said the present conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are not safe to enable safe and sustainable return of the refugees. Returning from a visit to refugee camps at Cox’s Bazar she said refugees are afraid of returning without guarantee for safety fearing reprisal. But they can’t be returned precipitously and prematurely. But question is how Bangladesh can make sure safety on the other end.
She has rightly raised the question saying the MoU signed by Myanmar and Bangladesh government on repatriation of refugees itself is not enough unless it meets international refugee and human rights standard. The fact is that these are missing in the deal. The official has also genuinely pointed to the deep divisions between communities in Rakhine State saying without resolving tension and making sure access of humanitarian assistance refugees are not willing to leave.
It appears Bangladesh has signed the deal with Myanmar that is full of deception to defeat the cause while it appears that it is as if the responsibility of our government to create the environment of safety within Myanmar. Our government has stepped into the trap agreeing to sign the deal without involving the international community. Had it involved them, the UNHCR and other human rights organizations could represent refugees and negotiate the deal with the required safety measures.
In that case Myanmar would have little room to exert pressure that it has used on Bangladesh to sign the deal with the help of its few but powerful regional allies. Now that we have a situation in which Myanmar is up for misleading the international community in matter of repatriation denying its involvement in the process, there is hardly any one to bring pressure on Myanmar. Its military has committed genocide and it appears that they are escaping from facing justice.
We have no less than 700,000 new arrivals, in addition to similar number of Rohingyas who remained stuck up without repatriation in the past. It is big humanitarian crisis posing unprecedented pressure on the country’s limited resources to give them food and shelter. But it appears that the crisis may not end sooner.
