The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has sought access for the UN partners, including the UNHCR, to the Rohingya people who have been relocated to the Bhasan Char island.
‘UNHCR and UN partners seek access to them in order to hear their voices, understand their wishes and see conditions on the island,’ Filippo Grandi said in a tweet, adding that any transfer must follow a voluntary and informed decision.
The Bangladesh government has recently relocated a total of 1,642 displaced Rohingya people of Myanmar to Bhasan Char from Cox’s Bazar camps amid concerns of the UN offices in Bangladesh and protest from several foreign rights bodies.
The Bangladesh government has recently relocated a total of 1,642 displaced Rohingya people of Myanmar to Bhasan Char from Cox’s Bazar camps amid concerns of the UN offices in Bangladesh and protest from several foreign rights bodies.
Over 300 other Rohingya people, who were rescued from boats in the Bay of Bengal from traffickers, have also been taken to the island earlier.
The government has been providing humanitarian relief support to all the Rohingya people in Bhasan Char through the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner’s Office, additional RRRC Shamsud Douza told New Age on Tuesday.
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Monday said that the UN should help the Rohingyas in Bhasan Char in accordance with the mandate on the basis of which the UN worked in Bangladesh.
The government has been providing humanitarian relief support to all the Rohingya people in Bhasan Char through the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner’s Office, additional RRRC Shamsud Douza told New Age on Tuesday.
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Monday said that the UN should help the Rohingyas in Bhasan Char in accordance with the mandate on the basis of which the UN worked in Bangladesh.
‘They should follow the mandate. It doesn’t matter where they’re [victims] living,’ he said.
The minister, however, made it clear that the arrangement made in Bhasan Char was for a short period as the prime objective of the government was to repatriate the displaced Rohingya people to their ancestral homes in Rakhine of Myanmar.
Asked whether the UNHCR has formally sought access to the island, it’s spokesperson Louise Donovan said on Tuesday, ‘The UN has been consistent in seeking access to Bhasan Char and to the refugees. We look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue with the government regarding its Bhasan Char project, including the proposed UN technical and protection assessments.’
The minister, however, made it clear that the arrangement made in Bhasan Char was for a short period as the prime objective of the government was to repatriate the displaced Rohingya people to their ancestral homes in Rakhine of Myanmar.
Asked whether the UNHCR has formally sought access to the island, it’s spokesperson Louise Donovan said on Tuesday, ‘The UN has been consistent in seeking access to Bhasan Char and to the refugees. We look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue with the government regarding its Bhasan Char project, including the proposed UN technical and protection assessments.’
The recent relocation was the first phase of transfer to the island as the government would take there about 100,000 members of the community to decongest existing camps situated in areas adjacent to borders with Myanmar.
The relocation of a section of Rohingya people from camps in Cox’s Bazar to the 13,000-acre Bhasan Char facility that was developed with all amenities, including embankments to withstand natural disasters such as cyclones and tidal waves, at a cost of more than US$350 million was essential to decongest camps on the security grounds, said the Bangladesh government.
The relocation of a section of Rohingya people from camps in Cox’s Bazar to the 13,000-acre Bhasan Char facility that was developed with all amenities, including embankments to withstand natural disasters such as cyclones and tidal waves, at a cost of more than US$350 million was essential to decongest camps on the security grounds, said the Bangladesh government.
Some 8,60,000 Rohingyas, mostly women, children and aged people, entered Bangladesh fleeing unbridled murder, arson and rape during ‘security operations’ by the Myanmar military in Rakhine, what the United Nations has denounced as ethnic cleansing and genocide, beginning from August 25, 2017.
The latest Rohingya influx has taken the number of undocumented Myanmar nationals and registered refugees from that country in Bangladesh to over 1.1 million, according to estimates by UN agencies and Bangladesh foreign ministry.
The latest Rohingya influx has taken the number of undocumented Myanmar nationals and registered refugees from that country in Bangladesh to over 1.1 million, according to estimates by UN agencies and Bangladesh foreign ministry.
Not a single Rohingya has returned to their home in Rakhine as the Myanmar government has almost stalled the Rohingya reparation process resorting to various means, including near discontinuation of clearing of names of the refugees eligible to go back to the country, and an unwillingness to hold meetings of the bilateral joint working group and the tripartite mechanism led by China.
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