"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..."