Burmese refugees in Bangladesh

For Rohingya refugees, see also the Arakan State section of "Administration and administrative areas" http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1241&lo=&sl= and the Rohingya section of Human Rights.
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Individual Documents

Title: Rights group skeptical that Myanmar’s military seeks justice
Description: "Plans announced by Myanmar’s military to prosecute soldiers for actions at a village where security forces reportedly killed as many as 400 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority drew skepticism Monday from the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch. The military announced over the weekend that investigations had determined that orders were not properly followed at a village in Rakhine state. It gave no dates or other details of the offense, but said a court martial is being convened to act “in accordance with the military discipline due to the weakness in following the instructions in some of the incidents at Gutabyin village.” The Associated Press reported in January last year that evidence indicated that security forces had carried out a massacre in the village, also known as Gu Dar Pyin, and that the victims were buried in at least five mass graves. The military -- known in Myanmar as the Tatmadaw -- denied the report, and it is unknown if the new announcement is related to the same incident..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: UN officials, INGOs acquiesced on NVCs for Rohingya, says report
Description: "Senior United Nations personnel and some international humanitarian organisations have supported Myanmar government polices against Rohingya Muslims by backing their acceptance of National Verification Cards, human rights advocacy group Fortify Rights says in a new report. The accusation is made in “Tools of Genocide: National Verification Cards and the denial of citizenship of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar”, a 102-page report released in Bangkok on September 3. The release of the report comes as the International Criminal Court is considering whether to seek a full investigation into allegations that Rohingya Muslims were the victims of crimes against humanity during a “clearance operation” by the Tatmadaw in northern Rakhine State that began in August 2017. The operation, launched after coordinated attacks on security posts by the militant Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, was accompanied by widespread reports of killings, mass rape, torture and the torching of villages and sent about 740,000 people fleeing to safety to neighbouring Bangladesh..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: ‘Genocide card’ - Myanmar Rohingya verification scheme condemned
Sub-title: Human rights group says 'citizenship scrutiny' has gradually limited Rohingya rights in Myanmar and at root of crisis.
Description: "The National Verification Card (NVC) scheme targetting Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims is part of a systematic campaign by Myanmar authorities to erase their identity, according to a new report by Fortify Rights published on Tuesday. The human rights organisation says the NVC process and denial of citizenship fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in its probe into crimes against the minority group, which was initiated last year. "The Myanmar government is trying to destroy the Rohingya people through an administrative process that effectively strips them of basic rights," Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights, said in a statement by email. "This process and its impacts lie at the root of the Rohingya crisis, and until it's addressed, the crisis will continue."..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-03
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Title: Myanmar says holding court martial after Rohingya grave probe
Description: "Myanmar said its military was conducting a rare court martial following a probe into mass graves in crisis-hit Rakhine State, two years after a bloody crackdown drove some 740,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh. In February 2018, an Associated Press report alleged at least five mass graves of Rohingya in Rakhine's Gu Dar Pyin village, a claim denied by the government, which said the bodies were those of "terrorists". But the military's official website said Saturday that an investigation had found "weakness in following instructions" in Gu Dar Pyin, and that a court martial would "proceed in accordance with the procedures of Military Justice." No additional details were provided. The report described grisly violence at the hands of soldiers and Buddhist vigilantes, who allegedly attacked villagers with guns, knives, rocket launchers and grenades before dumping bodies into pits and dousing them with acid. Estimates from survivors in Bangladesh put the death toll in the hundreds, the report said. Security forces claimed they were under attack by some 500 villagers, and that they had acted "in self-defence", according to state-run media last year..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" via AFP
Date of publication: 2019-09-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar to hold court martial after Rohingya atrocities probe
Sub-title: Army says court martial proceedings are under way after inquiry at village said to have been a Rohingya mass grave site.
Description: "Myanmar's army says rare court martial proceedings are under way following an investigation into atrocities in Rakhine state, two years after a brutal military crackdown forced more than 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh. In a statement on Saturday, the office of Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said a military court that visited the northwestern state found soldiers had shown "weakness in following instructions in some incidents" at a village said to have been a massacre site of the Rohingya, a Muslim-majority, long-persecuted minority in Myanmar. No additional details were provided. In 2018, The Associated Press news agency reported the existence of at least five graves of Rohingya in the village, Gu Dar Pyin, in the township of Buthidaung..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera"
Date of publication: 2019-09-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Video of Myanmar forces' crackdown emerges
Sub-title: Mobile phone footage of Myanmar forces' crackdown on Muslim Rohingya in 2016 could be used as evidence in court.
Description: "Mobile phone footage taken by Rohingya fleeing a killing spree in Myanmar could be used as evidence in future investigations, according to aid agencies. It has been two years since Myanmar's security forces launched a crackdown on nearly 700,000 Rohingya in Rakhine state. Yet not a single person has been brought to justice. Many of them came to the town of Cox's Bazar just over the border in Bangladesh, from where Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reports..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera"
Date of publication: 2019-09-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-02
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Title: 41 NGOs withdrawn from Rohingya camps: FM
Topic: Rohingya Camps
Sub-title: Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today said 41 non-government organisations (NGOs) have been withdrawn from all kinds of activities in Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps for their wrongdoings.
Topic: Rohingya Camps
Description: "The Foreign Minister came up with the information while inaugurating waste management activities at Dakshin Surma under Sylhet City Corporation. Dr Momen also said actions will be taken against NGOs if they do something going beyond their terms and references. The NGO Affairs Bureau on Thursday suspended six different projects being run out of the Cox's Bazar branch of an NGO called Mukti - on allegations of making sharp weeding tools for distribution among Rohingyas. Some 600 of these tools were allegedly made. An official suspension order signed by the Assignment Officer of NGO Affairs Bureau Sirajul Islam Khan was issued on Wednesday. On August 29, the Foreign Minister said action will be taken against the NGOs operating in Rohingya camps if evidence is found about their activities that go beyond the terms and references..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of publication: 2019-09-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya crisis through the eyes of Al Jazeera's journalists
Description: "Today marks two years since more than 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to escape what UN investigators have called a "genocide" in Rakhine state. Al Jazeera's correspondents Mohammed Jamjoom and Stefanie Dekker reflect on the stories they heard and the suffering they saw when they visited the camps in Bangladesh where the Rohingya sought shelter..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera English"
Date of publication: 2019-08-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Poor healthcare, prospects for Rohingya babies in Bangladesh
Description: "Health workers in the world’s largest refugee camp say they’re struggling to provide proper care for babies born to Rohingya women in Bangladesh. More than 100 babies are born every day in Rohingya refugee camps in southeast Bangladesh. That's where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have sought refuge, since fleeing violence in Myanmar in the past two years. Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reports from Kutupalong Camp in Cox's Bazar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera English"
Date of publication: 2019-08-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Genocide and Repatriation
Sub-title: August 25th: Second Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day and Myanmar/Bangladesh Repatriation Plans
Description: " On this day, we commemorate the Rohingya genocide. On 25 August 2017, the Myanmar military launched a clearance operation to systematically remove Rohingya people from their land by burning villages, killing and harming tens of thousands of people, and enacting sexual violence against women and children. The clearance operations sparked the largest exodus of Rohingya people to date, which forced approximately 745,000 Rohingya people into Bangladesh, into an area where some 200 000 Rohingya were already located, due to previous waves of genocidal violence and persecution. The 2018 Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar’s (IIFFMM) report concluded that Myanmar’s commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and his top military leaders should be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. These amount to the most serious crimes under international law. As the second anniversary of the Rohingya genocide looms and passes, we are also witnessing renewed talks of repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar from Bangladesh. In August 2019, ASEAN representatives joined a Myanmar government delegation which was visiting the refugee camps in Bangladesh with the goal of restarting repatriation talks with the Rohingya community. Myanmar and Bangladesh, with the cooperation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), will potentially start repatriating people this month, and they are currently surveying refugees to identify those who wish to return voluntarily..."
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Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice" via Canadian Rohingya Development Initiative
Date of publication: 2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar/Bangladesh: Prevent Forced Returns, Protect Rohingya Refugees
Description: "The governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh should suspend any immediate plans to return Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, said Fortify Rights today. The authorities should ensure Rohingya have basic rights and protections in Myanmar and engage in meaningful consultations with Rohingya refugees before facilitating future refugee returns to Myanmar. Bangladesh and Myanmar authorities agreed to begin refugee returns tomorrow, August 22, 2019. “Repatriations now would be dangerous and reckless,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. “Governments should focus on ensuring accountability for mass atrocities, restoring Rohingya citizenship rights, and ending deprivations of basic human rights that are ongoing in Rakhine State.” Myanmar reportedly added 3,450 Rohingya to a “repatriation list” derived from a list of more than 22,000 Rohingya provided by the Government of Bangladesh. In 2016 and 2017, Myanmar Army-led genocidal attacks forced nearly 800,000 Rohingya to flee from Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State to Bangladesh. The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority, indigenous to Myanmar. “My house was set on fire and burned during the military operations [in August 2017],” a Rohingya refugee woman, 40, told Fortify Rights in Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh. “Before we go home, I want citizenship.”..."
Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice" via Fortify Rights
Date of publication: 2019-08-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: No Repatriation Without Full Citizenship, Rights and Justice
Description: "Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are once again living in fear that they will be forced to return to Burma despite the Burmese government having taken no genuine steps to ensure safe return. “The international community keep saying that there must be safe, voluntary and dignified return, but are doing nothing to pressure Aung San Suu Kyi to make that a reality,” said Tun Khin, President of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK. “Safe voluntary and dignified return means full citizenship, an end to discrimination, and justice and accountability, such as referring Burma to the International Criminal Court.” Bangladesh and Burma have begun the process of attempting to return more than 3,000 Rohingya refugees to Burma, just days before the second anniversary of the Burmese military’s genocidal military offensive which forced more than 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh. Since that time the civilian government of Burma, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, has continued with a policy of implementing a system of Apartheid against the Rohingya, implementing laws and policies which violate international law. This is an integral part of the genocide against the Rohingya, which goes far beyond the military offences against us..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "progressive Voice" via Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Date of publication: 2019-08-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Threats of Repatriation Again Loom Over Rohingya Refugees
Description: "On 16 August 2019, the Bangladesh government announced their preparations to imminently repatriate 3,450 Rohingya refugees from Cox’s Bazar to Myanmar. The scheduled date of this repatriation is 22 August 2019. This worrying news comes as Rohingya refugees are making preparations to commemorate the second anniversary of the mass exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar due to military violence. The repatriation announcement challenges numerous assurances by the Bangladeshi authorities that any repatriation would be done in safety, with dignity, and on a voluntary basis. APRRN is deeply concerned that there will be insufficient time to determine the voluntariness of any refugee return, given the phenomenally truncated timeline. APRRN is worried that any refugee that returns, may not in fact be guaranteed safe, dignified, and sustainable living conditions in Rakhine State. Furthermore, neither the Government of Bangladesh nor the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have access to monitor the conditions for returnees. The Deputy Chair of APRRN’s Rohingya Working Group, Chris Lewa, notes that “We have simply seen zero evidence of conditions inside Myanmar having improved. Any return of refugees at this point in time would pose a tremendous risk to personal safety and would breach the internationally agreed norm of non-refoulement.” Based on UNHCR guidelines, the core components of repatriation and reintegration are physical, legal and material safety. A sustainable repatriation plan should address these components to ensure that returnees are protected by national legal systems and institutions. The Government of Myanmar must address the lack of fundamental rights for Rohingya who are presently living in Myanmar and implement the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission led by late Kofi Annan before repatriation of refugees can be considered..."
Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice" via Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
Date of publication: 2019-08-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Two Years On: Rohingya Deserve Justice, A Place at the Table
Description: "61 NGOs warn of worsening crisis in Myanmar; call for refugees’ engagement on safe, voluntary returns: Two years after mass atrocities in Myanmar forced more than 740,000 people to flee for their lives, the Government and the people of Bangladesh continue to generously host nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees. While UN agencies and over 130 local, national, and international NGOs have supported the Government of Bangladesh to provide life-sustaining assistance, refugees require much more than basic support for survival; they need their rights, security and dignity. Many long to return but fear further violence and persecution back home. Refugees report feeling fearful and anxious following recent reports about possible expedited repatriation to Myanmar in the current conditions which do not guarantee their safety and rights. Current levels of engagement do not afford them their right to make informed decisions about their future, including voluntary return. Worsening Conditions in Rakhine State (Myanmar): Discriminatory policies in Myanmar mean that Rohingya communities in Rakhine State continue to face severe movement restrictions, as well as limited access to education, healthcare, and livelihoods opportunities. Some 128,000 displaced Rohingya and other Muslim communities have remained trapped in confined camps in central Rakhine State since 2012, unable to return home..."
Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice" via 61 Non Governmental Organizations
Date of publication: 2019-08-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 121.58 KB
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Title: 'Genocide Day': Thousands of Rohingya rally in Bangladesh camps
Sub-title: Refugees in Bangladesh camps demand rights and citizenship on second anniversary of exodus after Myanmar crackdown.
Description: "Thousands of Rohingya refugees have marked the second anniversary of their exodus into Bangladesh by rallying and praying as they demand Myanmar grant them citizenship and other rights before they agree to return. Almost 200,000 Rohingya participated in a peaceful gathering, which was attended by UN officials, at the Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar on Sunday, police officer Zakir Hassan told AFP news agency. Children, hijab-wearing women, and men wearing long lungis shouted: "God is great, long live Rohingya" as they marched in the heart of the world's largest refugee camp to commemorate what they described as "Genocide Day". READ MORE 'Conditions here are inhumane': Rohingya in Bangladeshi camps Some carried placards and banners, reading "Never again! Rohingya genocide remembrance day" and "Restore our citizenship". On August 25, 2017, nearly 740,000 Muslim-majority Rohingya fled Rakhine State for Bangladesh - joining 200,000 already there - after Myanmar's armed forces launched a brutal crackdown following attacks on security posts..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera"
Date of publication: 2019-08-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Asean should guarantee safe return of Rohingyas to Myanmar
Description: "Asean has a lot of work to do for the sake of its own relevancy as Myanmar and Bangladesh make another attempt to repatriate thousands of Muslim Rohingyas to strife-torn Rakhine state. The authority in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw had announced last week that Myanmar would accept 3,450 refugees from the list of 22,000 provided by Bangladesh earlier this month, as the first batch of people to resettle in Myanmar. It is not known publicly how the list was made and on what ground their names were submitted to the Myanmar authority. The repatriation of nearly one million refugees, who fled from difficulties and conflict at home since 1990s to shelters in Bangladesh, will be an uphill task, due to scarred memories of all involved. Of the 911,000 people sheltered in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, nearly 740,000 left Rakhine state following brutal violence in August 2017. This saw Myanmar’s military (Tatmadaw) reacting in a heavy-handed manner to the series of attacks by militants working under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). The so-called clearance operation caused atrocities including arson, torture, gang rape, murder and massacre, acts that the United Nations considered ethnic cleansing. The UN even suggested that genocide charges be raised against those responsible from the Tatmadaw..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of publication: 2019-08-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: For Myanmar, too much impunity and too little accountability
Description: "TWO YEARS AGO this weekend, the military in Myanmar began a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Rakhine state against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Killings, arson and sexual violence drove more than 745,000 Rohingya to seek refuge in camps across the border in Bangladesh, creating a human rights catastrophe and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. A fact-finding mission for the United Nations reported Thursday that the military, known as the Tatmadaw, had been responsible for hundreds of gang rapes during the cleansing campaign, and that the Myanmar government was culpable “under the Genocide Convention for its failure to investigate and punish acts of genocide.” Earlier this month, the U.N. mission revealed that the Tatmadaw is bankrolled by a web of about 200 foreign and domestic companies, providing vital support to the autonomous security forces. With the Rohingya still stranded in Bangladesh, it’s time that Western governments did more to hold the military and its backers to account. Two domestic conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation, collectively own at least 120 of the companies. Both are run by top military officials. In addition, more than a dozen firms from other countries — including China, Russia and North Korea — have supplied weaponry to the Tatmadaw. The U.N. report documents how the Tatmadaw leaned on “crony companies” to make donations to the military. More than $10 million was donated at three separate fundraising ceremonies sponsored by the Tatmadaw..."
Source/publisher: "The Washington Post"
Date of publication: 2019-08-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: No way home, no way out for Rohingya refugees
Sub-title: Failed repatriation try signals a permanent and increasingly destabilizing refugee population in Bangladesh
Description: "Over 3,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh were supposed to return to Myanmar on August 22, a repatriation that was supposed to mark the beginning of a process to resettle hundreds of thousands who fled Myanmar military persecution two years ago. Buses and trucks were parked outside the sprawling abysmal camps, ready to carry them back across the border. But no refugees showed up, which was hardly a surprise after UNHCR said in a statement before the scheduled return that, “So far none of those interviewed have indicated a willingness to repatriate at this time.” And there is little reason to believe that situation will change any time soon. That likely means Bangladesh is poised to shelter what is fast-becoming a permanent refugee population of over one million Rohingyas. The huge number of refugees is sprouting a host of problems, including rising resentment among the local population, environmental degradation in the areas where the refugees live and the possibility of radicalization among young, restless and desperate Rohingyas..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of publication: 2019-08-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar troops' sexual violence against Rohingya shows 'genocidal intent': UN report
Description: "NEW YORK: Sexual violence committed by Myanmar troops against Rohingya women and girls in 2017 was an indication of the military's genocidal intent to destroy the mainly Muslim ethnic minority, United Nations investigators concluded in a report released on Thursday (Aug 22). The panel of independent investigators, set up by the UN Human Rights Council in 2017, accused Myanmar's government of failing to hold anyone accountable and said it was responsible "under the Genocide Convention for its failure to investigate and punish acts of genocide." A military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state that began in August 2017 drove more than 730,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Myanmar denies widespread wrongdoing and says the military campaign across hundreds of villages in northern Rakhine was in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents. "Hundreds of Rohingya women and girls were raped, with 80 per cent of the rapes corroborated by the Mission being gang rapes. The Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) was responsible for 82 per cent of these gang rapes," the report said..."
Source/publisher: "CNA"
Date of publication: 2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar's Rohingya | AFP Animé
Description: "Two years after the start of the influx of Rohingya refugees from Burma to Bangladesh, hostility has increased. Videographic on the Rohingyas. VIDEOGRAPHIC..."
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Source/publisher: "AFP news agency"
Date of publication: 2019-08-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya refugees refuse repatriation to Myanmar | DW News
Description: "A new push to repatriate Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar has apparently ended in failure after no one turned up to board the waiting buses. Myanmar has given the go ahead for more than 3,000 refugees to be returned to Myanmar and issued them with documentation, but none of them have yet chosen to follow through with it, fearing what might happen to them on their return. This is Bangladesh‘s second repatriation attempt, after a previous push in November failed. Nearly 750,000 of the persecuted Muslim minority fled ethnic persecution in 2017 in Myanmar's Rakhine state..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "DW News"
Date of publication: 2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: UNHCR Statement on Voluntary Repatriation to Myanmar
Description: "Through their bilateral Joint Working Group on repatriation, the Government of Myanmar conveyed to the Government of Bangladesh the names of 3,450 Rohingya refugees who have been cleared for return to Rakhine State, Myanmar. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, sees Myanmar’s engagement in this process as a positive step in the affirmation of the right to return of Rohingya refugees. UNHCR has been assisting the Government of Bangladesh in surveying these refugees on whether they wish to return to Myanmar and to confirm the voluntariness of any individual decision to do so. Over the past few days, together with Bangladeshi officials, UNHCR has visited refugee families in their shelters to establish whether they wish to return to Myanmar. So far, none of those interviewed have indicated a willingness to repatriate at this time. UNHCR will continue assisting the Government of Bangladesh in this process to ensure that all those cleared for return are interviewed. UNHCR appreciates the consistent commitment by Government of Bangladesh to ensure that the refugees’ decisions will be respected..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: UNHCR
Date of publication: 2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Limited Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar may start Thursday
Description: "COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh: A fresh attempt will likely be made on Thursday to repatriate to Myanmar some of the Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled to Bangladesh to escape a military crackdown two years ago, according to diplomatic sources. The previous repatriation process failed in November 2018 in the face of protests by the refugees, who feared conditions in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine were not yet safe. This time the move has been initiated by China with the help of the UN refugee agency UNHCR. If everything goes smoothly the process could get under way in the morning, according to the sources. Officials said 3,450 Rohingya refugees whose identities have been verified and eligibility to return confirmed by Myanmar are the focus of the current initiative..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post"
Date of publication: 2019-08-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya Muslims refuse to return to Myanmar without citizenship
Description: "Rohingya Muslims who crossed over into Bangladesh refused to return to Myanmar ahead of a planned repatriation starting Aug 22. Bangladesh's refugee commissioner said more than a thousand families were selected for repatriation. But all the displaced families said they would not go back unless Myanmar gives them citizenship..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNA"
Date of publication: 2019-08-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face little hope of repatriation
Sub-title: More than 700,000 refugees from Myanmar facing dire conditions at Cox's Bazar camps two years after they fled violence.
Description: "Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh - Driving through the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, bamboo huts with makeshift tarpaulin roofs stretch across the hilly horizon as far as the eye can see, while flags with the names of aid organisations ripple in the breeze. Along the road, young boys carry reusable orange butane tanks up a hill to get in line for the day, to wait for free cooking gas, while men walk by carrying white bags of rice to bring back to their families. A few more metres down the road, a school building has been built in the grass, but remains mostly empty, with few shirtless children and cows wandering around it, no teachers or education supplies to be found. "Compared to Myanmar, Bangladesh still feels like paradise," said Metun*, a Rohingya refugee who has been living in Kutupalong refugee camp since 2017..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera"
Date of publication: 2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar's Killing Fields: A special investigation into the mass exodus of Rohingya
Description: "A Walkley Award winning special investigation into the mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar. We examine evidence that Myanmar’s security forces used systematic rape and terror tactics to expel hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from the country. Dateline reporters scour the globe to bring you a world of daring stories. Our reputation is for fearless and provocative reporting. Australia's beloved, award winning and longest running international current affairs program..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: SBS Dateline
Date of publication: 2018-05-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh ready to repatriate 3,500 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar
Description: "COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh: Some 3,500 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have been cleared to return home to Myanmar beginning this week, a top official said Monday (Aug 19), nearly two years after a military crackdown sparked their exodus. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in August 2017 from a military offensive in Myanmar - joining 200,000 already there - but virtually none have volunteered to return despite the countries signing a repatriation deal. Bangladesh refugee commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam, however, said he was "optimistic" about a new repatriation process scheduled to start on Thursday. A previous attempt in November 2018 to return 2,260 Rohingya failed after they refused to leave the camp without guarantees for their safety. "Everything is ready ... the land transit point has been prepared," Kalam told reporters after a meeting with Myanmar officials in Cox's Bazar, southeast Bangladesh, where the refugees live in vast camps..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNA"
Date of publication: 2019-08-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh, UNHCR to survey Rohingya regarding return to Myanmar
Description: "Bangladesh will work with the United Nations refugee agency to determine if more than 3,000 Rohingya refugees will accept Myanmar’s offer to return home, an official said on Monday, nearly a year after a major repatriation plan failed. More than 730,000 Rohingya fled Rakhine for camps in Bangladesh after a military-led crackdown in August 2017 the United Nations has said was perpetrated with “genocidal intent”, but many refugees refuse to go back, fearing more violence. “It will be a joint exercise led by UNHCR,” Abul Kalam, Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation commissioner, told Reuters by telephone on Monday, referring to the refugee agency. The United Nations Security Council is due to discuss the latest repatriation plan behind closed doors on Wednesday at the request of France, Britain, the United States, Germany and Belgium, diplomats said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Reuters"
Date of publication: 2019-08-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Panic in the world’s largest refugee settlement: ‘I will kill ... my entire family if I am forced to leave’
Description: "Plans for a second attempt at repatriating Rohingya Muslim refugees to Myanmar have spread panic in the world’s largest refugee settlement, home to 1.2 million people, prompting humanitarian officials to reassure families that no one will be forced to return. Last week, news spread through the sprawling temporary camps in southern Bangladesh that the Myanmar government had created a list of 3,450 refugees who were eligible to return with their families. But hardly any refugees are willing to go back to Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where they have suffered systematic persecution and hundreds of thousands fled a 2017 government offensive that the United Nations termed a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” An earlier attempt at repatriating 2,200 Rohingya families, in November 2018, was halted after protests by refugees and criticism from advocacy groups that argued that Myanmar had not created safe conditions for their return..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Los Angeles Times"
Date of publication: 2019-08-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: U.N. agency, Bangladesh begin survey of Rohingya over return to Myanmar
Description: "The United Nations’ refugee agency and Bangladesh authorities on Tuesday started to consult more than 3,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to determine if any want to return home, officials said, as a fresh repatriation bid was launched. More than 730,000 Rohingya fled Rakhine for neighboring Bangladesh after a military-led crackdown in August 2017 the United Nations has said was perpetrated with “genocidal intent”, but many refugees refuse to go back, fearing more violence. Myanmar cleared 3,450 people to return, from a list of more than 22,000 provided by Bangladesh, authorities said. “The intentions surveys are beginning today,” Louise Donovan, a UNHCR spokeswoman in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh, told Reuters..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Reuters"
Date of publication: 2019-08-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Correction: Myanmar-ASEAN story
Description: "Malaysia’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that Myanmar’s government must pursue justice for alleged human rights abuses against the Muslim Rohingya minority so that hundreds of thousands who fled a brutal military crackdown can return safely to the country. The call came ahead of a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Bangkok this week. It also followed a weekend meeting between a Myanmar government delegation and representatives of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to discuss creating conditions for their safe repatriation. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after a counterinsurgency campaign by Myanmar’s military in the western state of Rakhine in response to attacks in 2017 by a Rohingya insurgent group. The campaign led to accusations that security forces committed mass rapes and killings and burned thousands of homes..."
Source/publisher: "The Washington Post" via Associated Press
Date of publication: 2019-08-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Announces Plan to Repatriate 3,450 of the 700,000 Rohingya Who Fled to Bangladesh
Description: "Myanmar and Bangladesh will soon make a second attempt to start repatriating Rohingya Muslims, 700,000 of whom fled a security crackdown in Myanmar almost two years ago, officials from the two countries and the United Nations said Friday. Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay, speaking in his country’s capital, Naypyitaw, said the parties concerned had agreed that the process would begin next Thursday. Bangladesh Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Abul Kalam said the identities of the refugees have been confirmed by Myanmar and they could go back there if they want. Speaking in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, he said the government had ordered local officials in Cox’s Bazar district to locate those on the list in the four refugee camps there, but their repatriation would only happen if they want to return voluntarily. He said Bangladesh is ready to provide support to any refugees who wish to return home, but also would not use force to make them go back. Caroline Gluck, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, told The Associated Press that the Bangladesh government has asked for its help in verifying 3,450 people who signed up for voluntary repatriation. She said the list was whittled down from 22,000 names that Bangladesh had sent to Myanmar for verification..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Time"
Date of publication: 2019-08-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Beyond survival Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh want to learn
Description: "For children and young people, the protracted state of limbo has awoken an intense desire for learning opportunities that prepare them for the future. When the huge infl ux of refugees began in 2017, UNICEF and partners responded by setting up large numbers of Learning Centres in the camps. For children unable to fi nd space in the Centres, other options have emerged: religious schools (madrasas) provide free lessons in Koranic studies, Arabic and other subjects; and private and group tutors offer classes for those who can afford them. By June 2019, the overall education sector had provided non-formal education to 280,000 children aged 4 to 14. UNICEF and its partners have ensured access to learning for 192,000 of those children, enrolled in 2,167 Learning Centres. At the same time, this leaves a gap of over 25,000 children not attending any learning programmes, while an additional 640 learning centres are needed. Furthermore, an estimated 97 per cent of adolescents and youth aged 15 to 18 years are not enrolled in any type of learning facility. Parents are concerned that the longer their children are deprived of education, the greater the risk that they will be exposed to exploitation and abuse. “Educated people have a value wherever they are,” said Mohamed Hussein, who sends two of his children to a Learning Centre in Camp 18. “Whether my son goes back to Myanmar or to Malaysia or anywhere else, the same is true.”..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: UNICEF
Date of publication: 2019-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 2.82 MB 4.01 MB
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Title: Doctors address mental health crisis among Rohingya refugees
Description: "Rupa Patel, MD, and Anne Glowinski, MD, colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are working with the Bangladeshi nongovernmental organization Friends in Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB) to help deliver mental health services to traumatized Rohingya refugees who fled their home country of Myanmar for refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh. Follow this link for a story on their efforts: https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/docto... Video by E. Holland Durando and Huy Mach, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Washington University School of Medicine"
Date of publication: 2019-03-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar and Bangladesh to start sending back thousands of Rohingya
Sub-title: Fresh attempt at repatriations agreed but refugees fear they will return to persecution and violence
Description: "Myanmar and Bangladesh are to make a fresh attempt to begin repatriating the Rohingya Muslims who fled ethnic cleansing in Rahkine state in 2017, though the community say they have not been consulted. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled over to border to Bangladesh after a military-led crackdown in Rahkine state which saw villages razed, women raped and thousands killed. A UN fact-finding mission declared the violence had “genocidal intent”. A document prepared by UN agency UNHCR to be sent to the Rohingya community to inform them of the repatriation plan said: “The Government of Myanmar has confirmed that 3,450 Rohingya refugees are eligible to return. This is a welcome first step as it acknowledges that your right to return is recognized.” According to UNHCR, the Bangladesh government shared the names of Rohingya approved for repatriation with the UN agency on 8 August. Louise Donovan, a UNHCR spokeswoman in Cox’s Bazar, said: “If any express the intention to return voluntarily, UNHCR will meet with them on an individual basis and in a confidential setting to confirm the voluntariness of their decision and complete a voluntary repatriation form. The refugees will make the decision themselves.” She emphasised that “refugees who decide to exercise their right to return must be able to return to their places of origin or a place of their choice.” However, the situation is complex as UNHCR have no access to Rahkine state so are unable to verify first hand the conditions the Rohingya would be returning to. “Responsibility for ensuring conditions are conducive for safe and dignified return rests with Myanmar,” said Donovan..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian"
Date of publication: 2019-08-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar Rohingya: Army 'must face genocide charges' BBC News
Description: "UN human rights investigators say military leaders in Myanmar should be investigated for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity - and have called for them to be referred to the International Criminal Court. In an unprecedented move, the investigators named 6 top generals, including the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, and his deputy. UN investigators interviewed hundreds of victims and found evidence of murder, rape, and torture against the Rohingya predominately in Myanmar's Rakhine state. More than seven-hundred-thousand of them have fled into Bangladesh. But Myanmar's UN representative rejected the report, describing it as one-sided. Our Myanmar correspondent Nick Beake sent this report from Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "BBC News"
Date of publication: 2018-08-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Shahed's education | UNICEF
Description: "After fleeing Myanmar, Shahed is studying hard at a camp in Bangladesh and wants to become an engineer or a doctor. Every child has a right to learn, no matter where they are or where they come from..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "UNICEF"
Date of publication: 2019-08-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Cyclone prompts refugee safety review in Bangladesh
Description: "After the strongest storm in years devastated the state of Odisha in eastern India and parts of Bangladesh, UN agencies are monitoring its movements closely and taking measures to protect people living in refugee camps near Bangladesh’s border with Myanmar. UN News reported on May 3 that the impact of Cyclone Fani, as the storm was called, was expected to be “less severe in areas such as … Cox’s Bazar” where nearly one million Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are housed in makeshift huts and similar, potentially vulnerable structures. Even so, the UN had extra food and other supplies in place in the camps. “Tie-down kits” have been distributed “to secure houses and shelters … [and to] avoid any loss of lives.” In other parts of Bangladesh, schools were shut, airports closed and transport suspended. The World Food Program said in a statement quoted by UN News that “its staff had completed engineering and disaster risk reduction work around Cox’s Bazar to make the camps safer and more accessible during the monsoon and cyclone seasons.”"
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of publication: 2019-05-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar economy losing momentum: IMF
Sub-title: Fund says growth could be hit by factors linked to Rohingya refugee crisis and banking sector weakness
Description: "The International Monetary Fund has warned that the Myanmar economy “appears to be losing momentum”, citing concerns over fallout from the Rohingya refugee crisis and weaknesses in the banking sector, The Myanmar Times reported on April 21. “A prolonged humanitarian crisis and any withdrawal of trade preferences could reduce concessional donor financing and investment leading to lower growth,” the IMF said. The fragility of its banks presents another risk, the Myanmar Times quoted the IMF as saying. Macro-financial spillovers from ongoing restructuring of the banking sector may become more severe if banks delay recapitalization, the IMF warned. Headline inflation was moderate in fiscal 2017-2018, averaging 4.0%, but is rising now because of increased fuel prices and depreciation of the Myanmar currency, he kyat. The kyat has depreciated 14.5% since April 2018. Despite the IMF’s assessment that the country has “favorable long-term prospects”, growth is expected to “remain below potential” this year due to weakening export demand and subdued private construction activity..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of publication: 2019-04-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar military business sketch alerts investors
Sub-title: Tatmadaw is responsible for systemic persecution and violence and has compromised post-2015 election democracy and free market transition, says a UN report
Description: "The United Nations Human Rights Council, charged last year with investigating the Myanmar army’s (Tatmadaw) business empire as the biggest single corporate owner amid findings of abuses and war crimes in three states, presented a complex construct of domestic and investor ties to be rolled back and unwound altogether under diplomatic and commercial imperatives. The report focuses on widespread violations in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states, the first two with longstanding independence movements in gem-producing regions, and the last the source of the 850,000 Rohingyas’ escape to Bangladesh after company-supported “cleansing operations” that may fit the universal genocide definition. Senior generals leading the two main Myanmar Economic Holdings (MEHL) and Cooperation (MEC) conglomerates are already under personal international sanctions and asset freezes, and the UN Council’s work, to be debated at the September General Assembly, is designed to reinforce the military’s isolation..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of publication: 2019-08-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: ISCG Monsoon response in Rohingya refugee camps weekly update - 2 to 8 August 2019
Description: "During the reporting period, monsoon-related events affected over 200 refugees. Some 39 refugees were temporarily displaced. Impact on sector activities and essential facilities has been limited, with only a few reports of key facilities damaged. Camp clean-up and dengue awareness campaigns continue. The monsoon season in Bangladesh officially started on 17 June. However, weather-related incidents have been recorded in the Rohingya refugee camps since April 2 . Almost 6,250 people have been temporarily displaced, while 42 have been injured..."
Source/publisher: "Reliefweb" via Inter Sector Coordination Group
Date of publication: 2019-08-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 197.31 KB
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Title: Rohingya refugee crisis: monsoon season hits Bangladesh
Description: "Rohingya refugees and the local host communities of Cox’s Bazar District in Bangladesh continue to display immense resiliency amid the harsh conditions inflicted by the ongoing monsoon season. For much of July, relentless rains have been pounding the area, which is home to more than 1 million Rohingya refugees. According to ISCG data for 4-11 July, flooding, landslides and wind storms have affected 13,738 people, within this time frame, throughout the 34 camps*. UNFPA commends and supports the action taken by all humanitarian actors working closely in repairing and reconstructing shelters and other precautionary structures in order to ensure the safety and preserve the dignity of the affected populations. Despite the ongoing weather-related challenges, UNFPA continues its efforts to make Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) services available, including safe pregnancy and childbirth services as well as psychosocial counselling. Service providers, including community mobilizers, are facing difficult terrain and damaged facilities and shelters, and have been forced to adapt to shorter hours, but are still managing to provide these essential services..."
Source/publisher: "Reliefweb" via United Nations Population Fund (UNPF)
Date of publication: 2019-07-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: More than 500,000 Rohingya in Bangladesh get ID cards
Sub-title: Biometric, fraud-proof cards being issued to all verified refugees over 12 years old, says UNHCR
Description: "More than half a million Rohingya refugees living in makeshift camps in Bangladesh have been issued identity documents, a UN agency said Friday. To date, “more than 500,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have been jointly registered by the Bangladesh authorities and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency”, the UNHCR said in a statement. Those registered, mostly for the first time, now have proof of their identity -- a secure identity card, it added. “The biometric, fraud-proof cards are being issued jointly by Bangladeshi authorities and UNHCR to all verified refugees over the age of 12.” The accurate data will help agencies in their program planning, particularly for those with specific needs such as women, children and people with disabilities, the statement said. “The new registration cards indicate that Myanmar is the country of origin, a critical element in establishing and safeguarding the right of Rohingya refugees to return to their homes in Myanmar,” it said. The fraud-proof identification can be used by humanitarian partners to ensure there is no overlap in assistance and nobody is left out, the statement added. An estimated 900,000 Rohingya refugees live in crowded settlements in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, with over 740,000 thought to have fled from Myanmar since August 2017, it said, although according to Bangladesh government statistics, the country is now hosting more than 1.1 million Rohingya refugees. According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "ASIA - PACIFIC"
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: More than half a million Rohingya refugees receive identity documents, most for the first time
Sub-title: This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Description: "More than 500,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have been registered in a joint registration exercise by the Bangladesh authorities and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. For many of these refugees, it is the first time they have an identity card. The biometric, fraud-proof cards are being issued jointly by Bangladeshi authorities and UNHCR to all verified refugees over the age of 12. This comprehensive registration being simultaneously carried out in all refugee settlements in Cox’s Bazar – is meant to ensure the accuracy of data on refugees in Bangladesh, giving national authorities and humanitarian partners a better understanding of the population and their needs. Accurate data will help agencies in their programme planning and be able to target assistance where it is needed most, particularly for people with specific needs, such as women and children taking care of their families and people with disabilities. Last week, using the biometric data collected during this registration exercise, UNHCR launched the Global Distribution Tool (GDT) initially in one of the refugee settlements in Cox’s Bazar. Through verification of fingerprints or iris scans, this tool speeds up distributions, is fraud proof, and can be used by partners to ensure that there is no overlap in assistance, and to ensure that nobody is left out. It continues to be rolled out in more settlements in the coming weeks. The new registration cards indicate that Myanmar is the country of origin, a critical element in establishing and safeguarding the right of Rohingya refugees to return to their homes in Myanmar, if and when they decide the time is right for them to do so; An estimated 900,000 Rohingya refugees live in crowded settlements in Cox’s Bazar, with over 740,000 thought to have fled from Myanmar since August 2017. The registration exercise, currently under way, began in June 2018. On average, some 5,000 refugees are being registered daily at seven different sites within the settlements. More than 550 local staff have been recruited with the goal of completing the registration process during the last quarter of 2019. UNHCR’s Biometric Identity Management System (BIMS) captures biometric data, including fingerprints and iris scans, which secure each refugee’s unique identity as well as other important information such as family links. Both UNHCR and the Bangladesh authorities meet regularly with the refugee community, including with elected community representatives, imams, elders and teachers, to explain the benefits of registration and respond to questions and concerns. Outreach teams composed of refugee volunteers also go into the community to explain the registration process and encourage people to register..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "UNHCR"
Date of publication: 2019-08-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: 2019 JRP for Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis January - December 2019
Description: "The Rohingya people have faced decades of systematic discrimination, statelessness and targeted violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar. Since August 2017, more than 745,000 Rohingya refugees have fled into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The 2019 Joint Response Plan sets out a comprehensive programme shaped around three strategic objectives – deliver protection, provide life-saving assistance and foster social cohesion. The Plan covers all humanitarian sectors and addresses key cross-cutting issues, including protection and gender mainstreaming. The Plan also aims to strengthen emergency preparedness and response for weather-related risks and natural disasters, with a focus on community engagement. Priorities for the coming year include supporting strengthened government leadership and accountability, including in the camps, and the effective participation of the refugee community in decisions affecting their lives..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via "International Organization for Migration"
Date of publication: 2019-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 363.36 KB
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Through the eyes of a refugee child
Description: "Myshara is 13 and a leader among her peers. But she and other Rohingya children struggle to hold on to their childhood inside the world’s largest refugee camp, Kutupalong, where hope and ambition clash with a harsher reality facing Rohingya refugees..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication: 2019-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Rohingya refugees: UN launches action plan for 2019
Description: "UN aid agencies and NGO partners launched the 2019 Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, and are seeking to raise USD920 million to meet the massive needs of more than 900,000 refugees from Myanmar and over 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities..."
Source/publisher: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication: 2019-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: ASEAN, Myanmar hold second high-level meeting on Rohingya repatriation
Description: "ASEAN and Myanmar have held their second high-level meeting on the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh. Correspondent Leong Wai Kit shared more on how ASEAN will support the repatriation of Rohingya refugees..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: CNA
Date of publication: 2019-05-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Bangladesh: Rohingya children barred from schools.
Description: "More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled a military crackdown in Myanmar two years ago. Most of them ended up in refugee camps in Bangladesh, without access to adequate shelter, basic supplies and health care. Now they're also being denied education. From the Bangladeshi government's perspective, setting up schools confers a state of permanence, one that would encourage Rohingyas to settle down..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: DW News
Date of publication: 2019-03-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: UN investigator reports possible fresh war crimes in Myanmar
Description: "The United Nations hurled a fresh accusation at security forces and insurgents in Myanmar. An investigator said their actions in the restive states of Rakhine and Chin may amount to war crimes. Government troops, known as the Tatmadaw, have been battling ethnic rebels, the Arakan Army, for close to two years now..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: CNA
Date of publication: 2019-07-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: ISCG Monsoon response in Rohingya refugee camps weekly update
Description: "During the reporting period, monsoon-related events affected almost 640 refugees. 86 refugees were temporarily displaced. Impact on sector activities and essential facilities has been relatively limited, with no reports of key facilities damaged or destroyed. The monsoon season in Bangladesh officially started on 17 June. However, weather-related incidents have been recorded in the Rohingya refugee camps since April 2 . Over 6,300 people have been temporarily displaced, while 42 have been injured. To date, the number of people temporarily displaced and injured is comparable to the 2018 monsoon season, when by the end of July around 6,000 people had been temporarily displaced and over 30 injured..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via "Inter Sector Coordination Group"
Date of publication: 2019-08-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 180.29 KB
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Title: "Rohingya refugee crisis is a time bomb that must be quickly defused to avoid any future flare-up"
Sub-title: Dr. Shamsul Bari, a former Director of UNHCR, talks to The Daily Star about the Rohingya refugee crisis, its local, regional and global implications and the possible solutions to the crisis.
Description: "Based on your experience in dealing with refugees the world over, how would you categorise the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh? During my long career with UNHCR, I had the opportunity to deal with refugee problems all over the world. In fact, the influx of Rohingyas into Bangladesh in 1978 was one of the first refugee groups I dealt with at the UNHCR, which I joined the same year. However, compared to that group of around 250,000 refugees, most of whom went back, and a similar number of Rohingya refugees who came in the early 1990s, who too largely went back, and a lesser number who came in 2012 and drew international attention for their desperate efforts to travel to Malaysia and other Asean countries in rickety boats, the influx of August 2017 was of a very different nature and on a much larger scale. The latest batch of refugees was composed of people who were victims of a brutal military pogrom in Myanmar, which was planned ahead and meticulously executed. They came as a human avalanche, accompanied by heart-wrenching scenes of pain, suffering and destitution. Their narratives about the horrific circumstances which made them flee Myanmar reminded the world of human tragedies that have “shocked the conscience of mankind” throughout history. Sympathy and compassion for these refugees poured in from all corners of the world. Financial and material support flowed in from governments, international financial institutions, UN bodies, civil societies and individuals alike. Charges of genocide and crimes against humanity were raised against Myanmar forces. Calls for international accountability measures against them were rife. More than seven hundred thousand came in continuous waves in a very short period. Together with another four hundred thousand, who had remained in Bangladesh from earlier influxes, they form the largest single refugee group in the world today..."
Source/publisher: 2019-08-05
Date of publication: The Daily Star
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Rohingya ‘repatriation’ efforts just a cruel charade
Description: "The government of Myanmar reached out late last month to the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who have taken refuge in the Bangladeshi city of Cox’s Bazar with a seemingly straightforward plea: “Come back home.” That offer might have seemed irresistible for those familiar with conditions in the teeming refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. And the dozens of Rohingya refugees that Physicians for Human Rights has interviewed there over the past two years are almost unanimous in their desire to return to Myanmar. But that desire is offset by what they know about the nature of the government that made that offer. And those refugees have made clear that they’d rather endure the privations of their Bangladeshi refugee camps than risk returning to Myanmar any time soon. That’s a wise choice. Memories of the catastrophic campaign of widespread and systematic targeted violence by Myanmar security forces against Rohingya in northern Rakhine state beginning on August 25, 2017, are still painfully fresh among the survivors who fled to Bangladesh in fear of their lives. That campaign, executed on the pretext of an anti-terrorist operation aimed at the insurgent Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, entailed what both Physicians for Human Rights and the United Nations have documented as a catalogue of atrocities against Rohingya civilians including mass killings, rampant sexual violence, torture, mutilation and the torching of hundreds of Rohingya villages. In the two years since those crimes, the 740,000 Rohingya survivors of that violence who fled to safety in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar have watched in dismay as the Myanmar government has defied all international efforts for accountability. The authorities have failed to conduct impartial and independent investigations and have stymied the efforts of the UN and other bodies seeking to do so. A four-member commission formed by the Myanmar government to investigate the alleged crimes announced in December 2018 that it had found no evidence to corroborate the UN’s accusations, an assertion roundly rejected by human-rights groups. Any lingering hopes among Rohingya refugees that the government was willing and capable of providing meaningful accountability for the bloodshed of late 2017 were dashed with the confirmation this May that the Myanmar military had pardoned the only military personnel successfully prosecuted for their role in the violence: seven soldiers convicted in April 2018 of killing 10 Rohingya men and boys in the infamous Inn Din village massacre of September 2017..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of publication: 2019-08-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: UN urges sanctions on Myanmar army businesses, says foreign partners could be complicit
Sub-title: United Nations investigators urged world leaders on Monday to impose targeted financial sanctions on companies linked to the military in Myanmar, and said foreign firms doing business with them could be complicit in international crimes.
Description: "A panel of human rights experts identified scores of companies tied to the army, which controls vast swathes of Myanmar's economy through holding firms and their subsidiaries, and is accused by the UN of executing a campaign with "genocidal intent" against the Rohingya minority. More than 730,000 Rohingya, members of a persecuted Muslim minority, fled Myanmar's Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh amid a military-led crackdown in August 2017 that the UN and Western countries have said included mass killings and gang-rapes. The UN investigatory panel condemned the violence in a report last year that called for the economic isolation of the military. Investigators said the purpose of the new report was to help countries cut financial ties with all army-linked companies. "For the first time, this report comes out with a clear picture of the involvement of specific European and Asian companies, and makes a point that in fact there is this relationship and it's a violation of UN treaties and UN norms," panel chairman Marzuki Darusman said in an interview in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Sunday. A military spokesman did not answer phone calls seeking comment. Zaw Htay, a spokesman for civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's government, could not immediately be reached for comment. The Myanmar government was sent an advance copy of the UN report. The investigators identified at least 59 foreign companies with some form of commercial ties to the Myanmar military, including firms from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Hong Kong and China. Of those, 15 operate joint ventures with the two military conglomerates or their subsidiaries, the report said. Calling for the imposition of an arms embargo on the country, the investigators also named 14 companies that have sold weapons and related equipment to security forces in the country since 2016, including state-owned entities in Israel, India, South Korea, and China..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-08-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: ‘The land where we lived has gone' – the life story of a Rohingya refugee
Description: "There has been much written about the Rohingya people of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. The Muslim ethnic group has been persecuted for generations, most recently from 2017, when 800,000 picked up whatever they could carry to flee to Bangladesh. But little has been written from the point of view of a Rohingya growing up in Myanmar – the daily humiliations, the struggle for survival, the fear, the stories whispered through generations to ensure they are not lost. Habiburahman, known as Habib, was born in a village in the west of the country around 1979 – he is not quite sure of the year. He has written his life story, and through that, the story of his people. We meet in his publishers’ bland office in Melbourne, Australia. He is dressed in a neat blue shirt and dark trousers, and his black hair is slicked back. He laughs readily and his phone buzzes with messages. Habib arrived in Australia by boat in 2009 and, although he is a recognised refugee and has a temporary visa, his status remains unresolved. He is still stateless. He has no passport. “I have nowhere to go,” he says, with a laugh that has little humour in it. We speak in English and Habib wrote the book in English with the help of a French journalist, Sophie Ansel, who has reported extensively on the Rohingya. He explains that the book began with Ansel writing him questions, to which he would provide long answers about his life. It was first published in 2018 in French and is now being released in English. Habib says he wanted to write his story because “my generation, my grandfather, great-grandfather – we have been oppressed for a long time and this has never been reported. Our history is [becoming] lost. The land where we lived in the past is now replaced with government buildings, new projects; everything has gone. The new generation of Burmese, they don’t know anything about Rohingya.” He called the book First, They Erased Our Name..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: The Guardian
Date of publication: 2019-08-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Bangladesh seeks world engagement for Rohingya repatriation
Sub-title: Bangladesh has sought comprehensive engagement of the international community, particularly Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in creating a conducive environment in northern Rakhine state and help repatriation and reintegration of the Rohing
Description: "“If the Rohingya crisis remains unresolved for long, it may seriously undermine the security and stability of the entire region,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said at the 26th ASEAN Regional Forum in Bangkok today. Thailand, chair of ASEAN, is hosting the event where foreign ministers from 26 countries and representative from European Union, USA, UK, Japan, China and India are participating. Foreign Minister Momen stated that Bangladesh is not in a position to bear the burden of the 1.1 million, including 750,000, who fled atrocities from Myanmar since August 2017, for indefinite period. “It should be a global responsibility to resolve this issue,” he said. At the forum, foreign ministers from Japan, USA, Canada, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand and Malaysia also urged Myanmar to create conducive environment for early repatriation of Rohingya in safety and dignity, while seeking ASEAN’s enhanced engagement in this process. USA, Canada and Malaysia particularly emphasised on ensuring justice and accountability in relation to atrocities committed against Rohingyas, according to a statement of the foreign ministry. At this regional high-level Forum, Abdul Momen also embarked on key regional issues, including denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula, degradation of marine environment, human trafficking, illicit drugs trafficking and cybercrimes. He stressed on the need for sustained peaceful atmosphere in the Korean Peninsula for the continued stability in the Asia-pacific region..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-08-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Japan urges Myanmar to take 'more strenuous efforts' to repatriate Rohingyas
Sub-title: Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has urged the Myanmar government to take "more strenuous efforts" to take Rohingyas back from Bangladesh to their place of origin in Rakhine State.
Description: "During his recent meeting with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw, Minister Kono said the Japanese government would continue to encourage and urge Myanmar as "much as possible", said an official. The Japanese Foreign Minister, who visited Bangladesh before his engagements with Myanmar leadership, said it is important to conduct the Independent Commission of Enquiry in a "transparent and credible" manner stressing the Myanmar government to act to that end. On May 31 last year, the government of Myanmar announced to establish an Independent Commission of Enquiry, including an international personality, concerning the violation of human rights and related issues in Northern Rakhine State since 25 August 2017. The Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population of Myanmar, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) agreed on the texts of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for repatriation and resettlement of the displaced persons to Northern Rakhine State. The government of Japan welcomed it as "important key progress" towards improvement of the human rights and humanitarian situation and the "voluntary, safe and dignified" repatriation of Rohingyas to Northern Rakhine State. The Japanese Foreign Minister, in his latest meeting with Suu Kyi, vowed to continue their efforts to help resolve the Rohingya problem by joining hands with the Myanmar government. Both the leaders exchanged views over the situation in Rakhine State and discussed the efforts to take Rohingyas back from Bangladesh. He hoped that the Myanmar government would "accelerate" its implementation efforts, including the work of the ICOE - Independent Commission of Enquiry. The Myanmar State Counsellor, however, in the meeting, described the problem of Rohingyas as a "bilateral issue" between Bangladesh and Myanmar and appreciated Japanese kind offer to help resolve the problem..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-08-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya crisis: India urges world to help Bangladesh
Sub-title: India recognizes humanitarian burden shouldered by Bangladesh’s society and economy, says ASEAN forum report
Description: "India has urged the world community to help Bangladesh deal with the huge Rohingya influx from Myanmar, saying it poses a threat to regional security. India recognizes the humanitarian burden on Bangladesh’s society and economy, said the Security Outlook 2019 of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum held on Friday, according to BSS, Bangladesh’s state-run news agency. India praised Bangladesh’s generosity towards displaced people in the report, the agency reported on Saturday “India is deeply conscious of the humanitarian and security implications of the displacement of nearly one million people (Rohingya) in Bangladesh from contagious areas of Rakhine state in Myanmar,” said the outlook report. “India recognizes the economic burden this crisis places upon Bangladesh’s society and economy,” it added. The report said bordering northeastern India, Myanmar’s stability and prosperity is crucial for regional security. India has provided aid to Myanmar to facilitate the return of Rohingya to Myanmar’s Rakhine state, the place of their origin. Thailand, as the ASEAN chair, hosted this year’s forum with the participation of foreign ministers from 26 countries and representatives from the European Union, U.S., U.K., Japan, China, and India. Addressing the event, A K Abdul Momen, Bangladesh’s foreign minister, sought support and cooperation from the world community to carry out the Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar in a safe manner..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: ASIA - PACIFIC
Date of publication: 2019-08-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya, Myanmar talks disappoint rights group
Sub-title: Myanmar delegation failed to make convincing case for safe return of Rohingya to their homes, says Human Rights Watch
Description: "An international human rights watchdog has described recent talks between the Rohingya representatives and the Myanmar delegation, as "disappointing". The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that during the talks, the Myanmar delegation failed to make a convincing case for the safe return of refugees. The 10-member delegation, led by the Permanent Secretary of the Myanmar Foreign Ministry, Myint Thu arrived at the sprawling refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh earlier this week, to discuss the repatriation of the Rohingya population. The HRW South Asia Director Meenakshi Ganguly said that the Myanmar officials, armed with "facts" and colorful brochures, tried to persuade the displaced population to return home, claiming it was safe. "They did not even use the term Rohingya," Ganguly said, quoting a refugee. She said it reminded the Myanmar government’s longstanding unwillingness to recognize the ethnic group. The Myanmar team also explained the categories of citizenship and promoted the government’s National Verification Card (NVC) process..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: ASIA - PACIFIC via Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2019-08-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh seeks Asean support for Rohingya repatriation
Sub-title: AK Abdul Momen stated that Rohingya crisis should be a global responsibility to resolve the issue
Description: "Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has sought support and cooperation from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) regional forum partners so that Rohingyas can return to their homeland in safety and security. The minister made the appeal while addressing the 26th Asean in Bangkok, a Foreign Ministry press release said on Friday. Thailand as the chair of Asean is hosting this year's forum where foreign ministers from 26 countries and high representatives from European Union, USA, UK, Japan, China, and India are participating. Minister Momen mentioned that if the Rohingya crisis remained unresolved for long, it might seriously undermine the security and stability of the entire region. Momen sought comprehensive engagement of the international community, particularly Asean, in the creation of a conducive environment in northern Rakhine state as well as in the repatriation and reintegration process. He stated that Bangladesh was not in a position to bear the brunt for indefinite period and it should be a global responsibility to resolve this issue. At the forum, foreign ministers from Japan, USA, Canada, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, and Malaysia urged Myanmar to create a conducive environment for early repatriation of Rohingyas in safety and dignity..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-08-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya activists slam ASEAN's call for dialogue with Myanmar
Sub-title: Regional bloc accused of whitewashing Myanmar's crimes against Rohingya.
Description: "The efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to encourage a "dialogue" between the refugees and the Myanmar government has sparked fierce criticism from Rohingya activists who accuse the bloc of whitewashing the Myanmar military's crimes and legitimising its deeply flawed repatriation plans. A team from the humanitarian arm of the 10-member trade bloc joined a Myanmar government delegation on a visit to the camps last week in a bid to launch fresh repatriation talks with Rohingya leaders and activists. Almost 730,000 Rohingya crossed the border into Bangladesh and arrived in Cox's Bazar in August 2017 after fleeing military-led massacres in Myanmar's western Rakhine state. However, relations between members of the Rohingya and those who are supposed to help them have often been fraught. The United Nations's refugee agency, UNHCR, has sown mistrust by signing secret repatriation deals with Myanmar and pushing an identity card scheme that many Rohingya opposed, leading to alleged intimidation and violence when security forces tried to get them to sign up. Rohingya refugees reject Myanmar delegation's offer to return (2:34) Bangladesh authorities, praised for their generosity in hosting the Rohingya, imposed severe restrictions on the refugees, preventing them from moving freely, getting an education, earning a living and denying them official refugee status. At a meeting during the visit by the team, a Rohingya youth activist asked the ASEAN visitors what they were doing to help some 128,000 Rohingya in Rakhine state who are trapped in disease-ridden detention camps..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2019-08-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya Citizenship: Myanmar angry at Mahathir’s comments
Description: "Myanmar has expressed dismay after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Rohingyas faced “massacre or genocide”. In an exclusive interview with the Anadolu Agency last week, Mahathir said the Rohingyas “should either be treated as nationals, or they should be given their territory to form their own state.” Myanmar’s Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Myint Thu said such allegations would not help the efforts of Myanmar government and ASEAN in finding a sustainable solution for peace, development and social harmony in Rakhine State. Thu, who met Malaysian Ambassador to Myanmar Zahairi Baharim on Wednesday at Myanmar’s foreign ministry headquarters in Naypyitaw, also said the Malaysian leader’s statement was not constructive and described it as a breach of principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter. “It was also against the ASEAN’s cardinal principles of non-interference in the internal affairs and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ASEAN member states,” said the ministry in a statement..." Many commentators, however, blamed Myanmar for “buying time” and diverting the international community’s focus, by repeatedly denying crimes it has committed against the Rohingya community in the Rakhine state. Some 750,000 Rohingyas fled state persecution since August 2017 and took shelter in Bangladesh as thousands were killed, raped and hundreds of Rohingya villages were completely burnt. The UN independent investigators late last year called for Myanmar military generals to be investigated for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Myanmar denies the allegations. Meanwhile, nearly two years after the mass influx of Rohingyas into Bangladesh, the repatriation could not begin as the refugees say the situation in Rakhine is not conducive for return, while there is no guarantee of citizenship, which they have been denied since 1982..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-08-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya Refugee Crisis - WHO Bangladesh Bi-Weekly Situation Report #15, 01 August 2019
Description: "To strengthen the District Sadar Hospital, Cox’s Bazar, WHO completed renovation of four wards there, with support from King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KS Relief). The preliminary findings of the rapid healthcare waste management assessment(HCWM) revealed that it is a priority of public health concern in the settlement, requiring special attention on setting-up robust and sustainable HCWM system in the district.....There are an estimated 913 316 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, according to the latest ISCG situation report (June 2019). This includes 34 172 refugees from Myanmar who registered before 31st August 2017. All refugees, including new arrivals, face compounding vulnerabilities, including in health. WHO has been responding to this crisis since September 2017. A summary of response actions from epidemiological weeks 29 and 30 of 2019 is presented below by WHO functions..."
Source/publisher: World Health Organization (WHO)
Date of publication: 2019-08-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 702.65 KB
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Title: As West retreats, China surges in Myanmar
Sub-title: Chinese investment and tourism are rising fast in the country at a time the US and EU pull back in revulsion at new rights abuses
Description: "Myanmar’s ethnic turmoil and political uncertainties are keeping Western investors and tourists away, as the Rohingya refugee crisis has once again made the country a pariah byword for grave human rights abuses. At the same time, China has emerged as the largest investor in Myanmar’s commercial center Yangon, accounting for 65 of 113 approved foreign invested projects in fiscal 2018-19. Chinese tourist arrivals, guided in part by Beijing’s control of tour groups and Myanmar’s new relaxed visa rules for Chinese visitors, have also skyrocketed, making them far and away the largest national group to visit the country in 2018. According to a July 26 report in The Irrawaddy, the surge in new Chinese investment has been concentrated in Yangon but is also growing fast in other parts of the country. The report said: ”China is planning to implement multi-billion dollar projects, including a deep seaport, new cities, industrial parks, border economic cooperation zones and high-speed railroad lines under its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.” In November, Myanmar signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China which officially established the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), a transport artery that will connect China’s southwestern Yunnan province with the Bay of Bengal, thus giving China an alternative trade route to the congested Malacca Strait..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-07-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Japan: Urge Bangladesh, Myanmar to Protect Rights
Topic: Refugee Rights, Asylum Seekers ,Internally Displaced People
Sub-title: Foreign Minister Taro Kono Should Use Trip to Raise Rohingya’s Plight
Topic: Refugee Rights, Asylum Seekers ,Internally Displaced People
Description: "Japan’s foreign minister, Taro Kono, should raise critical human rights issues during his visit to Bangladesh and Myanmar from July 29 to July 31, 2019, Human Rights Watch said in a July 26 letter to the foreign minister. “Foreign Minister Kono should press the Bangladeshi government about arrests under its draconian digital security laws and online censorship that is stifling peaceful criticism and dissent,” said Kanae Doi, Japan director. “While in Myanmar, Foreign Minister Kono should urge the government to ensure that humanitarian agencies, human rights groups, and independent media have access to ethnic Rohingya and other at-risk minorities.” Kono should press the Bangladeshi government to drop politically motivated charges against critics and the opposition. Bangladesh should also amend the Digital Security Act to ensure the right to freedom of expression, investigate enforced disappearances, and ensure that any repatriation of Rohingya is voluntary. In Myanmar, Kono should urge Aung San Suu Kyi’s government to end the arbitrary arrest and detention of government critics, reform or repeal the Media Law and other abusive legislation to eliminate restrictions on basic rights, end institutionalized discrimination against the Rohingya, and fully cooperate with international fact-finding mechanisms..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2019-07-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar NGO worker shot in restive Rakhine State
Description: "A Plan International aid worker was shot by Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State, the army said Tuesday, the first time an NGO employee has been swept up in violence plaguing the area. Rakhine State is one of Myanmar's poorest regions and NGOs provide aid to tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims still languishing in displacement camps as well as other local communities. But the Tatmadaw has deployed thousands of troops there in recent months to try and crush rebels from the Arakan Army, who are fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. Myanmar national Ko Ye Lin Naing, 25, was driving a motorcycle in Mrauk U township Sunday when "a security forces member opened fire... as a warning shot" when he did not stop, according to a statement from the commander-in-chief's office. He was wounded and taken to the hospital, but the army says he was carrying a grenade and charged him under a counterterrorism law. Plan International, a prominent aid agency that provides aid to displaced households and children affected by conflict in Rakhine, said it was "extremely concerned" about their employee who remains in the custody of security forces. Fighting between the Arakan Army and the military prompted a weeks-long internet shutdown that rights groups say is being used to provide cover for abuses including extrajudicial killings and torture. The military says it fighting insurgents and dealing with a sophisticated group that uses modern technology and is heavily armed. The clashes follow an army crackdown in 2017 against the Rohingya Muslim minority in northern Rakhine, when more than 740,000 were driven into Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: Frontier Myanmar
Date of publication: 2019-07-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya flow into Bangladesh continues, albeit low: Anisul to UN
Sub-title: Reiterating that Bangladesh sheltering 1.1 million Rohingyas for the sake of humanity, Law Minister Anisul Huq today told the United Nation that the flow of Rohingyas into Bangladesh still continues, albeit low.
Description: ''"The most disconcerting fact is that the flow of Rohingyas, albeit low, still continues," he said while submitting a report to the UN Committee against Torture. The report highlighted on Bangladesh's two priority sectors -- protecting human rights and providing shelter to forcibly displaced Rohingyas in the country. A 19-member delegation, including Senior Secretary to the Law Ministry, foreign secretary and permanent representative of Bangladesh to UN joined him in the UN office. Anisul said, "We've opened our border to 700,000 Rohingyas and allocated over 6,000 acres of forest land allowing environmental degradation and social instability in the area for sheltering them for the sake of humanity in 2016." As a host to 1.1 million Rohingyas, the Law Minister said Bangladesh maintained the principle of non-refoulment, despite significant resource constraints and challenges. The report submitted by Bangladesh to the Committee against Torture was prepared in accordance with procedural obligations under the Convention. The country became a state party to the Convention against Torture on 5 October 1998 through accession. Anisul in the report focused on three aspects of the Convention - legal, administrative and judicial actions taken by the government for implementing the Convention. The Law Minister in the report marked two priority sectors -- curbing violence against women and children - for Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-07-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Rohingya Refugees Disappointed Again
Topic: Refugee Rights, Asylum Seekers
Sub-title: Myanmar Delegation Fails to Make Convincing Case for Safe Return
Topic: Refugee Rights, Asylum Seekers
Description: "Myanmar officials arrived at the sprawling refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh this week to discuss the repatriation of the Rohingya population. Armed with “fact” sheets, colorful brochures, and PowerPoint presentations, officials whose government committed a campaign of ethnic cleansing that forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh two years ago were now trying to persuade them it was safe to return home. They were not convincing. “They didn’t even use the term ‘Rohingya,’” one refugee noted, alluding to the government’s longstanding unwillingness to recognize the ethnic group. The 10-member delegation, led by the permanent secretary of the Myanmar Foreign Ministry, Myint Thu, explained categories of citizenship and promoted the government’s National Verification Card (NVC) process. Many Rohingya despise this deeply flawed process, which they view as a perpetuation of the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law, which has effectively left them stateless in their own country. The newly digitized NVC process would require Rohingya to reapply for their citizenship using their biometric data, which may further encourage discrimination. Myint Thu told them this was a first step towards achieving “naturalized citizenship.” The problem is that many Rohingya already consider themselves Myanmar citizens. “We showed them documents that prove that our ancestors were Burmese,” said Dil Mohammad, one of Rohingya participants. “Why do we need to go through that NVC process again which will identify us simply as a foreigner?” Given the horror of the atrocities they survived, the refugees understandably first want Myanmar authorities to assure them that they and their families will be safe if they return home, before they discuss terms of their repatriation..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2019-07-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya Refugee Emergency: Operational Dashboard: 2019 Indicators Monitoring (30 May 2019)
Description: "Over 741,000 Rohingya refugees have fled violence from Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August 2017 and are hosted in Bangladesh. Most of the refugees rely on humanitarian assistance, having left with few possessions and exhausted their financial resources during the journey. More than 910,000 Rohingya refugee women, men, girls and boys are hosted in Cox’s Bazar District, including 34,172 registered refugees who arrived in the 1990s (4%); and other unregistered Rohingya refugees who had settled in host communities prior to August 2017. Children make up 55% of the total refugee population and women and girls make up 52%. One in three refugee families have at least one easily identifiable protection vulnerability. Whilst the pace of arrivals has decreased, refugees continue to arrive in Bangladesh, as of end of May 2019. The dashboard monitor the monthly achievements of selected indicators from the 2019 country operation plan for each strategic area of activity with cumulative key figures and monthly highlights..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Date of publication: 2019-07-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 653.76 KB
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Title: Want to resolve Rohingya crisis through talks: PM
Description: "Rohingyas is a big burden for us ... we want to resolve the issue through discussions," she said during a meeting with Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon in London on Monday evening (London time). PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told UNB over phone from London that Lord Ahmad assured all possible support over the Rohingya issue, saying new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is aware of it. About combating terrorism, both the Prime Minister and Lord Ahmad said Islam is a religion of peace and it does not support terrorism. Sheikh Hasina said her government has created mass awareness involving the cross section of people to fight terrorism. She also talked about the existing communal harmony in Bangladesh, saying people of all faiths are exercising their respective religions freely. She informed Lord Ahmad that the government is establishing Islamic research centres across the country to uphold the true spirit of Islam. The Prime Minister and Lord Ahmad also shed light on the Brexit issue. Lord Ahmad highly praised women empowerment in Bangladesh under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Hasina said only education can ensure women empowerment. Describing various initiatives of the government for ensuring women empowerment, she said the government recruits 60 percent of teachers at primary level from women. Expressing satisfaction over the existing wonderful relations between Bangladesh and the UK, they hoped that the ties will be strengthened further in the days to come Lord Ahmad was accompanied by his spouse Siddiqa Ahmed while PM's Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman and Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem were present at the meeting..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-07-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Delegation Holds Repatriation Talks With Rohingya in Bangladesh
Description: "A top-level Myanmar government delegation began repatriation talks with Rohingya leaders in a Bangladesh refugee camp on Saturday, an official said, with many of the Muslim minority fearing for their safety if they return home. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar's military and are living in squalid conditions in camps in Bangladesh's southeastern border district of Cox's Bazar. The two countries signed a repatriation deal in November 2017 but so far virtually no Rohingya have volunteered to go back to Myanmar, where the group has faced decades of repression. The Myanmar team, led by permanent foreign secretary U Myint Thu, arrived in Cox's Bazar on Saturday amid tightened security in the camps. 'Seemed positive' The delegation visited Kutupalong — the world's largest refugee settlement — where they discussed repatriation with Rohingya community leaders over several hours, said Bangladesh refugee commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam. "Both parties seemed positive about it and the discussion will continue [Sunday]," he told AFP. One of the Rohingya leaders who joined the talks, Dil Mohammad, said they "went well" as he reiterated demands for Myanmar to recognize Rohingya as an ethnic group. "We hope this discussion will be fruitful. We told them that we won't return unless we are recognized as Rohingya in Myanmar," he said. Myanmar denies the minority citizenship and refers to them as "Bengalis" — implying that the Rohingya are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Second such session It was the second time in less than a year that Myanmar officials were trying to persuade Rohingya refugees to return to their homeland in violence-wracked Rakhine state, after a repatriation offer was rejected by Rohingya leaders in October. The massive camps have sparked tensions between the neighboring nations, with Bangladesh blaming Myanmar for delays in repatriating the refugees. Dhaka has said it will not force any Rohingya to leave, while Myanmar has faced international pressure to allow the Rohingya to return to Rakhine and grant them citizenship rights. The U.N. has complained that progress to address the refugee crisis has been far too slow. The new visit comes in the wake of talks between Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. China is a key ally of Myanmar, and Hasina said then that Beijing would "do whatever is required" to help resolve the Rohingya crisis..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: VOA
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: PM's advisor: Prolonged Rohingya crisis to pose hybrid security threat
Description: "Prime minister's security affairs advisor urged the international organizations to focus on the Rakhine State instead of just Bangladesh Prime Minister's Security Affairs Advisor Maj Gen (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique has said a hybrid security threat might have an impact outside Bangladesh if the Rohingya crisis remains unresolved. He said this while addressing the Second Meeting of Track 1.5 Bimstec Security Dialogue Forum as the chief guest at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) auditorium on Tuesday. "You never know who is going to take advantage of it," he said, seeking efforts from all to help resolve the problem. The prime minister’s security advisor urged the international organizations working on the Rohingya issue to work more on the other part of the border-- Rakhine State -- instead of only focusing inside Bangladesh to help boost confidence among Rohingyas to return to their place of origin. "It's a vicious circle we are getting into. If it becomes hot, it will be very difficult to cool down," he said, adding that he is seeing danger in future. Rohingya crisis, and repatriation process Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them entered Bangladesh since August 25, 2017, after a crackdown by the Myanmar military on the ethnic minority Bangladesh and Myanmar signed the repatriation deal on November 23, 2017..."
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-07-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: What is Myanmar offering Rohingya to return home?
Description: "Government delegation tries to convince Rohingya refugees to go back to Myanmar. It’s almost two years since more than 700,000 Rohingya fled a military crackdown in Myanmar. The UN labelled it 'a textbook example of ethnic cleansing' with soldiers accused of rape and murder and burning down Rohingya villages. Since their escape the mainly Muslim ethnic group has been crammed into the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh. But Myanmar’s government is under pressure to take them back. And a delegation has been at Cox’s Bazar trying to persuade the Rohingya they should return to Rakhine State. But so far the refugees have said no. They want guarantees about their safety and for them to be granted citizenship. So what exactly is the Myanmar government offering?..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera English (Inside Story)
Date of publication: 2019-07-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Aung San Suu Kyi and Viktor Orban discuss ‘Muslim population challenge’
Sub-title: The Burmese politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner has been slammed for her silence amid Myanmar’s genocide of Rohingya Muslims, while Orban is a fierce critic of Islam and Muslim migration to Europe.
Description: "Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has become a pariah in recent years over her lack of action and silence over Myanmar’s persecution of its mainly Muslim Rohingya minority. But there appears to be at least one Western leader willing to court her support — Hungary’s populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The pair have seemingly found common ground, sharing concerns over migration and the ‘growing Muslim population’. A Hungarian government statement issued on Wednesday included pictures of the two greeting each other with gleaming smiles during a meeting in Budapest. The issue of illegal immigration was at the top of the agenda, according to the official release. “At the meeting the two leaders highlighted that one of the greatest challenges at present for both countries and their respective regions – South East Asia and Europe – is migration,” the statement said. “They noted that both regions have seen the emergence of the issue of coexistence with continuously growing Muslim populations.” Hungary was a key transit route for refugees and migrants trying to reach northern Europe during the refugee crisis, although few decided to stay there. Myanmar is home to native Muslim minorities, such as the Rohingya, who have roots in the country dating back centuries and does not experience significant inward migration..."
Source/publisher: TRT World
Date of publication: 2019-06-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Cynical nationalism in Myanmar and India prolongs Rohingya suffering
Sub-title: India and Myanmar have managed to put aside their differences to tackle a common enemy.
Description: "In his briefing to the security council, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last year that the situation in Myanmar was “one of the world’s worst humanitarian and human rights crises.” But there is one question that has gone unanswered in the entire discussion over the Rohingya issue so far: how have India and Myanmar forgotten their hostilities to rally behind the massacre of the Rohingya people? Human rights groups have termed the Rohingya issue a “textbook case of ethnic cleansing.” A brief background of the geopolitics in the region will allow us to understand better how this bizarre alliance has unleashed such a terrible catastrophe. Since the Cold War era, when Myanmar and its junta faced international sanctions, China’s big-brotherly patronage transformed Myanmar into a virtual client-state of China. China was the economic and military bloodline, which made it possible for Myanmarese to breathe in an otherwise suffocating international environment. The days of the Cold War have gone, however, and China’s influence in the country has only increased since. Thanks to China’s ever-increasing penchant for growth and influence, China has several massive ongoing economic and infrastructure projects in Myanmar, and Myanmar's military equipment is predominantly supplied by the Chinese Given this love affair, it is only natural that India, China’s biggest rival in the region that refused to join the Chinese-led project, the Belt and Road Initiative or the New Silk Road project, be very concerned. India also shares a long border with Myanmar. The Indian side of the shared border with hosts the insurgency-ridden and heavily militarised northeastern states of India, which have added volatility to bilateral relations. The same logic that has kept India suspicious of Chinese influence on its borders should dictate that India would oppose Myanmar permitting the Chinese to build a seaport in the western coastal state of Arakan (official name was changed to Rakhine). However, India has not raised its voice on this issue. Why? Well, the Answer lies in a shared enemy. India's populist Hindutva nationalism under the current BJP regime, which is centred around Bengali Muslims (e.g. the case of Assam), has overlapped with Theravada Buddhist-nationalism in Myanmar, which also identifies Bengali Muslims (in this case Rohingya) as its enemy..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: TRT World
Date of publication: 2019-06-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Deadly monsoon destroys 5,000 shelters in Bangladesh Rohingya camps
Sub-title: The Cox's Bazar district – home to nearly one million Rohingya Muslims – has seen at least 58.5 centimetres of rain since July 2, Bangladesh's meteorological department said.
Description: At least 10 people have died and thousands of shanty homes have been destroyed by monsoon rains in overcrowded Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh's southeast, officials said on Sunday. An International Organisation for Migration (IOM) spokeswoman said heavy rains triggered mudslides in the refugee camps – which are mostly built on hill-slopes – destroying some 4,889 tarpaulin and bamboo shacks in the first two weeks of July. More than 200 landslides have been reported since April in the camps, built near the border with Myanmar, and at least 10 people were killed, a UN report said, adding nearly 50,000 people have been affected.
Source/publisher: TRT World via IOM
Date of publication: 2019-07-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
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Title: Myanmar Delegation meet in Bangladesh Refugee Camp Reported By Mr.Sayed Ullah in Detail.
Description: "The Rohingya are a people who pride their existence for centuries in #Myanmar and achievements amidst the nations of the world. Mission To revive the culture and spirit of the Rohingyas throughout the world via the new media channels and social networking Goals • To create a vivid Rohingya media through developing various media programs to focus the news throughout the world • To bring awareness of the Rohingya crisis to the world through the media networking programs • To promote the spirit of cooperation and coordination with the people around the world • To stop Rohingya from deviating to extremism • To promote peace and to pride on Rohingya's Islamic identity • To promote Rohingya genius and outstanding people as one of the ethnic minority group of Myanmar which has been denied by Myanmar government despite its existence in Myanmar for centuries • To promote Rohingya culture, history and civilization among the Rohingya youths to prove the world as one of the civilized minority group of Myanmar • To document Rohingya history and events to the people across the world We Are Trying To Update Rohingya News To The International Community With The Little Hope Of Life Since Myanmar Government Denying Us To Accord Citizen. Broadcasting & Media Production, Rohingya, Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: Arakan Times
Date of publication: 2019-07-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar frees soldiers jailed for Rohingya massacre
Sub-title: The soldiers were sentenced in 2018 for 10 years over killing a group of Rohingya Muslims but served less than the journalists who uncovered the killing.
Description: "Seven soldiers jailed for killing a group of Rohingya Muslims have been freed from a Myanmar jail despite serving less time than two reporters imprisoned for exposing the massacre. Prisons department director-general Myint Soe told journalists the soldiers were "no longer in detention", declining to give any further information. Four officers and three soldiers were sentenced in 2018 to 10 years with hard labour for killing 10 Rohingya villagers, with army chief Min Aung Hlaing and civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi holding up the sentence as evidence of accountability within the military. Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who helped expose the killing, were jailed last September for seven years on charges linked to their reporting. They were granted a presidential pardon this month after spending over 500 days behind bars. The killings unfolded during a bloody army crackdown in 2017 that forced some 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border into Bangladesh. UN investigators say the violence warrants the prosecution of top generals for "genocide" and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has started a preliminary probe..."
Source/publisher: TRT World
Date of publication: 2019-05-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar officials hold repatriation talks with Rohingya leaders.
Description: "A high-level delegation from Myanmar has visited Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, to persuade refugees to return home. Hundreds of thousands have been sheltering there since fleeing a violent crackdown...Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury reports from Cox's Bazar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera English
Date of publication: 2019-07-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingyas refuse Myanmar’s ‘naturalised citizenship’ offer
Description: "Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh refused Myanmar’s offer of “naturalised citizenship” to return to their home country as the refugees sought recognition as an ethnic group during fresh repatriation talks with officials from Myanmar at camps in Bangladesh on Sunday..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: bdnews24.com
Date of publication: 2019-07-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The “ethnic cleansing” of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, explained
Description: "The Rohingya have been systematically driven out by the Myanmar government leading to the fastest growing humanitarian crisis in recent years. Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com to get up to speed on everything from Kurdistan to the Kim Kardashian app..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Vox
Date of publication: 2017-09-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: History of Rakhine State and the Origin of the Rohingya Muslims
Topic: Myanmar, Rohingya, Refugee, Citizenship, Persecution.
Topic: Myanmar, Rohingya, Refugee, Citizenship, Persecution.
Description: "Myanmar is the least developed country in the Southeast Asia. In the 1947 Constitution, the name of the country was proclaimed Burma, and in 1989, the military junta changed the name to Myanmar (Ullah, 2011). Some scholars believe that Burma is derived from the eponym ‘Brahma Desha’ after Brahma, one of the gods of the Hindu trinity. Some other scholars believe that “Burma” is the name derived from the spoken form of Bamar (the language of the majority ethnic group), and was also used during the independence movement in 1948. “Myanmar” is taken from the literary form of the language, and is supposed to be more neutral than Burma. “Myanmar” supposedly is associated with democratic and federalist ideologies, while “Myanmar” recalls military enforcement and hierarchal units (Dittmer, 2010). The official name of the country according to the 2008 constitution is “The Republic of the Union of Myanmar” (Government of Myanmar [GoM], 2008). Rakhine is a state located in the west coast of Myanmar, one of the poorest regions of the country. Its area is 14,200 square miles (Islam, 1999). In Rakhine, it is estimated that 59.7% of the 3.8 million people are Buddhist, 35.6% are Muslim Rohingya, and the remainder are from other religious groups. The Rohingya Muslims did not originate from just one single racial stock. They are the mixture of diverse ethnic groups, including Arabs, Moghuls, and Bengalis (Alam, 2013). In Myanmar there are 7 million Muslims, which are 15% of the total populations of the country, and half of them live in Rakhine (Jaha, 1994). Buddhist nationalism began to emerge in response to British colonial rule, and saw Buddhists identifying with Burmese culture and history. During the colonial period, the Burmese military Tatmadaw and the founders of several armies including Aung San were patronized and trained by the military of imperial Japan to defeat Allied forces and the British colonials. Myanmar’s Buddhist nationalism was influenced by Japanese fascism (Zarni, 2013). The Rohingya crisis is not only on religion but also on economical and political related (Shams, 2015). The Buddhists of Myanmar claim that the Rohingya are economically developed, and their culture is under siege than the Rohingya. The Rohingya are confronted with a deeplyentrenched Islam phobia with Rakhine in Myanmar. Myanmar is surrounded by some Islamic countries, such as Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The Buddhists think that if any Islamic country attacks Myanmar, the Rohingya will fight against Myanmar. History of Rakhine State and the Origin of the Rohingya Muslims 21 As a result, they are culturally discriminated, economically exploited, and politically sidelined by the GoM (Wolf, 2017). There have been many debates on the origins of the Rohingya and the Arakan State. The two conflicting theories are that i) Rohingyas are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh (Saw, 2011; Ahmed, 2012), and ii) Rohingyas are native to Arakan, and are descendents of the original Muslim converted on Ramree Island (Bahar, 2010a; Forster, 2011). Although there are two opposing debates about the origin of the Rohingya, it is true that a large number of Muslims have resided in the Arakan for hundreds of years (Azad & Jasmine, 2013; Leitich, 2014). The sectarian conflict has been especially focused in the Muslim areas that lie in the northern part of Rakhine State: Maungdaw, Rathedaung, and Buthidaung Townships (Human Rights Watch [HRW], 2013). During the last few years the Rohingya ethnic violence in Rakhine became extensive, which has transformed into ethnic cleansing and genocide (Nawoyski, 2013)..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: The Indonesian Journal of Southeast Asian Studies
Date of publication: 2018-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 1.46 MB
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Title: Lost generation of Rohingya kids face a bleak future
Sub-title: The 500,000 children in refugee camps in Bangladesh have no access to formal education; only 30% have access to lessons
Description: "The boy’s eyes lit up when he talked about his dream of becoming a doctor. Seven-year-old “Mohammad” – not his real name – is a Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar. I met him at a learning center at a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in early July 2019. After sharing his aspirations, Mohammed quickly remembered reality. “I know my dreams will never come true,” he said with a faint smile. Mohammed is among the more than 700,000 Rohingya who have taken refuge in Bangladesh after an ethnic cleansing campaign of rape, killing and torture by the Myanmar military in mid-2017. They joined the more than 200,000 Rohingyas who had previously fled Myanmar’s brutal efforts to rid the Buddhist-majority country of this marginalized Muslim minority. 500,000 kids living in limbo Of the newly arrived Rohingya, three-quarters are women and children, according to the United Nations. In a noteworthy humanitarian gesture, the Bangladeshi government has given refuge to these persecuted people. Aided by Bangladeshi community organizations, various UN agencies and other international donors, the Rohingya have been receiving shelter, food, clothes and basic health care since the massive exodus in 2017. This essential care, which cost an estimated US$920.5 million in 2019 represents a gargantuan global effort. Still, the resources are woefully inadequate. Most Bangladeshi refugee camps are overcrowded and, as a result, unhygienic..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-07-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya call for recognition as Myanmar holds fresh repatriation talks
Sub-title: Virtually no Rohingya have volunteered to go back to Myanmar, where the group has faced decades of repression
Description: "A top-level Myanmar government delegation began repatriation talks with Rohingya leaders in a Bangladesh refugee camp on Saturday, an official said, with many of the Muslim minority fearing for their safety if they return home. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar’s military and are living in squalid conditions in camps in Bangladesh’s south-eastern border district of Cox’s Bazar. The two countries signed a repatriation deal in November 2017 but so far virtually no Rohingya have volunteered to go back to Myanmar, where the group has faced decades of repression. The Myanmar team, led by permanent foreign secretary U Myint Thu, arrived in Cox’s Bazar on Saturday amid tightened security in the camps. The delegation visited Kutupalong – the world’s largest refugee settlement – where they discussed repatriation with Rohingya community leaders over several hours, said Bangladesh refugee commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam. “Both parties seemed positive about it and the discussion will continue tomorrow [Sunday],” he said. One of the Rohingya leaders who joined the talks, Dil Mohammad, said the talks “went well” as he reiterated demands for Myanmar to recognise Rohingya as an ethnic group. “We hope this discussion will be fruitful. We told them that we won’t return unless we are recognised as Rohingya in Myanmar,” he said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: The Guardian
Date of publication: 2019-07-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya refugees press citizenship demands in talks with Myanmar
Description: "Rohingya refugees pressed their demand to be granted Myanmar citizenship in a meeting on Saturday with a delegation from Yangon. The meeting, held at the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in southeast Bangladesh, is the first between the Myanmar government and Rohingya Muslims since their exodus from their homeland in August 2017 to flee rampaging Buddhiest vigilantes. The 17-member delegation from Myanmar arrived in Bangladesh on Friday night on a three-day visit to discuss repatriation issues with the refugees. The delegation included five members from ASEAN states led by the permanent secretary of the Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Myint Thu. A 35-member team of Rohingya community leaders participated in the Saturday meeting, which lasted for more than three hours. The meeting is an outcome of Bangladesh’s efforts to persuade Myanmar to send a delegation to convince the Rohingyas about the situation in Rakhine —the province in Myanmar where most of the refugees came from — to help them decide about repatriation..."
Source/publisher: ARAB NEWS
Date of publication: 2019-07-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya refugees: UN launches action plan for 2019
Description: "UN aid agencies and NGO partners launched the 2019 Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, and are seeking to raise USD920 million to meet the massive needs of more than 900,000 refugees from Myanmar and over 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities. Information for media: If you would like to use this video to communicate refugee stories or require B-Roll, transcripts, stills or much more information, please contact [email protected]..."
Source/publisher: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication: 2019-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya repatriation soon amid mounting pressure on Myanmar, hopes FM
Sub-title: Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday reiterated his hope that Myanmar will soon start taking back its nationals from Bangladesh as global pressure on the neighbouring country is mounting.
Description: ""I'm always optimistic. I'm hoping that the repatriation process will start soon," he said, adding that initially there was less pressure on Myanmar but it is mounting on them now. The foreign minister was addressing as the chief a dissemination workshop titled "The Rohingya Refugee Crisis and Its Impact on the Host Community" held at Brac Centre Inn jointly organised by Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) and UNDP. Bangladesh is now hosting around 1.2 million Rohingyas and most of them entered Bangladesh since August 25, 2017. Dr Momen said development projects both in Bangladesh and Myanmar will be affected if uncertainty prevails with pockets of possible radicalisation due to longer stay of Rohingyas in Bangladesh. He said Bangladesh is asking the neighbours and international community to help resolve the Rohingya crisis as quickly as possible. The Foreign Minister also said the projects of Japan and China will also be affected if this problem remains unresolved and they, for their own interest, should ask Myanmar to take back their nationals. Terming Myanmar a friendly country, Dr Momen said Myanmar took back their nationals in the past though not a single person has been repatriated this time. Referring to Prime Minister's recent China visit, the Foreign Minister said China sees political will in Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya crisis and is willing to assist the repatriation process. "We’ve achieved many things through discussion and dialogue. Therefore, I'm hopeful that we’ll be able to repatriate Rohingyas," he said mentioning that Bangladesh will not force anybody to leave. PRI Chairman Dr Zaidi Sattar said the global community must continue its pressure on the government of Myanmar to take back the forciblydisplaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh. "These displaced people must be repatriated to their homeland on condition that their return is safe, secure and dignified," he said, adding that the repatriation of 500-600 people a day could be a good beginning. PRI Research Director Dr MA Razzaque presented the report. UNDP Resident Representative Sudipto Mukherjee and Research Initiatives Bangladesh (RIB) Executive Director Dr Meghna Guhathakurta, among others, spoke on the occasion..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Communication to the Press After the Official Visit of the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Myanmar
Description: "The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar travelled to the country from 9 to 18 July. In Yangon, she met with representatives of civil society, think-tanks, eminent personalities and INGOs, the UN country team and the diplomatic corps. She also met with religious leaders, members of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance and Development (UEHRD) and members of the former Rakhine Advisory Commission. In Rakhine she travelled to Myebon and to Sittwe and visited IDP camps from both Rakhine and Muslim communities, as well as resettled Rakhine persons. She met with the representatives of civil society, political parties and members of parliament and the Rakhine State government. She also had discussions with the INGOs and with representatives of the resident UN agencies in Sittwe. In Nay Pyi Taw, she met with various government officials, including the State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; the Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr. Win Myat Aye; the Union Minister of Labour, Immigration and Population U Thein Swe; the Union Minister of Education Dr. Myo Thein Gyi; the Union Minister of the State Counsellor’s Office U Kyaw Tint Swe; the Union Minister of International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin, and the Vice-Senior General Soe Win of the Tatmadaw . She also met with members of parliament, in particular, U Aye Tha Aung, the Deputy Speaker of the Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House) in his capacity as Chair of the Committee for Supporting Peace and Stability in Rakhine State (CSPSRS) together with some members of the Committee, and the Public Complaints Committees of the Amyotha Hluttaw and of the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House). While welcoming the fact that the IDP Camp Closure Strategy had been finalised and was pending distribution, she regretted that for instance in Myebon, where over 80% of the IDPs have citizenship, their freedom of movement remained very limited. In her discussions, issues of security and divisions within and between the communities were raised. She repeatedly underlined the need to overcome them..."
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via "UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-07-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom: Statement on Burma/Myanmar.
Description: "As representatives of the international community, we stand together in expressing deep concern about ongoing and undue restrictions on religious freedom, including those on members of minority ethnic and religious groups, in Burma/Myanmar. We call on authorities to uphold the rights protected by Burma/Myanmar’s own Constitution “to freely profess and practice religion” and pursue accountability for those who have denied others these rights. Many of Burma/Myanmar’s religious and ethnic minorities – including Rohingya and other Muslims, Christians in Kachin and Chin States, and Hindus – face discrimination because of their beliefs. We are appalled by the horrific acts of violence and ethnic cleansing of Rohingya in northern Rakhine State, where Burmese security forces engaged in shocking and brutal violence that caused more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh and many others to be displaced within Burma/Myanmar. The government continues to commit abuses in Rakhine State and restrict access to citizenship and freedom of movement for the majority of Rohingya who remain in Rakhine State, especially for the more than 127,000 Rohingya in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in central Rakhine State. We are also troubled by the widespread reports of human right violations and abuses committed by the military in Kachin and Shan States, which have contributed to the displacement of more than 106,000 civilians. In other regions, authorities and armed actors have detained religious leaders on account of their faith, unduly restricted travel and religious practice, destroyed religious property and texts, denied or failed to approve permits for religious buildings and renovations, transferred lands away from minority communities without proper and transparent process, and discriminated on the basis of religion and ethnicity in public employment..."
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via "Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom"
Date of publication: 2019-07-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
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Title: Communication to the press after the official visit of the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Myanmar, Christine Schraner-Burgener, to Myanmar from 09.-18.07.2019 [EN/MY]
Description: "The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar travelled to the country from 9 to 18 July. In Yangon, she met with representatives of civil society, think-tanks, eminent personalities and INGOs, the UN country team and the diplomatic corps. She also met with religious leaders, members of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance and Development (UEHRD) and members of the former Rakhine Advisory Commission. In Rakhine she travelled to Myebon and to Sittwe and visited IDP camps from both Rakhine and Muslim communities, as well as resettled Rakhine persons. She met with the representatives of civil society, political parties and members of parliament and the Rakhine State government. She also had discussions with the INGOs and with representatives of the resident UN agencies in Sittwe. In Nay Pyi Taw, she met with various government officials, including the State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; the Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr. Win Myat Aye; the Union Minister of Labour, Immigration and Population U Thein Swe; the Union Minister of Education Dr. Myo Thein Gyi; the Union Minister of the State Counsellor’s Office U Kyaw Tint Swe; the Union Minister of International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin, and the Vice-Senior General Soe Win of the Tatmadaw . She also met with members of parliament, in particular, U Aye Tha Aung, the Deputy Speaker of the Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House) in his capacity as Chair of the Committee for Supporting Peace and Stability in Rakhine State (CSPSRS) together with some members of the Committee, and the Public Complaints Committees of the Amyotha Hluttaw and of the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House)......ကုသလမဂ္ဂအတွင်းရေးမှူးချုပ်၏ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဆိုင်ရာ အထူးကိုယ်စားလှယ်သည်မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသို့ဇူလိုင်လ ၉ ရက်နေ့မှ၁၈ ရက်နေ့အထိသွားရောက်ခဲ့သည်။ သူမသည်ရန်ကုန်မြို့တွင်အရပ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများမှ ကိုယ်စားလှယ်များ၊ တွေးခေါ်မျှော်မြင်ရေးအဖွဲ့များ (think-tanks)၊ ထင်ရှားကျော်ကြားသောပုဂ္ဂိုလ်များ၊ အစိုးရမဟုတ်သော အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၊ ကုလသမဂ္ဂအဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့်သံတမန်တို့နှင့်တွေ့ဆုံခဲ့သည်။ ထို့အပြင်ဘာသာရေးခေါင်းဆောင်များ၊ ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်တွင်း လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုအကူအညီအထောက်အပံ့ ပေးရေး၊ ပြန်လည်နေရာချထားရေး၊ ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးစီမံကိန်း (UEHRD)နှင့်ယခင်ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ဆိုင်ရာ အကြံပေး ကော်မရှင်အဖွဲ့ဝင်များတို့နှင့်ပါ တွေ့ဆုံခဲ့သည်။ ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်တွင်သူမသည်မြေပုံမြို့နှင့်စစ်တွေမြို့တို့ကိုသွားရောက်ခဲ့ပြီး၊ ရခိုင်နှင့်မွတ်စလင်လူမှု အသိုင်းအဝိုင်း နှစ်ခုစလုံးမှ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာသူများ နေထိုင်ရာစခန်းများသို့သွားရောက်ခဲ့သည့်အပြင်၊ ပြန်လည် နေရာချထားသော ရခိုင်လူမျိုးများကိုလည်း တွေ့ဆုံခဲ့သည်။ ထို့အပြင်သူမသည်အရပ်ဖက်အဖွ့ဲအစည်း များမှကိုယ်စားလှယ်များ၊ နိုင်ငံရေးပါတီများ၊ လွှတ်တော်အဖွဲ့ဝင်များနှင့်ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်အစိုးရနှင့်လည်း တွေ့ဆုံခဲ့သည်။ သူမသည်အစိုးရမဟုတ်သောအဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၊ စစ်တွေမြို့အခြေစိုက်သော ကုသမဂ္ဂ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၏ ကိုယ်စားလှယ်များနှင့်တွေ့ဆုံဆွေးနွေးခဲ့သည်။..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: reliefweb via United Nations
Date of publication: 2018-07-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 64.97 KB 125.21 KB
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Title: IOM Bangladesh Rohingya Crisis Response - Monthly Situation Report (June 2019)
Sub-title: ROHINGYA WOMEN SPEARHEAD WORLD REFUGEE DAY COMMEMORATIONS
Description: "Rohingya refugees took the lead in celebrating World Refugee Day – an internationally-recognized event commemorated around the world. In the Kutupalong Rohingya camps, 120 women and girls held a full slate of activities that ran throughout the day focusing on highlighting the unique culture of their homeland. The women were forced from Myanmar in mid-2017 and are housed in refugee camps just miles from the international border in Bangladesh. In the weeks preparing for World Refugee Day, the women said they wanted to gather together as they did in Myanmar and cook and eat foods they used to enjoy. “One of the things most missed by the women and girls is the simple act of having community meals together – food is a very important part of the Rohingya culture, but when the fighting started and the movement restrictions happened, they had to stop,” said Gender-Based Violence Coordinator Rumpa Dey. World Refugee Day offered an opportunity to plan a potluck-style meal where they sourced ingredients typical of their homeland and prepared dishes for an event at the IOM Women and Girls Safe Spaces. Finding ingredients was straight forward because Rohingya cuisine is similar to food in Bangladesh’s Chittagong region where the camps are located, said Dey. The food unique to this cross-border area relies heavily on ingredients such as salted, dry fish; steamed and pureed aubergine; and a popular dish named Morichvorta made from crushed chilis. Other Rohingya dishes at the event could be easily seen at Indian and Bangladeshi tables such as chicken curry and egg fried rice. Dey explained that the women and girls also served Biryani, “which is a Bangladeshi dish and isn’t Rohingya at all, but was given to them in the camps and they liked very much.” The celebrations were financed by the attendees’ own income earned by an arts and crafts fair held on 8 March. “A community meeting was held where they decided on their own how to spend the proceeds.” Dey highlighted that the effort is an act of empowerment on the part of the women: “It’s good to see women organizing and making decisions in this way.” The event’s success also highlights the importance of IOM’s Women and Girls Safe Spaces. “There are a lot of cultural and social pressures and security concerns that act to keep women in the house and prevent them from being active in their communities. The Women and Girls Safe Spaces helps create a female-only environment where women can get together for events, to socialise or to learn new skills,” Dey added..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Date of publication: 2019-06-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya Crisis: Dhaka seeks NAM, ASEAN member states' role
Topic: Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York Ambassador Masud Bin Momen has urged the NAM member states including the ASEAN neighbours of Myanmar to remain engaged and put in more efforts so that Myanmar authorities do not fail in taking the Rohingyas back.
Topic: Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York Ambassador Masud Bin Momen has urged the NAM member states including the ASEAN neighbours of Myanmar to remain engaged and put in more efforts so that Myanmar authorities do not fail in taking the Rohingyas back.
Description: "While referring to the oppression against the Palestinian people and violations of international law and international human rights law in the occupied Palestinian territory, he cautioned that mere expression of concerns for the misdeeds in Palestine and other places in the world did not stop these from recurring again. "Therefore, we must ensure that nations respect international law, and the international community should take necessary measures to hold accountable the perpetrators responsible for crimes against humanity such as those took place against the Rohingyas in Rakhaine State of Myanmar," he said. Ambassador Masud said was delivering the national statement at the debate of the Ministerial Meeting of the NAM Coordinating Bureau in Caracas, Venezuela on Sunday, said a media release on Monday. The theme of the debate was, "Promotion and consolidation of peace through respect for international law." Stating that misunderstanding and cross cultural ignorance are among the root causes of conflicts that they see today, he said international law which is an essential tool for the protection, maintenance and consolidation of peace draws upon the principles of peace expressed by great scholars and thinkers of the past. "Leaders of our past generation placed them in the social and political context of today to dissipate the clouds of prejudice, ignorance and vested interests that stand in the way of world peace and harmony. It is thus a very precious possession of all human beings, which must be carefully protected and nurtured." He recalled the decision taken by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to join NAM in 1973 and mentioned that inspired by his legacy, Bangladesh still finds the activities of Non-aligned Movement relevant even the world is facing many new and critical challenges including weaponization, securitization of frontier technologies, climate change, protectionism, clashes among cultures etc. He also highlighted successes in various socio-economic sectors under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Ministerial meeting was attended by 16 ministers and other high level representatives of 85 countries from Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean region. The Ministerial meeting was chaired by the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Jorge Arreaza Montserrat. President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro also addressed the meeting. The Ministerial meeting was preceded by the senior officials meeting where the NAM outcome document was negotiated. The Ministerial meeting is expected to adopt the NAM outcome document and a political declaration at the end of the meeting..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-07-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-24
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Title: IUCN Bangladesh takes a #StepWithRefugees: celebrates World Refugee Day at Cox’s Bazar
Topic: IUCN Bangladesh along with the UNHCR, has celebrated World Refugee Day 2019 with the displaced Rohingya sheltered in Cox’s Bazar district. Arising a sense of environmental awareness among the refugees was attempted through sports and cultural activities.
Topic: IUCN Bangladesh along with the UNHCR, has celebrated World Refugee Day 2019 with the displaced Rohingya sheltered in Cox’s Bazar district. Arising a sense of environmental awareness among the refugees was attempted through sports and cultural activities.
Description: "The celebration was organised to honor the courage and determination of those who have been forced to flee their homes because of conflicts. Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh is considered the world’s largest settlement camp with an estimated 745,000 Rohingya refugees taking shelter in the area. The event included a session on IUCN talking about the importance of elephants in the ecosystem, in the context of the ‘Biodiversity conflict mitigation around the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar District’ project implemented by IUCN and UNHCR. It also included talks on the role of forests, with emphasis on the negative impacts of deforestation. The talks were held at Camp four and attended by 400 members from the project’s Elephant Response Teams (ERTs). The main highlight of the event was the inauguration of an environmental youth club which had 20 members. With IUCN's assistance, the club will conduct environmental awareness and management-related activities within the camps and the host communities. The one-day event was filled with fun and entertainment for the refugees. The refuges participated in football matches, sack races, and sprints. Participants also engaged in activities such as puppet making, pot breaking, pillow passing, biscuit picking from a rope, and frog jumping. Children also recited Burmese and English poems, as part of a play. In a break with tradition, elder Rohingya women also participated in the games. The event ended with a prize-giving ceremony and a cultural programme. Paul Maccalion, Senior Energy and Environment Officer, UNHCR appreciated the endeavor of gender inclusion through the programme. ‘Many thanks to IUCN to arrange this multidimensional programme taking together the female and children. Hope refugees will apply the learning from here and engage themselves and will encourage their neighbors in environmental awareness activities.’ He said. Since 2018, UNHCR and IUCN have been partners in the implementation of a project to minimize the conflicts between elephants and refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The Katupalong of Ukhia in the Cox’s Bazar district is known as a migration corridor for Asian elephants traveling from Bangladesh to Myanmar and vice versa. With the influx of Rohingya refugees from Rakhine District of Myanmar into the area, several conflicts between humans and elephants have been reported. These conflicts resulted in human deaths since September 2017. Through the project, road signs along the elephant migration routes were installed to lessen elephant and human encounters. Elephant Response Teams (ERTs) were organised to oversee human-elephant mitigation options. The project also aims to increase the awareness of the camps on the importance of biodiversity, and forests..."
Source/publisher: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Date of publication: 2019-07-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-21
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Title: BHRN Welcomes UN Human Rights Council Statements from Yanghee Lee
Description: "Burma Human Rights Network applauds the July 3rd statements at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva by the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee. In her statements to the council, the Special Rapporteur directed strong criticism against both the Burmese Military and Government for crimes committed in conflict and systematic failures and abuses by the central government and authorities. “Ms. Lee’s statements are greatly appreciated in a time where many in the international community struggle to speak the truth. Her acknowledgment of the ongoing crimes and wrongs done to religious and ethnic minorities is heartening for these communities to know that they have not been forgotten”, said BHRN’s Executive Director, Kyaw Win. Among her many criticisms, Ms. Lee called out the Burmese Government’s discrimination and harassment of Burmese Muslims, atrocities carried out by the Burmese Military in Rakhine State, attacks and arrests of peaceful protesters and activists, and the governments major shortcomings in business pursuits negatively impacting the environment and safety of villagers in affected areas. Ms. Lee also took the time to remind the world of the dire situation of the Rohingya living as refugees in Bangladesh who continue to suffer as the world neglects their needs. Most importantly, Ms. Lee reiterated a call for Burma to be referred to the International Criminal Court for crimes outlined in her statements. BHRN urges Ms. Lee to also address further the issue of Burmese Muslims living on the Thai side of the border who have been denied citizenship and documentation by Burma, leaving them in limbo and vulnerable to undo punishment by Thai authorities. The international community should hear Ms. Lee’s calls and act upon them. The recommendation to refer Burma to the ICC or the establishment of a separate tribunal is both necessary and just. The powers of the world should act to pursue these referrals and ensure they can pass. The international community must cease business as usual with Burma as long as these crimes are ongoing and until justice is obtained for the victims of their crimes. While many hoped for reform in Burma with the rise of the National League for Democracy, it is past time that we view the country with clear eyes and admit that the free and democratic Burma the world hoped would emerge will not come from the current establishment..."
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Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via "Burma Human Rights Network"
Date of publication: 2019-07-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Update on Myanmar at the 41st Session of the Human Rights Council
Description: "The situation of the Rohingya community remains dire. More than 730,000 Rohingya men, women and children continue to be confined to desperate humanitarian conditions in Bangladesh, whose government’s efforts in hosting the refugee community in Cox’s Bazar is to be saluted and commended. And as OHCHR continues to document, Rohingya continue to flee northern Rakhine State, who report ongoing serious discrimination, and continuous and systematic violations of their fundamental rights and freedoms. While the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of Myanmar, UNHCR and UNDP on the return of the Rohingya population was extended for an additional year on 28 May 2019, the conditions conducive for refugee return simply do not yet exist and the implementation of programs under the MoU have been tightly constrained. The Government of Myanmar has taken some steps to implement some recommendations made by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State (appointed by the Government) but has yet to tackle the most fundamental issues that must be addressed if the requisite enabling environment for returns is to be in place. Excellencies, In northern Rakhine State, around 240,000 Rohingya remain from a previous population of approximately one million. Verifying their situation remains difficult due to lack of access by OHCHR and other international actors. However, we continue to receive and verify reports from a variety of sources, including reports on Sexual and Gender Based Violence related cases allegedly committed by members of the security forces. In a continuation of attacks, it was reported that on 2 and 9 May 2019 Rohingya homes and shops were burned in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships. Later, on 28 May 2019, reports alleged that the remaining Rohingya houses in Taung Bazar, Buthidaung township, were also burned to the ground. Our information suggests that the authorities have taken no steps to investigate these attacks. Disappearances of Rohingya continue to be reported. In May, a Rohingya man newly arrived in Bangladesh, told my colleagues that he fled Myanmar rather than comply with a summons he and three other individuals received to report to the local police station. The three others did report to the police station and their families have not heard from them since. OHCHR has received numerous reports that Rohingya face harassment, threats, physical violence and at times restrictions on their freedom of movement when they leave their residences to try to farm their lands, fish or conduct their businesses. This also limits their access to essential, life sustaining services, including to humanitarian assistance on which many now depend. In another concerning development, it was reported that the authorities in northern Rakhine State went house-to-house in January to revise the official household registration lists, allegedly removing the names of those not present. If substantiated, the ramifications of this intervention are very serious. For many Rohingya, the household registration lists may be the only official record that establishes their place of origin and rights to their property within Myanmar. Without such proof of residence, returning to their places of origin or reclaim of their property may well be impossible while access to basic services, including healthcare, education, or other essential Government services can be denied. The situation of the estimated 126,000 Rohingya, mostly IDPs, who live in central Rakhine is of equal concern. The appalling living conditions that they are forced to endure – lack of access to basic services, including poor levels of nutrition, water, adequate shelter, healthcare, and education – are once again more acute during the monsoon season..."
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via "UN High Commissioner for Human Rights"
Date of publication: 2019-07-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-20
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Title: We Must Prevent a Lost Generation: Community-led Education in Rohingya Camps
Description: "Since arriving to Bangladesh after the August 2017 crisis that forced them to flee their native Myanmar, Rohingya refugees have attempted to rebuild a semblance of normalcy in the squalid camps of Cox’s Bazar District. By 2019, a measure of stability has been achieved, with humanitarian agencies meeting the minimum survival needs of the 700,000 new refugees for food, shelter, water, and basic health care services. In contrast to the improvements in these sectors, refugees’ education needs remain largely unmet. The Government of Bangladesh restricts formal schooling for refugee children and youth; the lack of education has become a major source of concern and despair for refugees. In response, numerous refugee-led networks of community teachers have formed in an attempt to fill the gap in formal education. A mapping study consisting of survey and interview components was undertaken in March and April 2019 to identify these networks and learn about their role within the refugee community. The networks surveyed comprise 373 teachers educating 9,848 schoolchildren, mainly primary learners but spanning ages 3 to 23. These teachers, many of whom arrived in Bangladesh with significant prior teaching experience, represent a pool of human resources dedicated to improving camp education. They could be engaged by humanitarian agencies working in the education sector to benefit the overall education situation for refugees. While agencies navigate a highly politicized and complex context throughout each step of camp education planning, community-led education networks operate informally within a comparatively relaxed environment at camp level. While none have formal permission to work, many have received verbal permission from camp government authorities and operate openly. Many utilize the Myanmar government curriculum and state that it is a high priority to continue doing so, viewing adherence to the Myanmar education system as a way to prepare for future repatriation. Few of these education networks have had contact with humanitarian agencies. They are however keen to build external relationships, particularly if doing so enables them to participate in camp education planning and to access resources such as teaching materials, financial support, and teacher training..."
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via "Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)"
Date of publication: 2019-07-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: A precarious environment for the Rohingya refugees
Description: "Andrea Dekrout is Senior Environmental Coordinator for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Based in Geneva, Dekrout is responsible for ensuring sustainable environmental management in UNHCR operations and refugee camps. In her work, she helps refugees and their host communities maintain a clean and healthy environment. We sat down with her to discuss the situation in Cox’s Bazar, a coastal city that has recently seen an enormous influx of refugees. The refugee settlements on southern Bangladesh’s Teknaf Peninsula have existed for a number of years. Before August 2017 they hosted about 200,000 refugees, mainly Rohingyas from Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Since then almost 700,000 more have arrived, after making a perilous journey via land, river or sea. The refugee influx into the Cox’s Bazar district has caused a significant impact on local forests and amplified human-wildlife conflict. It is estimated that the equivalent of 3-5 football fields of forest are felled every day in the area. Important national and community forestry areas, which were already under significant pressure before the influx, have been further degraded, limiting opportunities for local communities depending on forestry projects to supplement their livelihoods..."
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Source/publisher: UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)
Date of publication: 2018-05-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-19
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Title: Bangladesh: Rohingya Face Monsoon Floods, Landslides
Sub-title: Donor Support Critical for Refugees’ Safety, Protection
Description: Rohingya refugees in crowded camps in Bangladesh are at serious risk of displacement and injury from monsoon flooding and landslides, Human Rights Watch said today. Since early July 2019, flooding and landslides have displaced nearly 6,000 refugees in the camps near Cox’s Bazar, damaged over 3,500 shelters, and killed two people, including a child. The International Organization for Migration reported over 400 landslides, 60 windstorms, and at least 28 incidents of flooding in the first 10 days of July, affecting over 22,000 people. Bangladesh authorities should relocate Rohingya refugees to safer areas near the refugee camps and allow permanent structures inside the camps for protection during heavy monsoon seasons, Human Rights Watch said. “Monsoons and landslides are making the Rohingya refugees’ difficult situation even more precarious,” said Bill Frelick, refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Support to Bangladesh from donor governments is crucial for making sure there will be continuing assistance to the refugee population.” Myanmar’s campaign of ethnic cleansing, beginning August 2017, forced over 740,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. The Myanmar government’s unwillingness to address the systemic persecution and other serious rights violations against the Rohingya leaves the refugees stranded in Bangladesh without prospects for a safe or dignified return in the foreseeable future. Over the past two years, aid agencies have improved shelter conditions, built safer infrastructure, and developed monsoon preparedness in the camps. However, the humanitarian response remains critically underfunded. The 2019 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis has received only a third, or US$301 million, of the $920 million needed to meet the needs of the Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh this year. The Joint Response Plan notes that, “The shelter materials and disaster risk reduction training provided to the refugees in 2018 are insufficient for protection against adverse weather conditions.” Earlier in July, Human Rights Watch spoke to 10 Rohingya refugees across four settlements within the Kutupalong-Balukhali Expansion Camp. All expressed concerns about inadequate assistance. They described a shortage of drinking water and a looming health crisis due to flooded toilets, which foster disease outbreaks. Several learning centers have been inundated and children have stopped attending because of muddy conditions in their classrooms. UNICEF reported that the education of 60,000 children has been interrupted, with over 750 learning centers partially damaged and 5 heavily damaged. One of the refugees interviewed said that when a group of refugees approached a Bangladeshi camp official after several homes were destroyed, he told them not to complain. “We have been taking shelter in nearby Bangladeshi schools or with relatives,” the man said.
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2019-07-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-14
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Title: Rohingya refugee crisis is a ticking time bomb
Sub-title: Squalid and bulging refugee camps in Bangladesh risk morphing into epicenters of extremism similar to those seen in Palestine in the Middle East
Description: "Myanmar’s Rohingya refugee crisis, characterized by United Nations’ investigators as “ethnic cleansing” with possible “genocidal intent”, could finally be redounding on the country’s powerful and autonomous top brass. But while Western nations press to penalize Myanmar’s latest abuses, definitively ending a short-lived engagement with the long-isolated county, neighboring states are taking a more self-interested approach. The International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague said last month that it plans to initiate pre-trial procedures which could lead to legal action against Myanmar’s military leaders for mass atrocities. A conviction against top soldiers, including military commander Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, could spur renewed Western sanctions, soon after the US and European Union lifted their previous punitive measures in diplomatic reward for implementing democratic reforms. The government in Naypyitaw is clearly in damage control mode. Reports suggest it will send a delegation to Cox’s Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh, where at least 700,000 Rohingya refugees have been housed in squalid camps since being driven out of Myanmar in 2016 and 2017..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-07-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-14
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Title: Rohingya Refugee Crisis: Contexts, Problems, and Solutions
Description: "Background: There are many problems related to statelessness and refugees in Asia, among which are the following: Assam in India; Myanmar-Thailand border; and Rohingyas in Myanmar. The Muslim majority Rohingyas have been living in the Rakhine state for as long as they, their parents, their grandparents, and their great grandparents can remember. Their land is in between Bangladesh on its west and the rest of Myanmar on its east. Myanmar is home to a multiplicity of ethnicities, religions, and languages. Research Questions: This paper responds to the following queries regarding the Rohingya refugee crisis: 1. What are the historical and current contexts that gave rise to the Rohingya crisis? 2. What were the causes and effects of the problem? 3. What are the proposed actions to resolve the current crisis? Objective: To answer the above questions, this paper presents the contexts, problems, and proposed solutions related to the Rohingya crisis. Literature Search: Since this crisis is still brewing, there is a gap in the academic journal on this matter, which this paper seeks to fill. Most of the literature cited are from the news media outlets, such as The Atlantic, BBC, Democracy Now, El Diario, Frontline PBS, The Guardian, El Mundo, El País, New York Times, and the Washington Post, to name a few. Insider views from Myanmar are also cited, including publication in the English language, such as the Irrawaddy. From the news sources reviewed, this paper analyzes, organizes, and synthesizes the current state of the literature about the Rohingya refugee crisis, which scrutinizes (1) the historical and current contexts, (2) the causes and effects of the problem which emerged, and (3) the proposed agenda to solve the refugee crisis besetting the Rohingyas. The central focus of this paper was the major events surrounding the refugee crisis which took place in 2017, looking back at the historical contexts that led to this situation as well as the synthesizing the major proposals to solve this refugee crisis..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Literature Search
Date of publication: 2019-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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