REUTERS
by Reuters
Thursday, 10 December
Bangladesh moved Rohingya refugees to a flood-prone, remote island in the Bay of Bengal despite complaints by refugees and rights groups
Dec 10 (Reuters) - A U.N. human rights investigator urged Bangladesh on Thursday to allow a safety assessment of the remote island where the government shipped 1,600 Rohingya refugees last week, amid U.S. concern about plans to carry out further relocations.
The United Nations says it has not been allowed to conduct a technical and safety assessment of Bhasan Char, a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, and was not involved in the transfer of refugees there.
Thomas Andrews, the U.N. human rights investigator for Myanmar, said the assessment as well as a verification process to ensure that refugees are not forced to go were in the "best interest of all".
"They will assure the government of Bangladesh of the suitability of Bhasan Char to host refugees or identify changes that might be necessary," he said in a statement.
"It will also assure that the government's policy of strict voluntary relocation to Bhasan Char is, indeed, being faithfully carried out."