UN put Rohingya ‘at risk’ by sharing data without consent, says rights group

the Guardian
Kate Hodal
@katehodal
Tue 15 Jun 2021

Refugees tell Human Rights Watch they fear forced repatriation and persecution after personal details passed on to Myanmar

People wait to be registered in a UN centre in Kutupalong camp. Photograph: Andy Hall/The Observer

The UN may have put hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees at risk of persecution or involuntary repatriation back to Myanmar after improperly collecting and sharing refugees’ personal information with Bangladesh, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), which is urging an investigation.

Over the past three years, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has registered more than 800,000 Rohingya refugees living in Bangladeshi camps in order to provide them with identity cards needed to access essential aid and services.

Six bodies of Rohingya found in Bangladesh’s river

Eastern Eyes
SwatiRana
14 June, 2021

THE Bangladeshi police has recovered six bodies of Rohingya including four children from the Naf River since Saturday (12).

On Monday (14) a Rohingya child and a woman were found dead on the riverbank at Hneela union of the upazila, said Teknaf Model police station officer-in-charge Md Hafizur Rahman.

The law enforcers suspect that the victims drowned after the boat, headed illegally for Bangladesh territory and with them on board, capsized in the river between Sunday evening and the early hours of Monday, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Bangladesh asks for Saudi Arabia's help repatriating Rohingya

DAILY SABAH
BY ANADOLU AGENCY
DHAKA ASIA PACIFIC
JUN 14, 2021

A group of Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, gather on Pulau Idaman, a small island just off the coast of East Aceh, in northern Sumatra on June 6, 2021, after a group of 81 refugees landed on June 4, in the latest wave of Rohingya arrivals. (AFP Photo)

Bangladesh is seeking the cooperation of Saudi Arabia to facilitate the sustainable repatriation of Rohingya Muslims to their home country, Myanmar.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen made the appeal while speaking to his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud over phone, said a statement by the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

Bangladesh seeks Saudi Arabia's help in repatriation of Rohingya

MIDDLE EAST MONITOR

June 13, 2021

A view from the Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhia, Bangladesh on March 24, 2021 [Stringer/Anadolu Agency]

Bangladesh has sought the cooperation of Saudi Arabia for a sustainable repatriation of Rohingya Muslims to their home country, Myanmar, reports Anadolu Agency.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen made the appeal while speaking to his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud over the phone, said a statement by the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

Myanmar conflict may bring ethnic groups together

The Daily Star
Mokbul Morshed Ahmad
June 12, 2021

Photo: Reuters

With the February 2021 military coup, Myanmar once again hit global media headlines. While the military junta continues to clamp down on pro-democracy protestors and the country is wracked with conflict and unrest, how will the changing political situation affect the Rohingya community in Bangladesh and in Rakhine State in Myanmar?

More than one-third of Myanmar's population is composed of ethnic minorities, who inhabit a vast frontier where the country's natural resources are concentrated. They have staged periodic insurgencies against the military, which has ruled the country for most of the past six decades. The National League for Democracy (NLD) is the only nationally popular political force in Myanmar, but it has a recent history of turning a blind eye to the persecution of ethnic minorities, especially in Rakhine. Although the party won a landslide re-election in November 2020, more than one million members of ethnic minorities were disenfranchised during the vote. The British, who colonised what was then known as Burma, called the country "a zone of racial instability".

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: The Views of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

JUST SECURITY

Jessica Olney and Shabbir Ahmad
June 10, 2021

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series on the Feb. 1, 2021 coup in Myanmar. The series brings together expert local and international voices on the coup and its broader context. The series is a collaboration between Just Security and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School.

This installment reflects conversations with Rohingya residents of refugee camps in Bangladesh about the coup in Myanmar. Camp residents’ views were collected by Shabbir Ahmad and other members of a team of Rohingya researchers during a recent community feedback collection project. The opinions expressed here are the views of the authors and camp residents, not those of any institution with which the authors are affiliated.

Bangladesh island gets UNHCR nod for Rohingya

ARAB NEWS

SHEHAB SUMON

04 June 2021

Bangladeshi authorities have shifted 18,000 out of a planned 100,000 people to the island to take pressure off Cox’s Bazar. (Reuters/File

• The UNHCR had voiced concerns as to whether it was safe as the island is vulnerable to severe weather and flooding

DHAKA: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recognized Bhasan Char as a potential location for the Rohingya seeking shelter in Bangladesh despite recent protests by some of the refugees living in the remote, cyclone-prone island.

Since December, Bangladeshi authorities have shifted 18,000 out of a planned 100,000 people to the island to take pressure off Cox’s Bazar, a city in Bangladesh that already hosts more than 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims, members of an ethnic and religious minority group who fled persecution in neighboring Myanmar during a military crackdown in 2017.

Bangladesh, Japan agree to work together for tackling Covid-19, Rohingya crisis

The Daily Star
Star Digital Report
June 09, 2021

Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki calls on Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam at his office on June 8, 2021. Photo: Collected

Bangladesh and Japan have agreed to work together to tackle the challenges of Covid-19 and Rohingya crisis.

The consensus came when Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki called on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam at his office yesterday (Tuesday).

They comprehensively discussed the bilateral relations and issues of common concerns, says a foreign ministry statement today.

Rohingya on Bangladesh island feel trapped, fear monsoons: HRW

ALJAZEERA

7 Jun 2021

Human Rights Watch interviews 167 refugees and says they were moved ‘without full, informed consent’ and prevented from returning to the mainland.

Rohingya refugees are seen at the housing complex of Bhasan Char island after they were relocated [File: Mohammad Al-Masum Molla/AFP]

Rohingya refugees moved to a Bangladesh island fear they will be exposed to terrible conditions during the upcoming monsoon season, and are struggling with “inadequate” health and education facilities, a Human Rights Watch report said.

About 18,800 refugees have been moved from the Cox’s Bazar region – where approximately 850,000 people live in squalid and cramped conditions after fleeing Myanmar – to the low-lying silt island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal.

Saudi aid agency helps thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

ARAB NEWS
LAMA ALHAMAWI
June 06, 2021

The center has provided nearly $7 million in support to refugees and families in need. (SPA)

In January alone, it distributed more than 43 tons of food baskets benefiting 9,000 people living in camps in the southern city of Cox's Bazar

Bangladesh adds feather to cap as UN lauds Rohingya rehabilitation in Bay of Bengal island

THE ECONOMIC TIMES
Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury
ET Bureau
Jun 04, 2021,

Bhashan Char is a much better place than the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, observed the UN delegation that visited the island recently

Bangladesh has added yet another feather to its cap with the UN lauding its efforts to address the woes of Rohingya refugees including in the Bhashan Char island in Bay of Bengal.

Bhashan Char is a much better place than the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, observed the UN delegation that visited the island recently. "The Bangladesh government has made an important investment in Bhashan Char…," said UN Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees (Protection) Rouf Mazou.

Rohingya protest against living conditions on Bangladesh island

Aljazeera
1 Jun 2021

Police say 4,000 refugees demonstrated when senior UN officials arrived on remote Bhasan Char island to visit the settlement.

Rohingya seen inside a tent as they wait to get on board a ship to Bhasan Char island, in Chattogram, Bangladesh [File: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

Several thousand Rohingya refugees have staged “unruly” protests against living conditions on a cyclone-prone island off Bangladesh where they were moved from vast camps on the mainland, police said.

Since December, Bangladesh has shifted 18,000 out of a planned 100,000 refugees to the low-lying silt island of Bhashan Char from the Cox’s Bazar region, where around 850,000 people live in squalid and cramped conditions.

Bangladesh may be forced to recognize Myanmar’s national unity government

ARAB NEWS

DR. AZEEM IBRAHIM
May 28, 2021

Rohingya refugees receive aid distributed by local organizations at Balukhali makeshift refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Sept. 14, 2017. (Reuters)

As Bangladesh continues to struggle to provide adequately for the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, near the border with Myanmar, the best possible solution for everyone involved — from the Rohingya themselves to their hosts — would be if the refugees could safely return home to their ancestral lands. But, whereas the previous government of Myanmar under Aung San Suu Kyi at least pretended it was interested in allowing the Rohingya to return, the new military junta has already indicated it will stop pretending altogether.

Rohingya women produce reusable sanitary pads in Cox’s Bazar

UNFPA
27 May 2021

“Amidst the unstable conditions that we are living in, coming to the Women-Led Community Center gives us the opportunity to invest our time, energy and skills into a productive activity that can benefit us and the women in our community,” says Junaida, a young Rohingya woman living in the sprawling Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Since January 2021, Junaida has been coming to the UNFPA-supported Women-Led Community Center in her camp to receive training on producing reusable sanitary pads for women in the Rohingya community. The aim of the initiative is to support Rohingya women to take care of their menstrual hygiene in a sustainable manner, as well as to give them the opportunity to cope with the stress caused by the ongoing crisis by engaging in activities beneficial for their community.

Bangladesh Trashes Report Alleging Rohingya Were Promised Citizenship to Move to Island

Benar News

Kamran Reza Chowdhury
Dhaka
2021-05-27

A Rohingya refugee draws water from a pump on Bhashan Char Island in Bangladesh, Dec. 30, 2020.

[Special to BenarNews]

A new report by an international NGO alleges that Dhaka has falsely promised Bangladeshi citizenship to Rohingya refugees who move to Bhashan Char, a remote and flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, a claim that the government on Thursday rejected as untrue.

Bangladesh is focused on repatriating Rohingya to neighboring Myanmar, said Delwar Hossain, director general of the Myanmar wing at the foreign ministry, while he dismissed the report by Refugees International as containing false allegations.

Bangladesh Relying on World Community to Press Myanmar Junta on Rohingya Repatriation

Radio Free Asia ( RFA )
2021-05-25

Junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing says the Rohingya are not a recognized ethnic group in Myanmar and will not be allowed to return to their homes in Rakhine.

Rohingya refugees gather behind a barbed-wire fence at a temporary settlement in a border zone between Myanmar and Bangladesh in a file photo.

Bangladesh is counting on the international community to pressure Myanmar into repatriating more than 1 million Rohingya refugees, after the Burmese junta chief said that Naypyidaw does not recognize them as citizens, a senior lawmaker told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, on Tuesday.

In clips posted on social media a day earlier, Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing was seen telling a Chinese television channel that his country would not repatriate people whom it does not consider as citizens under the law.

Faruk Khan, a Bangladeshi MP who chairs the parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, said he had heard these comments.

Bangladesh's efforts for Rohingya’s in Bhashan Char an example to the world: UNGA president

theindependent

BSS, Dhaka
25 May, 2021

President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozker on Tuesday highly appreciated Bangladesh's efforts for Rohingyas in Bhasan Char saying it will be another example to the world on how to deal with refugees.

"This would be another example to the world on how to deal with refugees," he said in a joint media briefing at Foreign Service Academy.

The UNGA President said he could not visit Bhasan Char but he saw a video on Bhasan Char and acknowledged the high-level works in Bhasan Char including precautions and safety measures.

Bangladesh seeks vaccines from UN, donors for Rohingya

AA

SM Najmus Sakib
DHAKA, Bangladesh
24.05.2021

Rising COVID-19 infections in squalid refugee camps force authorities to impose lockdown

Bangladesh has sought COVID-19 vaccines and other related support for Rohingya refugees in the country from the UN and other donor agencies, said an official on Monday.

Shah Rezwan Hayat, head of the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), told Anadolu Agency that they have requested the UN Refugee Agency and held meetings with the World Health Organization to initiate a vaccination campaign for the refugees in the southern district of Cox's Bazar.

Bangladesh imposes lockdown on Rohingya camps

The Assam Tribune
1 May 2021

Dhaka, May 21: The crowded refugee camps that are home to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh have been placed under a lockdown after an alarming spread of the coronavirus, officials said on Friday. 

The shutdown will initially last for one week, until May 27, dpa news agency quoted Shah Rezwan Hayat, the head of Bangladesh's Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission, as saying. 

5 Rohingya refugee camps under lockdown in Bangladesh after Covid-19 outbreak

LA PRENS LATINA MEDIA

Online News Editor
May 21, 2021

Dhaka, May 21 (EFE).- Bangladesh on Friday imposed lockdown in five of the 34 Rohingya camps in the southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar after detecting a sharp increase in coronavirus cases among the refugees living there.

“Some restrictions in Rohingya camps were already in place. Due to an increase in transmission, more restrictions were imposed in five camps until further instruction,” Bangladesh’s deputy commissioner for refugees, relief and repatriation, Mohammad Shamsuddoha, told EFE.