Bangladesh must suspend Rohingya repatriation, says UN expert

By Zeus Legaspi

A United Nations (UN) expert has called on Bangladesh to "immediately suspend" its pilot repatriation project for Rohingya refugees to return to Myanmar, where they face "serious risks" to their lives and liberty, according to a statement on Thursday, June 8.

Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, expressed concern over reports that the Bangladeshi government was "using deceptive and coercive measures" to force Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar.

He highlighted that refugees were being promised large sums of money to agree to return, despite the meager food rations in the Bangladesh camps, which amount to only US$0.27 per person per day.

Andrews emphasized that the conditions in Myanmar are not suitable for the safe, dignified, sustainable, and voluntary return of Rohingya refugees. He further stated that Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is leading a brutal military junta that targets civilian populations while denying Rohingya citizenship and other basic rights.

Bangladesh officials have announced plans to repatriate an initial group of 1,140 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, with a total of 6,000 expected to be returned by the end of the year.

Recent actions by Bangladesh authorities suggest that the first return could happen soon, further worsened by threats of arrest, document confiscation, and other forms of retaliation against those opposing the government's plans.

Under this project, Rohingya refugees will not be allowed to return to their own villages. Instead, they would pass through reception and transit centers in Maungdaw Township before being relocated to a designated area of 15 newly constructed villages, where their freedom of movement would be restricted.

According to the Special Rapporteur, returning Rohingya refugees under these conditions would likely violate Bangladesh's international obligations and expose them to gross human rights violations and potential future atrocities.

“I implore Bangladesh to immediately suspend the repatriation pilot program,” Andrews said.

However, on Thursday, tens of thousands of Rohingya demonstrated in Bangladeshi camps to demand they be repatriated to Myanmar. The refugees are desperate to leave the camps they have lived in since fleeing from a military crackdown in 2017. Their conditions are worsened by another cut to their monthly food allocation. 

On June 1, the World Food Programme cut the aid budget to US$ 8 per person from US$ 10 earlier. This is the second cut on the food allocation since March when rations had been reduced to US$ 10 from the initial US$ 12. Demonstrators said that these food aid cuts by the UN have pushed them to starvation. 

This year, humanitarian organizations have requested more than $876 million to assist the Rohingya in Bangladesh. The Joint Response Plan for assisting them was only 24 percent funded as of June 2023.