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.
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
* Country Information (997)...
* Legal Information (94)...
* Policy Documents (8)...
* Reference Documents (7).....The Legal Information includes case law and refugee appeals, which may be useful for those preparing asylum cases.
Source/publisher:
UNHCR
Date of entry/update:
2009-02-01
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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Source/publisher:
UNHCR
Date of entry/update:
2009-01-29
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English, French
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Description:
"According to the 1947 Constitution, a group of people who entered Burma before 1825 and settled in a defined territory are also indigenous race of Burma. This clause was
especially written for Rohingya people, said Dr. Aye Maung,
one of the author of the 1947 constitution. Accordingly U Nu
government recognized Rohingya as an indigenous race of Burma..." Keywords: Islam, Muslim, stateless.
Big, flashy site with lots of content.
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
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Description:
"...The Government of Bangladesh should immediately take all necessary steps to protect Rohingya refugees and nearby host communities in Cox’s Bazar District from COVID-19 infection, said Fortify Rights and 49 human rights organizations in an open letter today. The authorities should immediately lift all restrictions that prevent Rohingya refugees from freely accessing mobile communications and the internet and also halt the construction of fencing aimed to confine Rohingya refugees in camps. On March 12, the World Health Organization’s Director-General declared the outbreak of COVID-19, a disease caused by a novel coronavirus, to be a “controllable pandemic.” The disease poses a particular risk to populations who live in close proximity to each other, such as refugees in camps..."
Date of publication:
2020-04-02
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-18
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Sub-title:
Urgently Act to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreak in Refugee Camps
Description:
"...The Bangladesh government’s internet blackout and phone restrictions at Rohingya refugee camps are obstructing humanitarian groups from addressing the COVID-19 threat, Human Rights Watch said today. The shutdown is risking the health and lives of over a million people, including nearly 900,000 refugees in Cox’s Bazar and the Bangladeshi host community by hindering aid groups’ ability to provide emergency health services and rapidly coordinate essential preventive measures.“The Bangladesh government is in a race against the clock to contain the spread of coronavirus, including in the Rohingya refugee camps, and can’t afford to waste precious time with harmful policies,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch..."
Source/publisher:
Human Right Watch
Date of publication:
2020-03-26
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-28
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
"...Responding to the rescue of nearly 400 Rohingya refugees from the Bay of Bengal after a two month-long failed attempt to reach Malaysia, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director, Biraj Patnaik, said..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International
Date of publication:
2020-04-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-19
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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PDF
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5.01 MB
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Description:
"...COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – All around the world, the numbers are climbing. Each day registers thousands of new cases and lives lost. In Europe, now the epicenter of the pandemic, governments know that the worst is yet to come and are implementing increasingly restrictive measures to enforce social distancing and isolation.In Cox’s Bazar we have been watching the world and holding our breath for the first confirmed case of Covid-19. With reports of the first confirmed case in the local community in Cox’s Bazar, it’s just a matter of time until the virus reaches the vulnerable population living in cramped conditions in the largest refugee settlement on Earth. Thousands of people could die...."
Source/publisher:
Asia Time
Date of publication:
2020-03-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-28
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
"...Bangladesh has begun lockdown in all 34 Rohingya refugee settlements in the country’s southern district of Cox’s Bazar as part of its effort to stem coronavirus pandemic. Authorities have asked more than one million members of the persecuted Rohingya community, who have migrated from Myanmar’s Rakhine province, to stay inside their makeshift camps until further notice.“Since this morning [Wednesday] we have started s lockdown in all Rohingya camps as per guidelines issued by the government due to the prevailing scare over coronavirus outbreak,” said Md Mahbub Alam Talukder, Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC)...."
Source/publisher:
AA.com
Date of publication:
2020-03-26
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-28
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
About 939,000 results (November 2018)
Source/publisher:
www via Google
Date of entry/update:
2018-11-12
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Description:
"...Dear Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,As authorities around the world struggle to cope with the spread of COVID-19, it is crucial that States act to protect the most vulnerable, including refugee populations.We, the 50 undersigned organizations, have welcomed the Bangladesh government’s efforts to host the Rohingya refugees who were forced to flee atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmar Army. We also commend the Bangladesh Government for working closely with the humanitarian community on COVID-19 preparedness and response in Cox’s Bazar District, including efforts to establish isolation and treatment facilities.Now we write to urge you to lift ongoing mobile internet restrictions and halt the construction of barbed wire fencing around the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar District. These measures threaten the safety and well-being of the refugees as well as Bangladesh host communities and aid workers, in light of the growing COVID-19 pandemic..."
Source/publisher:
Human Right Watch
Date of publication:
2020-04-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-04
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
Many stories on the Rohingya
Source/publisher:
Kaladan Press Network
Date of entry/update:
2009-01-30
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
Many stories about the Rohingya back to January 2006
Source/publisher:
Kaladan Press Network
Date of publication:
2010-12-20
Date of entry/update:
2010-12-20
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
Mainly the Rohingyas
Source/publisher:
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)
Date of entry/update:
2009-01-29
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
"...Myanmar's government is on trial in the International Court of Justice, accused of orchestrating a campaign of destruction against the Rohingya people..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera English"
Date of publication:
2020-04-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-25
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
What will happen when COVID-19 hits refugee camps? That's what Dr. Paul Spiegel and a team of researchers have been examining. They've been looking at how the coronavirus might affect the densely populated camps outside Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh — home to 850,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. As of Monday, there are 49 cases in the country, including one person in the town of Cox's Bazar. The researchers will use the findings to make recommendations to the United Nations and global aid groups on how to deliver medical care and check the spread of the coronavirus in similar refugee settings.Spiegel, a former senior official at the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the director of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Humanitarian Health, explains why these camps are ripe for disease outbreaks — and what aid groups must do now to help. This interview has been edited for length and clarity...."
MALAKA GHARIB
Source/publisher:
npr.org
Date of publication:
2020-03-31
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-04
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description:
Useful, well-designed page, with background, summaries of the political and humanitarian situation, refugee voices etc., with reports stragely headed "policy recommendations"
Source/publisher:
Refugees International
Date of entry/update:
2005-05-10
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
Useful, well-designed page, with background, reports, advocacy letters, congressional testimony and the shorter reports under the heading of "Policy Recommendations"
Source/publisher:
Refugees International
Date of entry/update:
2005-05-10
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
Documents from 1992-2011
Source/publisher:
Forced Migration Online
Date of entry/update:
2014-11-27
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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Description:
"Over half a million Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar. Follow the crisis here.
The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar. The latest exodus began on 25 August 2017, when violence broke out in Myanmar?s Rakhine State. The vast majority of Rohingya refugees reaching Bangladesh are women and children, including newborn babies. Many others are elderly people requiring additional aid and protection. They have nothing and need everything.
See also: 100 days of horror and hope: a timeline of the Rohingya crisis
Over half of the new arrivals have sought shelter in and around the existing refugee camps of Kutupalong and Nayapara and in makeshift sites that existed before the influx. Some have joined relatives there, while others are drawn to the assistance and services ? putting immense pressure on the existing facilities..."
Source/publisher:
UNHCR
Date of entry/update:
2018-07-09
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
more
Description:
Aljazeeera coverage of the Rohingya crisis
Source/publisher:
Aljazeera
Date of publication:
2018-11-15
Date of entry/update:
2018-11-15
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Individual Documents
Description:
"Rohingya say Arakan Army drove them from their homes and killed civilians
Urgent need for international support and humanitarian aid as thousands of new arrivals seek protection in Bangladesh
Bangladesh must refrain from sending Rohingya back to Myanmar, where indiscriminate military air strikes also killing civilians
Newly arrived Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh need urgent access to food, shelter and medical attention after enduring the worst violence against their communities since the Myanmar military-led campaign in 2017, Amnesty International said today.
Testimony shows how Rohingya families forced to leave their homes in Myanmar have been caught in the middle of increasingly fierce clashes between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, one of many armed groups opposing the junta. Hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced and upwards of tens of thousands of Rohingya have crossed the border or are waiting to cross the border to seek refuge in Bangladesh.
“Once again, the Rohingya people are being driven from their homes and dying in scenes tragically reminiscent of the 2017 exodus. We met people who told us they lost parents, siblings, spouses, children and grandchildren as they fled fighting in Myanmar. But this time, they are facing persecution on two fronts, from the rebel Arakan Army and the Myanmar military, which is forcibly conscripting Rohingya men,” Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said.
“Those lucky enough to make it to Bangladesh do not have enough to eat, a proper place to sleep, or even their own clothes.”
The 2021 military coup in Myanmar has had a catastrophic impact on human rights. Myanmar’s military has killed more than 5,000 civilians and arrested more than 25,000 people. Since the coup, Amnesty has documented indiscriminate air strikes by the Myanmar military, torture and other ill-treatment in prison, collective punishment and arbitrary arrests.
The recent escalation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State started in November 2023 with the launch of a rebel counter-offensive by the Arakan Army and two other armed groups that has posed the biggest threat to military control since the 2021 coup. Myanmar’s military has responded by stepping up indiscriminate air strikes that have killed, injured and displaced civilians.
The impact on Rakhine State, where many of the more than 600,000 Rohingya in Myanmar still live, has been severe, with towns transformed into battlegrounds.
In Bangladesh, authorities have been pushing Rohingya fleeing the conflict back into Myanmar, while those who reached the Bangladesh camps told of a desperate shortage of essential supplies and services there.
In September 2024, Amnesty interviewed 22 people in individual and group settings who recently sought refuge in Bangladesh, joining more than one million Rohingya refugees, the majority having arrived in 2017 or earlier.
The new arrivals said the Arakan Army unlawfully killed Rohingya civilians, drove them from their homes and left them vulnerable to attacks, allegations the group denies. These attacks faced by the Rohingya come on top of indiscriminate air strikes by the Myanmar military that have killed both Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine civilians.
Many Rohingya, including children, who were fleeing the violence to Bangladesh drowned while crossing by boat.
Bangladesh pushbacks deepen woes of Rohingya
The people Amnesty International interviewed in Bangladesh had recently fled Maungdaw Township in northern Rakhine State, which the Arakan Army tried to capture from the Myanmar military after it seized Buthidaung Township in May.
Many were survivors of a drone and mortar attack that took place on 5 August on the shores of the Naf River that divides Myanmar and Bangladesh.
All those interviewed stressed that their urgent priority now was access to basic services in the camp, including aid, shelter, money, security, food and healthcare.
They were also terrified of being sent back to Myanmar. But Amnesty International found that Bangladeshi border authorities have forcibly returned Rohingya people fleeing the violence, in violation of the international law principle of non-refoulment, which prohibits returning or transferring anyone to a country where they are at risk of serious human rights violations.
A 39-year-old Rohingya man told Amnesty International he fled Maungdaw with his family on 5 August 2024. In the early morning of 6 August, their boat was near the Bangladesh shore and started taking on water before tipping over. Residents told him later that Bangladeshi border guards prevented them from helping.
“The border guards were nearby, but they did not help us,” he said.
He said he passed out and woke up on the beach to see dead bodies washed ashore. He later discovered that all his six children, aged between two and 15, had drowned. He said his sister also lost six of her children.
Bangladesh border guards detained him. The next night he and the others with him were sent back to Myanmar, where they found another boat and returned. According to one credible estimate, there have been more than 5,000 cases of refoulement this year, with a spike following the 5 August attacks.
“Sending people back to a country where they are at real risk of being killed is not only a violation of international law; it will also force people to take greater risks while making the journey to avoid detection, such as traveling by night or on longer routes,” Agnès Callamard said.
The Rohingya who made it to the refugee camps are living off the generosity of relatives there. New arrivals in particular expressed concern that they were unable to register with the UN refugee agency for essential support. As a result, many are going without meals, and are afraid to venture out for fear of deportation, even when in need of medical care.
Interviewees also mentioned the deteriorating security situation in the camps, due mainly to the presence of two Rohingya armed groups: the Rohingya Solidarity Organization and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. Myanmar’s shifting conflict dynamics in Rakhine State have meant that some Rohingya militants have aligned with the junta in Myanmar. As a result, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh fear that they or their family members could be snatched and forcibly taken back and conscripted to fight there.
The vast majority hoped for resettlement in a third country.
“We are constantly afraid of moving from one place to another because we don’t have any documents. We are newcomers here, and we have also heard about people being abducted,” a 40-year-old woman said.
“The interim Bangladesh government and humanitarian relief organizations must work together so that people can have access to essential services such as food, adequate shelter and medical care,” Agnès Callamard said.
“Bangladesh must also ensure that it does not forcibly return people to escalating conflict. Meanwhile, the international community needs to step up with funds and assistance for those living in the refugee camps.”
In a meeting with Amnesty International, Bangladesh officials rejected the allegations of refoulement but said border guards “intercept” people trying to cross the border. They also stressed that the country cannot accommodate any more Rohingya refugees.
Arakan Army and Myanmar military abuses
The Myanmar military has persecuted Rohingya for decades and expelled them en masse in 2017. It is now forcing them to join the army as part of a nationwide military service law. The Myanmar military has also reportedly reached an informal “peace” pact with the Rohingya Solidarity Organization, an older Rohingya armed group that has reemerged as a force in recent months. These complex developments have further inflamed tensions between the Rohingya and the ethnic Rakhine, whom the Arakan Army purports to represent.
The rise in fighting nationwide has also resulted in mounting allegations of abuses by armed groups fighting against the military. Many Rohingya described the fatal consequences of being trapped between the two sides.
“Every time there is a conflict, we get killed,” one Rohingya interviewee told Amnesty.
A 42-year-old shopkeeper said that on 1 August, a munition of unknown origin landed outside his house in Maungdaw, killing his 4-year-old son. On 6 August, the Arakan Army – whose fighters he identified by their badges – entered his village in Maungdaw and relocated all the Hindu and Buddhist families to another area they said was safe, while the Rohingya families were left in place.
“They began causing unrest [using it as a base to launch attacks] in the village, which forced us, the Muslim families, to leave on 7 August. We were the only ethnic group left in the village. It seemed like they did this intentionally,” he said.
When he later took shelter in downtown Maungdaw on 15 August, he said he saw Arakan Army “snipers” shoot two Rohingya civilians. “I witnessed the Arakan Army kill a woman right on the spot with gunfire while she went to a pond to collect water … there was another man who was sitting and smoking in front of his house and he too was shot right in his head and killed.”
In response to questions by Amnesty International, the Arakan Army said on 13 October that these allegations were unsubstantiated or not credible. It said it issued warnings for civilians to leave Maungdaw ahead of its operations and helped evacuate people, that it instructs its soldiers to distinguish between civilians and combatants, and that in case of breaches, it takes disciplinary action.
Since late last year, Amnesty International has separately documented Myanmar military air strikes that have killed civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure in Rakhine State. This year, the impact of the Myanmar military conscripting Rohingya has added to the historical, systemic discrimination and apartheid already experienced by Rohingya.
“I felt really bad that they were involving us in their fight, even though we had nothing to do with it. It felt like they were laying the foundation to get us killed,” a 63-year-old cattle trader said.
Families wiped out
On 5 August 2024, the intensity of bombardments and gunfights between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army forced scores of people from Maungdaw to seek shelter in sturdier homes near the Naf river border with Bangladesh.
Recalling that day, the Rohingya cattle trader said the Arakan Army was “getting closer to our village, capturing the surrounding villages … they flew drones in the sky, holding them there for about an hour, and could drop bombs from the drones whenever and wherever they wanted with remote control. They killed so many people.”
That afternoon, many recounted seeing a drone and hearing multiple blasts. The cattle trader said he heard eight to 10 blasts, and that bombs were exploding “before even touching the ground”. He saw a small unmanned aerial device flying near the crowd that looked like a “rounded-shaped drone” with something attached underneath.
He said his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and two of his grandchildren were killed, while the youngest grandchild, aged one, was seriously injured and later had her lower left leg amputated at the knee in Bangladesh.
One 18-year-old woman from Maungdaw said she lost both parents and two of her sisters, aged seven and five, during the blast. At the time of the attack, her father was carrying one of her sisters while her mother carried the other. When they reached the Maungdaw shore in the afternoon in search of boats to cross to Bangladesh, an explosion occurred.
“We quickly hid in the mud, sitting down in the muddy water, and then another bomb exploded, killing my parents, sisters and many others,” she said. “I saw it all with my own eyes – my parents and sisters were killed when the bomb shrapnel hit them.”
While she didn’t see a drone, she said the “big bomb” that killed her family members “came flying”. The sound has haunted her ever since. She said she saw about 200 bodies on the shore, a figure cited independently by another interviewee.
Almost everyone Amnesty spoke to said they lost at least one relative while trying to flee Myanmar. Medical records shared with Amnesty International from the days after the attack show treatment for bomb blast injuries after arriving in Bangladesh. Since August there has been a dramatic increase in treatment of war wounds from those fleeing Myanmar.
In its response to Amnesty International, the Arakan Army said that the Myanmar military or aligned armed groups were likely those most responsible and that eyewitnesses or survivors may be affiliated with militant groups.
“The Arakan Army must allow an independent, impartial and effective investigation into possible violations carried out during their operations. Both the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military must abide by international humanitarian law,” Agnès Callamard said.
“We continue to call on the UN Security Council to refer the entire situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.”..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2024-10-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Amnesty International reports on Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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1002.32 KB
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Sub-title:
End Pushbacks; Allow Access to Registration, Medical Care, Assistance
Description:
"(Bangkok) – Bangladeshi authorities should allow Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar to obtain protection and humanitarian assistance, Human Rights Watch said today. An estimated 18,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh in recent months to escape abuses amid the surging fighting between Myanmar’s military junta and the ethnic Arakan Army, while another 10,000 are reportedly waiting at the border. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) forces have pushed back thousands of Rohingya since early August 2024.
On September 23, Bangladeshi security forces arrested an estimated 100 Rohingya refugees in a raid on shelters where new arrivals were staying, as well as about 30 who were crossing the Naf River. They forcibly returned the refugees to Myanmar the following day, saying they were acting under orders.
“Bangladeshi authorities need to allow Rohingya fleeing renewed attacks in Myanmar to enter the country and ensure that they receive protection and aid,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The recent arrivals are in urgent need of food and medicine but are afraid that seeking assistance will put them at risk of being forcibly returned to Myanmar.”
Human Rights Watch in August and September 2024 interviewed 10 Rohingya who recently entered Bangladesh, as well as humanitarian workers and Bangladeshi border authorities. Refugees described being denied entry by border guard officers, forcing them to turn to smugglers to escape threats to their lives and safety in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State.
Bangladesh has not registered any new arrivals, leaving them without access to food rations and health care and at constant risk of being forcibly returned to Myanmar. Bangladeshi authorities should urgently collaborate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to register new Rohingya refugees.
In recent months, the Myanmar military and Arakan Army have committed mass killings, arson, and unlawful recruitment against Rohingya in Rakhine State. About 630,000 Rohingya remain in Myanmar under a system of apartheid that leaves them especially vulnerable to renewed fighting. The conflict has displaced more than 320,000 people in Rakhine State and southern Chin State since hostilities resumed in November 2023. Dozens of Rohingya have drowned while fleeing as overcrowded boats capsized. On September 23, most of the 18 passengers on a boat reportedly drowned after it capsized in the Naf River.
Bangladesh already hosts about one million Rohingya refugees and authorities say that the country is not able to accept any more. Muhammad Yunus, who is leading the interim government, has called on donors and international partners to fast-track third-country settlement and increase humanitarian assistance.
While Yunus has acknowledged that sending Rohingya back to Myanmar means “pushing them to death,” the BGB has ramped up forced returns since the escalation of fighting in Rakhine State’s Maungdaw township in early August. The border guards have set up at least one new site in the Teknaf border region to detain refugees slated for return. A Bangladeshi border guard official told Human Rights Watch they had pushed back 6,000 Rohingya since August 5.
Border guard forces have also reportedly detained unaccompanied children and returned them to Myanmar. Bangladesh should engage the UNHCR to assist in the urgent identification and reunification of families, Human Rights Watch said.
Bangladesh is obligated to respect the international law principle of nonrefoulement, which prohibits countries from returning anyone to a place where they would face a real risk of persecution, torture, or other serious ill-treatment, or a threat to life. This principle is codified in the UN Convention against Torture, to which Bangladesh is a party, and in customary international law.
Rohingya refugees told Human Rights Watch that smugglers demanded everything in their possession, even spare clothing, as payment to take them to Bangladesh. A refugee from Maungdaw said that in August, Bangladeshi border guards provided him and four family members with food and water but refused their boat entry. He paid Bangladeshi smugglers with his wife’s gold jewelry, who then brought them across the border by bribing the border guards. “It’s a business for them,” he said. “When we are living in between death and life.” There were also reports of smugglers, after being paid, abandoning Rohingya before reaching Bangladesh’s mainland.
Many recent arrivals are sheltering with relatives, often hiding out due to fear of forced return or harassment at checkpoints. “We are hiding and unable to leave the shelter,” said a 28-year-old Rohingya man who entered Bangladesh in July along with six family members. “Security forces have already set up multiple checkpoints and have said that no new Rohingya refugees will be allowed in the camps. We are hungry and desperate because the UN agencies have not included us in their database or provided food rations.”
A Bangladeshi foreign ministry official told Reuters that the government had not decided whether to register recent arrivals: “If we decide to register them, it could open the floodgates, and that’s something we can’t afford. But at the same time, how long can we ignore this issue?”
A humanitarian worker said that some newly arrived Rohingya have been denied access to health services due to lack of documentation, despite aid agencies’ policies that all refugees should be granted access to medical care, regardless of registration status.
Unregistered refugees said that they were too fearful to seek health care for illnesses or injuries. A man who arrived in early August said that when his 6-month-old son became sick, the family was unable to obtain adequate medical care “because we are not registered, and instead had to go to a quack doctor.” A 53-year-old Rohingya woman said that she had to consult an expensive private physician when she was ill. “I didn’t try to go to the NGO-run hospitals because I heard that they don’t allow anyone without a refugee medical record book, which I don’t have,” she said.
New arrivals also expressed fear that armed groups or criminal gangs would abduct or extort them. Violence in the camps has surged, with groups like the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) carrying out killings, kidnappings, forced recruitment, and robberies.
A 24-year-old Rohingya man said: “We faced a lot of trouble and difficulties in Myanmar due to the fighting among the Arakan Army, military, RSO, ARSA, and the Arakan Rohingya Army, which eventually forced us to flee to Bangladesh. But there are turf wars between Rohingya armed groups inside the camp, so we still have to worry about our safety and live in constant fear of being recruited by these armed groups.”
Humanitarian workers said that as the Arakan Army has been expanding its control over Rakhine State, the Rohingya armed groups that had backed the Myanmar military are returning to the refugee camps, where they are fighting for control.
Bangladeshi authorities should work with the UNHCR to register new refugees so they can safely access medical care, food rations, and protection services, Human Rights Watch said. Critical health services should be provided to all new arrivals without any documentation requirements. Donors, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Australia, should increase funding to meet the massive needs of the refugee population to help Bangladesh support the Rohingya and host communities.
The UN Security Council should adopt measures to prevent further atrocities in Rakhine State and make progress toward durable solutions for the Rohingya, Human Rights Watch said. The council should end its inaction in the face of anticipated vetoes by China and Russia and negotiate a resolution to institute a global arms embargo on Myanmar, refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, and impose targeted sanctions on the junta and military-owned conglomerates.
“International will to press for a rights-respecting government in Myanmar is crucial for a lasting solution to the Rohingya crisis,” Ganguly said. “Instead of quiet diplomacy that achieves little, governments need to coordinate and adopt strong measures to place real pressure on the junta to end its abuses.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2024-09-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Since early 2024, fighting in northern Rakhine state has led to the worst attacks on the Rohingya population since 2017, when Myanmar’s military drove more than 750,000 across the border into Bangladesh. The new attacks are a stark reminder of the Rohingyas’ vulnerability. The world has known about their plight for decades, and in 2024, only 636,000 Rohingya — or 23 percent of the 2.8 million Rohingya around the world — still live in their homeland, Myanmar.
Since early 2024, fighting in northern Rakhine state has led to the worst attacks on the Rohingya population since 2017, when Myanmar’s military drove more than 750,000 across the border into Bangladesh. The new attacks are a stark reminder of the Rohingyas’ vulnerability. The world has known about their plight for decades, and in 2024, only 636,000 Rohingya — or 23 percent of the 2.8 million Rohingya around the world — still live in their homeland, Myanmar.
These figures are from a new report by Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF) on the global Rohingya community. Behind the Wire offers an alarming illustration of the devastating impact of prolonged discrimination and persecution on the entire group. This persecution intensified in the 1980s when Myanmar’s military regime deliberately rendered the Rohingya stateless. Since then, their statelessness has been passed down from one generation to the next. The majority of Rohingya children are now born outside Myanmar and have never known their homeland. By the end of this decade, only one in five will be born in Myanmar.
The four countries where most exiled Rohingya now live are Bangladesh, with 1.1 million; Pakistan, with 400,000; Saudi Arabia, with 340,000; and Malaysia, with 210,000.
MSF estimates that only one percent of the total Rohingya population has managed to obtain a passport, citizenship or resettlement in a country where they have no fear of arrest and abuse. Most others are contained or marginalized by harmful policies that deny them basic human rights and self-determination, both in Myanmar and elsewhere. Fifty-seven percent live in barbed-wire-fenced camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar, or in closed villages in Myanmar where apartheid-like conditions are the norm.
While most international attention focuses on the Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh, the overall situation of the 2.8 million Rohingya has been deteriorating, says MSF, negatively impacting the community’s ability to cope with the consequences of exclusion from citizenship and a place in the world. There is no credible international dialogue underway that addresses the Rohingya as a people scattered around the world. International attention tends to focus on immediate humanitarian and conflict-related crises and, as MSF points out, broader perspectives are largely ignored.
Of course, the current crises in Arakan and Bangladesh do deserve full attention, but they should be considered part of the search for comprehensive solutions for the entire group.
The Current Crisis in Arakan
Military forces of the State Administration Council (SAC) — Myanmar’s illegitimate regime — are gradually retreating from Rakhine (or Arakan as it is increasingly called). With most of Arakan under control of the Arakan Army (AA), the key question is how to achieve the kind of stability needed to ensure that all Arakan’speoplecan live in peace and harmony and lead safe and productive lives. Shifting from military control to civilian governance is always a tall order, but in the case of Arakan, trust between its two main communities, the Rakhine and the Rohingya, has suffered serious setbacks since the start of the AA’s current campaign in November 2023, making this transition even more difficult.
Although the SAC is losing the war in Arakan, it has won an important battle. It has successfully employed its tried-and-tested divide-and-rule strategy, not only deepening the divide between the Arakan and Rohingya communities, but also creating a split that has brought some Rohingya armed groups to the SAC’s side. Both the AA and SAC have increased their recruitment of Rohingya fighters. In both cases, reports indicate that many have been forcibly recruited, particularly by Rohingya militias aligned with the SAC.
Although the SAC is losing the war in Arakan, it has won an important battle.
These militias — Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) — have long been unpopular with most Rohingya. Earlier this year, as the war in northern Arakan escalated, it became abundantly clear that the militias worked closely with the SAC to forcibly recruit young Rohingya from the camps in Bangladesh and traffic them into the hands of the military regime. Some sources say that as many as 2,000 crossed the border into Myanmar. It is highly unlikely that this could have been done without the knowledge of senior officials in Bangladesh.
Tragically, Rohingya have been forced to fight on both sides of the conflict. This complicated and brutal warfare has contributed significantly to the thick fog of war in northern Arakan. Many individuals have provided information and evidence to help piece together a complex conflict puzzle, sometimes at great personal risk. Their efforts must be acknowledged. However, as of mid-September, none of the conflict parties (SAC, AA, RSO, ARA and ARSA) has released information about the number of fatalities or wounded.
At the same time, civilian casualties are said to be high, which would be consistent with reports from other parts of Myanmar, showing shocking disregard for the laws of war and humanitarian law. The willful destruction of entire villages and towns, critical infrastructure and the targeting of schools, clinics and houses of worship demonstrate a total lack of respect for human life.
Serious allegations have been lodged against all parties, but verification has been problematic mostly due to the lack of independent access to conflict areas. A truth deficit remains, and an independent assessment mission will be necessary to obtain a more complete picture of what happened since early 2024, particularly in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships.
To establish a credible record, the cooperation of all conflict parties will be needed. Moreover, an independent mission should examine the impact of violent conflict on all ethnic communities in Arakan. While the Rohingya are the largest population group in northern Arakan, there are many others, such as the Rakhine, Hindus, Maramagyi, Mro, Thet and Kaman. Amid the flood of information coming out of northern Arakan, details about the impact of conflict on some of these groups have been scant.
With most of Arakan now under AA’s military control, its civilian branch, the United League of Arakan (ULA), may soon have an opportunity to share proposals to operationalize what the group calls “The Way of Rakhita,” its, until now, fairly vague vision for a future Arakan. In an interview with The Diplomat in early September, AA commander Twan Mrat Naing said, “We are always in favor of repatriation [of Rohingya Muslims] in principle, and there should be voluntary, dignified and safe repatriation under conducive conditions.” That is a welcome statement, but it remains to be seen what specific proposals the ULA will present. Will they envisage an inclusive Arakan, one where all ethnic communities can find a place they can call home, based on equality and respect? One thing is clear: without dismantling the apartheid system — put in place by successive regimes — genuine progress will remain out of reach.
It is important to acknowledge that for decades, the Rohingya have borne the brunt of violence and oppression in Arakan. However, the justifiable fears and grievances of all other communities must also be recognized and addressed. Without dialogue and understanding among all groups, progress will be limited.
Equally, it must be clear that there are no quick fixes. Arakan has multiple crises: a security crisis, an economic and development crisis, and a human rights crisis. Much of the state’s critical infrastructure has been destroyed, while outward flight has depleted essential human resources in critical sectors, including agriculture. Food security is no longer guaranteed, the toll on all ethnic communities is significant and the destruction of entire villages and livelihoods has led to incalculable economic damage. The United Nations reports that 533,000 people in Arakan are now displaced, while many others have fled.
Given the enormous destruction of human and economic capital, a long-term recovery plan will be needed—one that addresses not only the economy but also the restoration of inter-communal relations, including a transitional justice plan. Discussions about transitional justice are always difficult, particularly when suffering continues. Reconciliation cannot succeed unless all are prepared to listen to others’ fears and grievances. Postponing dialogue risks making matters worse.
In the case of the Rohingya, the all-important issue of citizenship will be high on the agenda, and in addition, freedom of movement will also be critically important. The lack of freedom of movement infringes on many other rights, including access to livelihoods, education, health care and religious worship. In other words, addressing lack of freedom of movement paves the way for the enjoyment of many other rights.
The Current Crisis in Bangladesh
For Rohingya in refugee camps in Bangladesh, 2024 has been an exceedingly difficult year. With the violence and insecurity in camps increasing and enforced abductions leaving behind terrified families of hundreds of young men, trauma is widespread, and hope has dimmed.
Given the major destruction and displacement in Arakan, the immediate returns of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will not be possible. However, Bangladesh, Arakan’s leadership and the Rohingya should start discussions about how returns might ultimately take place. Fostering hope is critical, as is ensuring that Rohingya repatriation becomes part of Arakan’s longer-term recovery plan. In this context, the recent statement by Bangladesh’s head of government, Mohammed Yunus, is encouraging. He pledged continued support for the Rohingya and their “eventual repatriation to their homeland, Myanmar, with safety, dignity and full rights.”
To improve the situation in the camps near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh and its international partners should consider enabling greater freedom of movement, improving access to livelihoods, allowing the use of sturdier building materials and providing education to all Rohingya children and young people in the camps. There could hardly be a greater gift from Bangladesh to Arakan than the education of young Rohingya.
Additionally, there is one immediate recommendation for Bangladesh. It would be an act of great humanity and neighborliness to facilitate the establishment of a humanitarian corridor into Maungdaw district. Reducing the severe shortages of humanitarian supplies in Arakan would not only directly aid all communities but also significantly contribute to stabilizing the current situation.
Looking Ahead
Even though bilateral relations are important for addressing issues between immediate neighbors like Bangladesh and Myanmar, the insistence on a state-centric approach — one that dictates that faraway Naypyidaw should be the entry point for all contacts between states — has increasingly lost relevance.
The AA’s de facto territorial control demands greater pragmatism in the conduct of interstate relations. Myanmar’s western neighbors should begin to accept this reality and reach out to Arakan’s leadership, particularly to the United League of Arakan (ULA), the civilian arm of the Arakan Army. The SAC regime in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, is not only far from Arakan but has also lost control over much of Myanmar. Pragmatism is particularly urgent to ensure immediate humanitarian access and assistance.
At the same time, important questions about atrocities committed in Arakan remain, particularly in Buthidaung and Maungdaw. ULA/AA’s willingness to cooperate with an independent investigation might help to overcome the understandable reluctance of key players.
Another major issue is the future of the Rohingya as a people. As the new MSF report shows, the situation of most Rohingya around the world is deeply troubling. Limiting responses to mostly short-term humanitarian issues while ignoring the longer-term plight of a community of 2.8 million has been a failure of the international community. A new initiative is needed — one that addresses the Rohingya community as a whole, focusing on improving their immediate needs as well as their future. Obviously, highly sensitive issues will have to be addressed. One of these, mentioned by MSF, could be the acceptance that not all Rohingya will return to Arakan, particularly descendants of older generations who left 20 to 40 years ago and have never seen their homeland. But such questions can only be addressed as part of a comprehensive effort to do justice to the Rohingya people and their plight.
A new comprehensive effort could be based on the Global Compact on Refugees, which represents the political will and ambition of the international community for strengthened cooperation and solidarity with refugees and affected home countries. It is based on four principles: (i) enhancing refugee self-reliance, (ii) easing pressure on host countries, (iii) supporting conditions in countries of origin and (iv) expanding access to refugees’ countries of origin..."
Source/publisher:
United States Institute of Peace
Date of entry/update:
2024-09-25
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Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya in Bangladesh marked the seven-year anniversary of displacement from their homes in neighboring Myanmar on Aug. 25, 2024. It was a somber occasion for the long-persecuted Myanmarese Muslim minority, who have faced dire living conditions while clustered into the world’s most crowded refugee camps.
Since 2017, their status has been continually challenged by both intermittent hostility from within Bangladesh and an ongoing civil war in Myanmar, during which the military government has continued to crack down on the Rohingya’s homeland in Rakhine state.
But recent events in Bangladesh may offer a glimmer of hope for the Rohingya. Months of political unrest led to the ouster of the authoritarian prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, whose government failed to find a solution to the refugee problem.
The new interim government leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has pledged to defend their rights as refugees and work to secure their eventual repatriation.
As a scholar who has written about the Rohingya crisis and spent time in the refugee camps, I believe the odds are still stacked against the Rohingya. Policymakers must contend not only with growing hostility among Bangladesh’s local population and the ongoing Myanmarese civil war, but also with an underappreciated third factor that challenges a political resolution to the crisis: ongoing and growing violence and infighting among Rohingya refugees.
Murder, rape and kidnapping
More than 750,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar in August 2017 after facing a brutal government crackdown. Since then, around 235 Rohingyas have been killed in refugee camps in Bangladesh. In addition, there have been dozens of cases of rape against Rohingya girls and women and scores of kidnappings recorded by the Bangladeshi authorities.
The killing of high-profile people among the refugee population, including the 2021 assassination of Mohib Ullah, a moderate Rohingya leader, has contributed to spiraling violence in the camp.
Such violence, combined with dire humanitarian conditions, have led to a security vacuum in the camp that has been filled by various Rohingya armed groups, operating with divergent goals and methods but creating something of a turf clash embroiling the refugees living there.
Armed groups in the camps
Out of 11 known active armed Rohingya groups – some of which were engaged in the insurgency in Rakhine state against Myanmar’s central government prior to crossing the border – five are heavily implicated in violent activities in the camps.
The most prominent of these is the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. Formed in northern Rakhine state in 2016, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army gained prominence after attacking Myanmar security forces in October 2016 and August 2017, prompting the government crackdowns on, and exodus of, Rohingya.
Government troops killed an estimated 25,000 Rohingyas and forced more than 750,000 from the state in a campaign that led much of the international community to label the violence a genocide.
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’s attempt to establish control over the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh has led to a backlash from other groups vying for their own foothold, including the Rohingya Solidarity Organization – a long-dormant group that reemerged in Bangladesh in 2021 with support from Bangladeshi security agencies.
Two other groups with links to drug trafficking and other illegal trade — the formerly Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army-affiliated Master Munna Group and the Nobi Hossain Group, which is nominally aligned with the Rohingya Solidarity Organization — have added to the infighting. Meanwhile, the Islami Mahaj group seeks to recruit members in the camp through its Islamist agenda.
Trafficking and drugs
The displacement of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees has provided criminal groups with opportunities to expand their activities. Since 2017, illegal trade across the Myanmar-Bangladesh border has flourished, as has the flow of arms from Myanmar and India, the smuggling of Yaba pills – a kind of methamphetamine – and other drugs, trafficking of women and children, and the illegal sale of relief goods.
Rohingya refugees fled across the border to Bangladesh
Organizations like the Master Munna and Nobi Hossain groups are involved in racketeering, extortion and smuggling in the refugee camps and clash with each other to establish dominance over territory.
During my fieldwork in the camps, I have observed how panic can engulf refugee populations, especially after high-profile murders, as residents fear reprisal attacks and more clashes between the armed groups. As a result, thousands of Rohingya have frequently relocated their stay from one camp to another in search of safety.
Fighting benefits Myanmar’s military
Alongside the toll this violence takes on the victims, the infighting — and the criminal activities of armed Rohingya groups — exacts a political cost for the refugees.
Myanmar uses the fighting as a pretext to blame Bangladesh for ongoing unrest and to defend its treatment of the Rohingya as a legitimate security rationale. In September 2020, Myanmar’s representatives at the United Nations General Assembly accused Bangladesh’s government of harboring “terrorists,” a contention that Bangladeshi diplomats strongly denied.
The violence has also encouraged hostility among Bangladeshis toward the refugees, who are increasingly perceived as troublemakers and criminals.
Meanwhile, nongovernmental organizations and aid workers have been hampered in their ability to deliver services to refugees and civilians in the camps. And an already weary donor community sees risks in the growing militancy and criminality in the camps.
Old tension takes new shape
Tensions between various Rohingya refugee communities isn’t new. Prior to 2017, there were already problems between those registered with the UN’s refugee agency in Bangladesh and living in official camps, and those who were not registered and living in makeshift camps.
But recently, I have observed open hostility between earlier generations of Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh in 1978 and 1991-1992 and the newcomers from the 2017 exodus. What’s different and particularly alarming now is that these tensions started escalating into deadly violence after 2017.
The violence and killing in the camps involve, by my estimate, roughly 5,000 people. It represents a small fraction of the 1.3 million Rohingya refugees overall – including both those who fled before and during the 2017 exodus. But the actions of this minority have been incredibly damaging for the Rohingya and their future; it jeopardizes vital regional and global support and makes eventual repatriation to Myanmar more uncertain.
The change in government in Bangladesh does offer an opportunity for the Rohingya, especially if the incoming administration sticks by pledges to bolster the country’s judicial institutions and protect minority groups. But unrest in the camps will only add to the problems facing the new government and could undermine support for a solution to the Rohingya crisis.
The fear is it may condemn Bangladesh’s Rohingya minority to many more years in uncertain and increasingly violent conditions..."
Source/publisher:
"The Conversation" (Melbourne)
Date of entry/update:
2024-09-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
CNN
—
As tears roll down her face and her body shivers with pain, Hamida cradles her 4-year-old daughter and baby boy on her lap, comforting them as they cry for their father.
The 22-year-old ethnic Rohingya is surviving on the kindness of fellow refugees in a camp near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – and trying to process the horrors she endured in neighboring Myanmar, where a civil war is raging between the country’s military and rebel groups including the Arakan Army.
“After they entered my home, they hit me, beat me, and I was struggling to get free when they raped me,” Hamida says. “For at least one hour, they tied me up.”
Hamida – who asked to only use her first name for fear of reprisals – says seven Arakan Army soldiers gang-raped her during the attack in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state in late July.
“I screamed, so they closed my mouth with their hands,” she says. “They raped me. They beat me with their guns. They kicked me. Still, I can’t move (without) pain.”
During the attack, she says her husband heard her screams and ran into their hut to save her – but he was pinned down and forced to watch.
“They slaughtered my husband after they raped me,” she says. “Four Arakan Army soldiers were holding him down tightly, and one slaughtered him with a big sharp knife.”
CNN can’t independently verify Hamida’s account of the attack – nor those of other survivors who fled to safety across the Naf River, which provides a natural border between Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Known as the world’s biggest refugee camp, more than a million Rohingya Muslims are sheltering in makeshift tents near the town of Cox’s Bazar – most of whom fled there in August 2017, after Myanmar’s military killed an estimated 10,000 people in what United Nations experts labeled a genocide.
Now, new arrivals like Hamida are bringing reports of mass murder, bombing attacks on civilians, and burning villages – which bear hallmarks of the 2017 attacks, seven years later. But this time, the ethnic Rakhine rebel group Arakan Army is being blamed for the brutality.
‘It felt like the end of the world’
Witnesses say the deadliest day for attacks was August 5, when an estimated 200 people were killed as drones rained down bombs on those fleeing fighting in the town of Maungdaw.
Videos circulated widely online show piles of bodies – mostly women and children surrounded by their belongings – scattered around a mangrove forest along the shoreline, slaughtered as they tried to board boats to Bangladesh.
Abdul Bashar, a 48-year-old father who survived the drone attacks, says they took place around 6 p.m. that day.
“When we reached the border fence, we saw a large bomb fall on a group of people, killing many of them,” he says. “They were attacking with drones, gunfire, and heavy weapons. It felt like the end of the world.”
Bashar saw his 17-year-old son die, along with his sister, who was killed as she breastfed her 8-month-old daughter.
“I couldn’t look back because bombs were falling heavily,” he said. “I had two of my children with me, and I was bleeding.”
Bashar is now sheltering in a Cox’s Bazar camp with his 10-year-old nephew – whose parents and five siblings died in the attack. The boy survived despite severe shrapnel wounds to his arm.
“I feel that death would be better than living through this,” Bashar said.
A new report from human rights group Fortify Rights urges the International Criminal Court (ICC) to “investigate a massacre of Rohingya civilians perpetrated by the Arakan Army (AA).” A separate report from Human Rights Watch says the attacks “raise the specter of ethnic cleansing.”
In an interview with CNN, Arakan Army spokesperson Khaing Thu Ka denied allegations of atrocities, calling the reports “fake news and disinformation.”
He said AA fighters had “never targeted or killed innocent civilians,” claiming the August 5 drone attacks were carried out by the military.
The Myanmar military blames the AA for the attacks. CNN cannot independently attribute the reports of responsibility or verify the number of people who were killed.
In response to a separate question about Hamida’s testimony of gang rape, the AA’s Khaing Thu Ka said the group would “certainly investigate” her case.
The Rohingya people – a largely Muslim ethnic group with a distinct language and culture – have long been persecuted and denied citizenship in majority-Buddhist Myanmar, with official propaganda describing them as “Bengalis” or “illegal immigrants.” They are also denied official status in Bangladesh, making them known as “the world’s most unwanted people.”
Bangladesh’s new interim chief Muhammad Yunus has promised to continue supporting the Rohingya in his country, but has appealed for the fighting in Myanmar to end so they can return to their homeland with “safety, dignity and full rights.”
Overnight exodus
Tight controls remain in place along the 18-mile (30-kilometer) shoreline of the Naf River snaking between Myanmar and its neighbor – with Bangladeshi border guards under orders to try to keep the fleeing Rohingya out.
Refugees are now using the cover of darkness to try to evade capture, often setting out from Myanmar around 10 p.m. to make the 1.8-mile (3-kilometer) journey across the water.
As midnight approaches, CNN travels down the long coastal road to a tiny fishing village on the southern tip of Bangladesh – to meet with a Rohingya refugee who sneaked out of the camp to meet his sister, who is due to arrive on a boat from Myanmar that evening.
All the phones on her boat had been switched off for security during the journey, so he went for hours without hearing an update.
“I am really very concerned,” said Mohammed, who didn’t want to use his real name. “This is my big sister.”
He’s worried that his sister, who can’t swim, could drown during the crossing. Many refugee boats have sunk in recent weeks, the bodies of their desperate passengers eventually washing ashore and buried in shallow graves on the beach.
Compounding Mohammed’s fears are the pre-dawn sounds of explosions and rifle fire just across the river – a reminder of why his sister and other Rohingya are fleeing.
On the Bangladesh side, it has become a game of cat and mouse for the coast guard to spot boats emerging from the inky waters before they make it onto land. The full moon casts a silver glow over the river, putting incoming boats in extra danger of being spotted.
A senior border guard who spoke to CNN on the beach said if boats do make it to land on their watch, they usually provide food to the people onboard before sending them back.
Mohammed’s sister never appears that night, and by dawn, his panic starts to rise.
“The world is now dark for me,” he said. “I lost everything … in my life.”
Hours later, he hears that his sister made it to land further up the coast – but was kidnapped by brokers demanding payment for her release. Eventually she was able to reunite with Mohammed in the camps, but the family spent all of their money trying to get her to safety.
‘AA wants to wipe out Rohingyas’
Despite the challenges of getting across, Bangladeshi officials told CNN that more than 5,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar during recent fighting.
Calls are now growing for Bangladesh to allow humanitarian access for the incoming refugees.
“UNHCR is calling on Bangladesh to provide access to safety for refugees escaping the violence in Northern Rakhine State, most recently in Maungdaw township,” said Shari Nijman, spokesperson for UNHCR Bangladesh. “Among new arrivals are many women and children, including some with critical injuries from gunshots and shelling.”
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) – which operates multiple clinics in Cox’s Bazar – told CNN they treated 54 people who arrived with “war wounds” between August 5-11, 48% of whom were women and children.
Jamila Begum, 45, made it across in a boat with four of her orphaned grandchildren.
She said her family tried to run from their homes on August 5 during a pause in the fighting, but then bombs “fell on the roof of the house,” killing Begum’s daughter, her husband and their 7-year-old daughter. Begum managed to grab the youngest child – a 6-month-old baby – from her daughter’s arms.
Begum fled with the grandchildren and they hid for five days before boarding a boat to Bangladesh. But her eldest grandchild didn’t make it – he died from his injuries before they were able to find a boat, and she was forced to leave him on the beach.
After they left, she heard the AA had set fire to her village.
“AA wants to wipe out Rohingyas from Rakhine State,” Begum says, echoing the feelings of the dozen other refugees CNN spoke to.
Now, Begum is safe in the camps but fears for the future of her grandchildren, as their only guardian.
“Sadness will not go from our lives,” she says..."
Source/publisher:
"CNN" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2024-08-30
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
Escalating Fighting amid 7 Years of Desperation
Description:
"(Bangkok) – Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are facing the gravest threats since 2017, when the Myanmar military carried out a sweeping campaign of massacres, rape, and arson in northern Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch said today. August 25, 2024, marks the seventh anniversary since the start of the military’s crimes against humanity and acts of genocide that forced more than 750,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.
In recent months, the Myanmar military and the ethnic Arakan Army have committed mass killings, arson, and unlawful recruitment against Rohingya communities in Rakhine State. On August 5, nearly 200 people were reportedly killed following drone strikes and shelling on civilians fleeing fighting in Maungdaw town near the Bangladesh border, according to Rohingya witnesses. About 630,000 Rohingya remain in Myanmar under a system of apartheid that leaves them exceptionally vulnerable to renewed fighting.
“Rohingya in Rakhine State are enduring abuses tragically reminiscent of the military’s atrocities in 2017,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Once again, armed forces are driving thousands of Rohingya from their homes with killings and arson, leaving them nowhere safe to turn.”
Rohingya have been caught in the middle of the fighting since hostilities resumed in November 2023, ending a year-long unofficial ceasefire. As the Arakan Army has rapidly expanded its control across Rakhine State, the military has responded with indiscriminate attacks on civilians using helicopter gunships, artillery, and ground assaults. In late April, Arakan Army forces began attacking Rohingya villages in Buthidaung, culminating in their May 17 capture of the town, during which they shelled, looted, and burned Rohingya neighborhoods.
Armed clashes have since moved west to Maungdaw, spurring further abuses and displacement, including arson and looting. Four videos from the August 5 attacks shared on X, formerly Twitter, on August 6 show dozens of bodies of men, women, and children. Geoconfirmed identified the location, which Human Rights Watch corroborated, at the western edge of Maungdaw town. Rohingya witnesses told Human Rights Watch they believed the Arakan Army was responsible. The junta and Arakan Army have blamed each other for the attacks.
“Over the last two months, there was serious fighting between the Arakan Army and Myanmar military, with artillery shells and drones,” said a 24-year-old Rohingya man from Myo Ma Ka Nyin Tan, Maungdaw, in August. “Many Rohingya villagers were killed and injured every day. I went to several funerals.” He fled on August 5 when fighting descended on his neighborhood. “We made our way to the riverbank to cross, where thousands of people were making the journey. Suddenly, drones appeared and started dropping bombs on the crowd. In our group of 70 to 80, close to 20 were killed, and 10 others, including myself, were injured.”
“The Naf River was full of dead Rohingya bodies as we fled,” said another villager, 18, who told Human Rights Watch that his father was killed in a drone attack. “I saw many dead bodies in the paddy fields and on the riverbank.” His boat capsized in the river while crossing into Bangladesh, drowning two dozen people. He and his brother found a plastic barrel which they floated on to the shore. The Border Guard Bangladesh arrested his mother while she attempted to cross the border and have detained her since, he said. Border guards have increased pushbacks of asylum seekers along the Rakhine border since January.
The conflict has displaced more than 320,000 people in Rakhine State and southern Chin State since November 2023. Meanwhile, the junta has ramped up its deadly blockages of humanitarian aid as a form of collective punishment, which is in violation of international humanitarian law and contrary to the 2022 United Nations Security Council resolution and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) five-point consensus.
Rohingya are being pressured from all sides in Myanmar and Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch said. In recent months, the junta has unlawfully recruited thousands of Rohingya men and boys from Rakhine State and the refugee camps in Bangladesh, with support from Rohingya armed groups, inflaming tensions between the Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities.
In Bangladesh, about one million Rohingya refugees are facing increasingly dire conditions in the Cox’s Bazar camps amid surging violence by armed groups and criminal gangs. In August alone, there have been reports of members of the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army carrying out killings, abductions, forced recruitment, extortion, and robbery. Bangladesh authorities have failed to ensure refugees access to protection, education, livelihoods, and movement.
“My heart aches for the safety of our Rohingya students and the entire community in the area,” a Rohingya teacher in the camps wrote in a note to Human Rights Watch. His students have been increasingly absent from classes, he said, either abducted for ransom, unlawfully recruited, or kept home by their parents out of fear. “Brutal gang activity has created a climate of terror. The fear is palpable, a suffocating weight.”
Bangladesh’s interim prime minister, Muhammad Yunus, said he will “continue to support the million-plus Rohingya people sheltered in Bangladesh,” although his foreign adviser told Reuters that they are not in a position to accept more refugees. Bangladesh is bound by the customary international law prohibition on refoulement, not to forcibly return anyone to a place where they would face a threat to life or a real risk of persecution, torture, or other ill-treatment.
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have consistently said they want to go home but only when their safety, access to land and livelihoods, freedom of movement, and citizenship rights can be ensured. Since January 2023, more than 5,000 Rohingya have attempted dangerous boat journeys to Indonesia and Malaysia in the hope of a better life. An estimated 520 of them have died or gone missing.
While the international response to the 2017 violence was meager and no one has yet been held to account for the crimes against the Rohingya, there have been some important steps toward justice, Human Rights Watch said. In June, an Argentine prosecutor requested arrest warrants for 25 individuals within the Myanmar political and military authorities. The case was filed under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows national authorities to prosecute suspects of grave crimes regardless of nationality or where the crimes were committed.
In July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accepted the interventions of seven governments in Gambia’s case against Myanmar under the Genocide Convention. Hearings on the merits of the case will most likely take place in 2025. At the same time, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has an ongoing investigation into the situation, although its jurisdiction is limited to alleged crimes committed at least in part in Bangladesh, an ICC member country.
The UN Security Council should expand the ICC’s jurisdiction in the case by referring the situation in Myanmar to the court, Human Rights Watch said. Council members have so far not followed up on the December 2022 resolution with tangible measures, fearing vetoes by China and Russia.
Security Council members should support holding an open meeting to address the deteriorating situation in Rakhine State and build momentum for a follow-up resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. The council should also play a role in enforcing the binding provisional measures ordered by the ICJ in the genocide case, which the military has blatantly disregarded.
“Over the past seven years, UN bodies and governments haven’t done enough to end the system of apartheid and persecution that has exposed Rohingya to further suffering,” Pearson said. “Ending the ongoing cycles of abuses, destruction, and displacement requires international efforts to hold those responsible to account.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2024-08-22
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"Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing.
Fayaz and his wife believed they were moments from safety when the bombs began to fall: “We were getting on the boat one after another - that’s when they started bombing us.”
Wails and shouts filled the air around 17:00 local time on 5 August, Fayaz* says, as thousands of scared Rohingyas made their way to the banks of the Naf river in the town of Maungdaw.
Attacks on villages earlier in the area meant this was what hundreds of families, including Fayaz’s, saw as their only option - that to get to safety, they had to escape from western Myanmar to Bangladesh’s safer shores.
Fayaz was carrying bags stuffed with whatever they had managed to grab. His wife was carrying their six-year-old daughter, their eldest was running alongside them. His wife’s sister was walking ahead, with the couple’s eight-month-old son in her arms.
The first bomb killed his sister-in-law instantly. The baby was badly injured - but alive.
“I ran and carried him... But he died while we were waiting for the bombing to stop.”
Nisar* had also made it to the riverbank by about 17:00, having decided to escape with his mother, wife, son, daughter and sister. “We heard drones overhead and then the loud sound of an explosion,” he recalls. “We were all thrown to the ground. They dropped bombs on us using drones.”
Nisar was the only one of his family to survive.
Fayaz, his wife and daughters escaped and would eventually make it across the river. Despite his pleas, the boatman refused to allow Fayaz to bring the baby's body with them. “He said there was no point in carrying the dead, so I dug a hole by the river bank and hastily buried him."
Now they’re all in the relative safety of Bangladesh, but if they are caught by authorities here they could be sent back. Nisar clutches a Quran, unable still to process how his world was shattered in a single day.
“If I’d known what would happen, I would never have tried to leave that day,” Nisar says.
It is notoriously difficult to piece together what is happening in Myanmar's civil war. But the BBC has managed to construct a picture of what happened on the evening of 5 August through a series of exclusive interviews with more than a dozen Rohingya survivors who escaped to Bangladesh, and the videos they shared.
All of the survivors - unarmed Rohingya civilians - recount hearing many bombs exploding over a period of two hours. While most described the bombs being dropped by drones, a weapon increasingly being used in Myanmar, some said they were hit by mortars and gunfire. The MSF clinic operating in Bangladesh has said it saw a big surge in wounded Rohingya in the days that followed – half of the injured were women and children.
Survivors’ videos analysed by BBC Verify show the river bank covered in bloodied bodies, many of them women and children. There’s no verified count of the number of people killed, but multiple eyewitnesses have told the BBC they saw scores of bodies.
Survivors told us they were attacked by the Arakan Army, one of the strongest insurgent groups in Myanmar which in recent months has driven the military out of nearly all of Rakhine State. They said they were first attacked in their villages, forcing them to flee, and then were attacked again by the river bank as they sought to escape.
The AA declined to be interviewed but its spokesman Khaing Tukha denied the accusation and responded to the BBC’s questions with a statement which said “the incident did not occur in areas controlled by us”. He also accused Rohingya activists of staging the massacre and falsely accusing the AA.
Nisar stands by his account, however.
“The Arakan Army are lying,” he says. “The attacks were done by them. It was only them in our area on that day. And they have been attacking us for weeks. They don’t want to leave any Muslim alive.”
Most of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims live as a minority in Rakhine – a Buddhist-majority state, where the two communities have long had a fraught relationship. In 2017, when the Myanmar military killed thousands of Rohingyas in what the UN described as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, local Rakhine men also joined the attacks. Now, amid a spiralling conflict between the junta and the AA, which has strong support in the ethnic Rakhine population, Rohingyas once again find themselves trapped.
Despite the risk of being caught and returned to Myanmar by the Bangladeshi authorities, Rohingya survivors told the BBC they wished to share details of the violence they faced so it would not go undocumented, especially as it unfolded in an area that is no longer accessible to rights groups or journalists.
“My heart is broken. Now, I’ve lost everything. I don’t know why I survived,” Nisar says.
A wealthy Rohingya trader, he sold his land and house as the shelling increased near his home in Rakhine. But the conflict intensified faster than he expected, and on the morning of 5 August, the family decided to leave Myanmar.
He is crying as he points to his daughter’s body in one of the videos: “My daughter died in my arms saying Allah’s name. She looks so peaceful, like she’s sleeping. She loved me so much.”
In the same video, he also points to his wife and sister, both severely injured but alive when the video was filmed. He could not carry them out as bombs were still falling, so he made the agonising choice to leave them behind. He found out later they had died.
“There was nowhere left that was safe, so we ran to the river to cross over to Bangladesh,” Fayaz says. The gunfire and bombs had followed them from village to village, and so Fayaz gave all his money to a boatman to carry them across the river.
Devastated and angry, he holds up a photo of his son’s bloodied body.
“If the Arakan Army didn’t fire at us, then who did?” he asks. “The direction that the bombs came from, I know the Arakan Army was there. Or was it thunder falling from the sky?”
These accusations raise serious questions about the Arakan Army, which describes itself as a revolutionary movement representing all the people of Rakhine.
Since late last year, the AA, part of the larger Three Brotherhood Alliance of armed insurgents in Myanmar, has made huge gains against the military.
But the army’s losses have brought new dangers for Rohingyas, who have previously told the BBC they were being forcibly recruited by the junta to fight the AA.
This, together with the decision by the Rohingya militant group ARSA to ally itself with the junta against the Rakhine insurgents, has soured already poor relations between the two communities and left Rohingya civilians vulnerable to retribution.
One survivor of the 5 August attack told the BBC that ARSA militants who had aligned themselves with the junta had been among the fleeing crowd - and that might have provoked the attack.
“Even if there was any military target, there was a disproportionate use of force. There were children, women, the elderly that were killed that day. It was also indiscriminate,” says John Quinley, a director of the human rights group Fortify Rights, which has been investigating the incident.
“So that would leave us to believe that there are reasonable grounds to believe that a war crime did happen on 5 August. The Arakan Army should be investigated for these crimes and Arakan Army senior commanders should be held accountable.”
This is a precarious moment for the Rohingya community. More than a million of them fled to Bangladesh in 2017, where they continue to be restricted to densely-packed, squalid camps.
More have been arriving in recent months as the war in Rakhine reaches them but, it’s no longer 2017, when Bangladesh opened its borders. This time, the government has said it cannot allow any more Rohingyas into the country.
So survivors who can find the money to pay boatmen and traffickers – the BBC was told it costs 600,000 Burmese kyat ($184; £141) per person - then have to slip past Bangladeshi border guards and chance their luck with locals, or hide in Rohingya camps.
When Fayaz and his family arrived in Bangladesh on the 6 August, the border guards gave them a meal but then put them on a boat and sent them back.
“We spent two days afloat with no food or water,” he says. “I gave my daughters water from the river to drink, and pleaded with some of the others on the boat to give them a few biscuits from the packets they had.”
They got into Bangladesh on their second attempt. But at least two boats have capsized because of overcrowding. One woman, a widow with 10 children, said she had managed to hide her family during the bombing, but five of her children drowned when their boat overturned.
“My children were like pieces of my heart. When I think of them, I want to die,” she says, weeping.
Her grandson, a wide-eyed eight-year-old boy, sits beside her. His parents and younger brother also died.
But what of those who were left behind? Phone and internet networks in Maungdaw have been down for weeks but after repeated attempts, the BBC contacted one man, who wished to remain anonymous for his own safety.
“The Arakan Army has forced us out of our homes and are holding us in schools and mosques,” he said. “I am being kept with six other families in a small house.”
The Arakan Army told the BBC that it rescued 20,000 civilians from the town amid fighting against the military. It said it was providing them with food and medical treatment, and add that “these operations are conducted for the safety and security of these individuals, not as forced relocations”.
The man on the phone rejected their claims. “The Arakan Army has told us they will shoot us if we try to leave. We are running out of food and medicines. I am ill, my mother is ill. A lot of people have diarrhoea and are vomiting.”
He broke down, pleading for help: “Tens of thousands of Rohingya are under threat here. If you can, please save us.”
Across the river in Bangladesh, Nisar looks back at Myanmar. He can see the shore where his family was killed.
“I never want to go back.”
Additional reporting by Aamir Peerzada and Sanjay Ganguly
* Names have been changed on request..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2024-08-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"As the Civil war in Myanmar intensifies, the Arakan Army (AA) has emerged as a formidable force against Myanmar military in Rakhine State. Recent escalation in hostilities between the rebel group and the military in Rakhine has not only disrupted Junta’s hold in the region but also poses serious security threats to Bangladesh. Stray Mortar shelling in Bangladesh’s bordering regions included, last month, AA rebels even kidnapped innocent fishermen from the Naf river that Bangladesh shares with Myanmar. AA’s activities are becoming a growing concern for Bangladesh especially considering that Bangladesh has consistently responded with patience and dignity to the numerous provocations and challenges posed by Myanmar.
On October 27, 2023, the Three Brotherhood Alliance (3BTA), composed of the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and Ta’ang National Liberation Army and numbering some 15,000 fighters, launched Operation 1027, an anti-SAC offensive in Shan State. The coalition had been preparing for this offensive for years, according to local interlocutors, and its forces were equipped with advanced weapons, including drones acquired on foreign markets.
The Arakan Army, founded in 2009, initially aimed at gaining greater autonomy for the Rakhine people. Since the offensive last October, it has actually steered close to its goal and undoubtedly has become one of the strongest pillars challenging the Myanmar junta in the ongoing civil war. The rebel group has taken control of more than half the Rakhine State – nine of its 17 townships. They have seized key territories in the neighbouring Chin state as well. The AA’s tactical prowess and strategic territorial gains have drawn the attention of regional stakeholders, including Bangladesh. The proximity of AA operations to this border has heightened security concerns for Bangladesh, as cross-border skirmishes and the potential for infiltration increase.
The Escalation of Conflict in the borders of Bangladesh
On May 22, Arakan Army launched a large-scale attack on Maungdaw town in northwestern Rakhine State near the border with Bangladesh. If the Arakan Army can seize Maungdaw, only one town in northern Rakhine will remain under the regime’s control: Sittwe, the state’s capital. Capturing Maungdaw will also give the Arakan Army control over the 270-km border with Bangladesh. That possibility does not seem far-fetched as the group has captured more than 10 junta camps in Rakhine State’s Maungdaw in less than two weeks, killing about 200 junta troops.
Direct Security Implications for Bangladesh
The AA’s intensified activities near the border areas in southeastern Bangladesh, particularly in Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar, have experienced stray gunfire, mortar shelling, and airstrikes from Myanmar forces. These incidents have not only caused casualties among Bangladeshi civilians but have also forced thousands to flee their homes, creating a humanitarian crisis.
Just this month, ferry services on the Teknaf-Saint Martin route have been suspended since 6th June due to firing from Myanmar. This had caused a massive food shortage in the region endangering lives of more than 10000 residents. Often shots were fired at trawlers and boats to Saint Martin’s. One of such trawlers was carrying Bangladeshi election officials. Arakan Army members are believed to have fired the shots.
The conflict has also led to an influx of displaced persons, including Myanmar Border Guard Police personnel, into Bangladesh. More than 752 fleeing junta personnel and their families have been repatriated since mid-February after the AA launched offensives near Rakhine’s international border. This sudden influx strains security for Bangladesh-Myanmar border which is already a contested place due to Myanmar people trying to enter the country illegally especially the Rohingya community still living in Myanmar.
Bangladesh’s internal security is already complicated as it is with the existence of over a million Rohingya refugees already residing in camps in Bangladesh. The potential for further displacement due to ongoing violence in Rakhine and Chin states remains high, posing a continuous threat to Bangladesh’s border security and humanitarian stability.
Broader concerns if Arakan army controls Rakhine
Beyond the immediate border incidents, the presence of the AA near Bangladesh raises broader security concerns. The AA’s control over large swathes of territory in Rakhine State, including strategic border areas, increases the risk of arms smuggling, human trafficking, and other illicit activities. Bangladesh geography puts it at the heart of three major Asian drug trade routes: the Golden Wedge, the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent. This, unfortunately, makes the country a lucrative transit for the region’s drugs, especially from Myanmar and India, undermining Bangladesh’s internal security.
Moreover, the AA’s conflict with the Myanmar military has the potential to draw in other armed groups and create a broader insurgency landscape. This could lead to a spillover of violence into Bangladesh, exacerbating the security challenges. The presence of armed militants in close proximity to Bangladeshi territory necessitates a robust security response to prevent infiltration and maintain regional stability.
What should be the future?
The AA had previously assured that they will cooperate regarding border stability issues with neighbouring countries. These words seem hollow when they still have not apologized for the deaths Bangladeshi civilians caused by their fighting. The further show of utmost disrespect to Bangladesh’s neutrality by kidnapping Bangladeshi fishermen fishing, firing at Bangladeshi trawlers within the borders of their own country is totally inexcusable.
Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal are two routes for Arakan or the Rakhine state’s contact with the outside world. Due to the location of Saint Martin’s, most of the north Bay of Bengal is within Bangladesh’s maritime boundary. And so, for the future growth of Rakhine state, creating a friendly relationship with Bangladesh should be priority for the Arakan Army-not provoking the country.
As this situation evolves, Dhaka must remain vigilant and proactive in managing the implications of the AA’s activities to safeguard its national security and humanitarian interests. Diplomatic engagement and cooperation among the parties is essential to ensure the security and stability of Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2024-06-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Human Rights and international relations, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"INTRODUCTION: You’re now listening to “Advocate” by APHR, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.
Hello, I’m Karina Tehusijarana, Media Manager of APHR. I’ll be your host for today and currently I’m with APHR Board Member U Shwe Maung. Thank you for joining us today.
Hi. You’re welcome. Thank you.
U Shwe Maung is a Rohingya rights activist and former politician who served as a member of parliament in Myanmar’s House of Representatives from 2011 to 2016. As well as being a board member of APHR, he is also a founding member of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of religion or belief or IPP Forb, and serves as president of the Arakan Institute for Peace and Development.
Today, we will be talking about the five point consensus, the current situation in Myanmar, as well as the current situation facing the Rohingya in Myanmar, and the role of Myanmar MP’s, as well as Southeast Asian MP’s.....INTERVIEW: Thank you. Before we get started talking about the situation in Myanmar and the situation of Rohingya. We would like to maybe get to know you a little bit better. So can you tell us about your background and how you first entered politics?
Thank you. By training I am a mechanical engineer and a software engineer. But by situation, I joined politics in 2010 because we had a nationwide demonstration in 1988. Then also I was one of the student leaders. I formed a student union and I tried to maintain peace and stability and peaceful coexistence among the Rohingya and Rakhine community. Rather than the demonstration of the Myanmar military regime. Because my mother was an eyewitness of 1942 violence against Rohingya. And before independence my mother always talked about those stories. Horrible story. So I always remember that.
So in 1988 I saw a lot of instability among the community. So some movements, especially Rakhine community people are leaving from the Buthidaung to situate. Because they were scared of some kind of situation. Probably they recall 1942 conflict or violence against our community.
So what I did is I formed a student union together with my Rakhine friends and Rohingya friends. So we really are, we really achieved it, you see. So actually I am the chairman of the student union. I governed the northern Rakhine state force for like four months. Everything was okay. Especially I focus on peaceful coexistence to avoid similar violence that happened in 1942.
To make a long story short, after the military coup in 1988. So there was an organization called the Rakhine Nationality Protection Committee in Maungdaw. They wrote a memorandum to the military hunter chief. Basically those memorandum was saying that they are just writing anti-Rohingya. Not to grant Rohingya citizenship and to restrict movement travel and to ban access to university. And then also to make travel bans from one township to another. And so many things.
So everything the SLORC, which was the State Law and Order Restoration Council formed in 1980, September 18, implemented and harassed prosecution and violence including forced labor against Rohingya. Everything, according to that memorandum. So I have a copy of that.
So from 1988 to 2010, the situation at Rohingya was horrible. The whole community became poor, helpless because of daily persecution. Whenever we talk about persecution against Rohingya, people always think of the Myanmar military and government. As a matter of fact, it was not true. Of course, Governments and their regimes are primarily responsible. At the same time, almost all local authorities are by Rakhine community, Muslims and Rohingyas are very limited.
My father was the last high ranking police officer in Myanmar police. After that my father retired in 1978. After that there was no recruit of any police officer. Just some ordinary police member. So then people are under a lot of human rights violations. Finally there was a crisis between both people. So people are fleeing their violence. So by that time there was a lot of international pressure in the region.
So probably this is one of the reasons the Myanmar military and its political association approached me and a few Rohingya activists or elders, including me, to join. To join and to participate in the 2010 election. So that we could raise our human rights concern to the government through the parliament officer. So what I thought. So whatever it is their intent by that time, since people are suffering a lot. So I decided to join. Although I didn’t believe them fully because we didn’t have any other option.
So it becomes like a sip of water in the middle of the desert. Especially for the Rohingya people for their daily persecution. Then I agreed to join that military backed party. Then I participated in the election. And then I was elected, especially my fellow Rohingyas who were in Buthidaung constituency, like 80% of voters are Rohingya. So they elected me. Although there was a kind of accusation across Myanmar.
I believe in democracy. I did my best to have a free and fair election.
So I was elected by the people. Then I suffered for my Rohingya people. From 2010 to 2016, January.
Joined the APHR
Thank you for that background. Could you also tell us about how you first joined APHR?
I think I joined APHR in 2013. So APHR Executive Director, Mr. Ismail Wolff came to Myanmar. Then he approached me and explained to me the mandate of APHR. So I was quite interested. Then I decided to join.
Challenges in Myanmar’s Parliament
Thank you. As you mentioned, you were a member of parliament from 2011 to 2016. Could you tell us a little bit about what kind of challenges you faced at the time in Myanmar’s parliament?
From day one of my office, I faced criticism and attacks from members of parliament from the Rakhine community. Especially Dr. Aye Maung, who was chairman of the Rakhine Nationality Development Party, from day one. So he started attacking five Rohingya MPs. So there were five Rohingya MPs, including me. They said we should not be in the parliament. And then if we are in the parliament, the Arakan state will be separated. And there are so many nonsense accusations. And then it will be governed by the Muslim. It could be a muslim state. And then also he joined the 969 movement.
Also he has a lot of followers who are extremists. So on social media and then by interviewing with the various local media and then international media, by print media. So they have started attacking me. And also they try to removed from the seats by complaining to the Union Election Commission. But they failed because there was no law by that time. So how to remove an elected member of parliament from the office? But they kept trying. They keep trying to make a problem. But finally, I was appointed by my party to have a local election in Maungdaw district inter party election.
The Maungdaw district means it includes three townships by that time. Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung. So I was like a district election commissioner. So although I was appointed, I did have a very free and fair election in 2012, May, if I remember correctly. It was in my constituency as well as in Maungdaw and Rathedaung. So mostly over there since Rohingyas are the majority.
Although Rohingyas are the majority in some villages, there are Rakhine majority. So from the Rohingya majority village the election winners are Rohingya. From the Rakhine majority villages the Rakhines are the winner.
So by that time I have a lot of information that the Rakhine Nationality Development Party led by Dr. Aye Maung had a meeting in Sittwe. So they are quite upset and uncomfortable. Because according to some reports from my sources who have very close ties, the high ranking officers and party officials of RNDP. They told me that there was some kind of discussion about how to stop that election, and what I have been doing in my region. But finally they took advantage of an incident which happened in Ramree township regarding a drug. So still as of today is although twelve years now nobody know who raped her and who killed her.
But however, the propaganda in the newspaper and then Rakhine politicians and all these Rakhine extremist activists. They are just accusing. They said that Rakhine girl was raped and killed by a Rohingya man. In fact it was not Rohingya. It was a local. So he is not a Rohingya. He’s just a Muslim in that area.
But according to sources, what we received, that the accused, the murderer, he was suicide in prison. Also his wife conducted suicide in prison. And probably therefore nobody knew what was the reality. But by the excuse of that incident, the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party led by Dr. Aye Maung and their followers conducted an anti Rohingya movement. According to the term this is an Anti Bengali movement. So they started to create problems in Sittwe and also Maungdaw in other Rathedaung areas in June 2012.
Then the second episode of the violence was in October 2012. So because of that, you see we have as of today more than 120,000 IDPs are still outskirted in the Sittwe. So that’s how Dr. Aye Maung and his followers conspirated for this violence against the Rohingya. But people mostly understand that, so they want to be noted.
So these things are, although there was a police and soldiers, they were only left with a few police forces, a few military. Whenever they went to a village to do an assault and to set fire on Rohingya homes, only a couple of police force. Most of them are the Rakhine extremist youth with a long sword. So they set fire and then they kill the people.
So according to my interview with a lot of local people in my constituency, Sittwe and Maungdaw, after that violence. So they explained to me that they were mostly killed by those extremists. You see that long sword holder who is Rakhines. So also it means they are vigilantes. They are collaborators with the Myanmar police force.
When we talk about the Myanmar police force, one thing to be noted very importantly. In Rakhine state. So 99% of the police force are Rakhine ethnic people. Only a handful of police forces are of other ethnic from other states. So whether they receive orders from the Yangon or Naypyidaw, they themselves are well determined to conduct these kinds of crimes against humanity, atrocity against the Rohingya people. This was 2012.
Even after that, I received a lot of challenges in the parliament when I submitted proposal, questions. So based on my question, the Home Minister and Immigration Minister need to answer in the parliament that they always blame our Rohingya people. They are always highlighting that these Rohingyas are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
So this is why after the 2012 conflict, there was an international convention at the International Convention Center in Naypyidaw in September 2012. So there was a huge gathering together with all ambassadors, head of the UN Missions and most of the prominent international NGOs. But at that meeting, everybody was invited, Rohingya were not invited.
It’s a joke. They were talking about reconciliation and the social harmony between the community. But they invited only the Rakhine community and all government ministers, Vice President, Head of the mission in Myanmar, ambassadors and that’s all.
When I heard about that, I called the Border Affairs Ministry. I said, minister, how is it possible? So the government of Myanmar was doing a conference for reconciliation and social harmony. So how can it be one sided without my community? But finally I said, oh, what a mistake. So I will tell my director general to send 50 invitation cards. Finally I was able to bring 49 more Rohingya, my fellow Rohingyas activists together with me to attend that meeting. Otherwise we’ll never know.
Even in that meeting, the Director General of Immigration was always talking about illegal immigration during the world war, during the colonial period and then blah blah blah. Also, he mentioned that after the colonial period that a million people left, from Myanmar to India. But he mixed up the general colonial system and Rakhine state.
In Rakhine state or Arakan state, we Rohingyas are indigenous people. We never migrate from anywhere. The Arakan state’s official name is Rakhine, but we changed it. He said. Politically it’s Arakan. The Arakan states belong to the Rohingya, Rakhine, and other indigenous people. So we never migrated from anywhere.
But however politically, they always play divided rule policy, and always accuse us blatantly. So for that I also raise my voice over there, which is not true. Even before the 2012 violence, the Home Minister and Immigration Minister even accused our people as if they were illegal immigrants.
This is why finally some extremist people get a chance to create more hate speech against the Rohingya. So when I raised that issue, from that day on, I became a full fledged enemy of the Myanmar quasi civilian government as well as the USDB party. Since then, they have been trying to remove me from the office. But they cannot do that. They are telling me to go under the scrutiny of immigration again if I am a citizen. I said, hey, why? I was already scrutinized by your good office.
In the 2010 election, I was elected officially from the clearance of immigration. Why again I need to go. It is illegal. It’s not including the law. Then I was quite aggressive. And then I stand with my because I am very confrontational because my fathers, my ancestors, everybody were indigenous people of the land. So I didn’t have any concern, any worry. So I kept doing it. But however, when we had another time, the 2015 election, the Election Commission did not allow me to run again from my office.
Even before that, in 2014, November 14, there was a visit by US President Barack Obama. I was invited on behalf of the Rohingya community. On that day in the Myanmar parliament, there was an important proposal. The proposal said there was no Rohingya in Myanmar. And except me, because I was absent on that day as I had a meeting with President Obama, So almost all parliamentarians, 99% of the parliament, voted for that resolution. The resolution was that there were no Rohingya in Myanmar.
But when I went to the office the next day, I was quite shocked. On the same day, November 14, 2014, I was having a meeting with President Obama. But since then I have again become a target of Myanmar, not only the government, but also the Myanmar police department.
But in that situation also there was another problem of Duchiradan fire. The Myanmar foreign minister accused the Rohingya people of setting fire to their own villages. I told that it was not true. Villagers told me that that village was under fire, the fire was set under the supervision of border police in Maungdaw. So when I talk to the media like that and the President thinks in, send an arrest warrant for me to the speaker of the parliament. But I was able to convince the speaker of the parliament not to sign an arrest warrant for the voice of an MP.
So I requested the speaker of the parliament. Sir, if you endorse the arrest warrant, this will be a very ugly history of Myanmar democracy. Because of the voice of an MP on behalf of his constituents. So if an MP is sent to jail and then hanged to the death, that would be a very ugly history. So I know you are a very good speaker. We are trying to build genuine democracy in our country. So I talk. I am an officially elected member of parliament. I have the right to talk on behalf of people, what people told me.
But without doing any proper investigation, how come President Thein Sein sent an arrest warrant blindly for me, which is not fair and which is not legal. Then in front of me, the speaker of parliament called President Thein Sein. He said, Mister president, my representative was accusing you of not conducting any proper investigation. Then you are accusing a member of parliament that he did defame the Myanmar police force. In fact, my father was a police officer. I didn’t have any intention to defame, but to highlight the truth. As foreign minister accused that villager Rohingya themselves set fire, which is a make believe story. I said that was not true. Then finally, President Thein Sein was not able to arrest me.
After that, In September 2015, I came together with the APHR mission to have advocacy with the US Congress State Department. And since then, I interviewed with the Voice of America primary section. So I simply told them that the Myanmar election in 2015 would be unfree and unfair. Because the Myanmar government disenfranchised a million Rohingya people. Because of my death statement to the VoA interview, President tension released another arrest warrant to arrest me upon my return to Myanmar.
So finally, because of that, I remain in the USA. Then I decided to remain in the USA until the situation becomes normal. But as of today, it’s not normal. Even the worst in history. This is why I’m here today in the USA. This is my brief, the story of my parliamentary period from 2010 to 2016.
Five Point Consensus
Thank you very much for sharing your experience. As you mentioned, in 2010-2011, there was a period of an attempt of democratization in Myanmar. And then there was the formation, as you called it, the quasi civilian government, which was nevertheless very flawed, especially in its treatment of Rohingya, as you have shared. But of course, as you know, in February 2011, the Myanmar military junta attempted to stage a coup to take over the government and overthrow the civilian parts of the government. And shortly after, in April 2021, ASEAN signed the Five Point consensus, which was supposed to lead to a peaceful resolution of that conflict. Can you share with us what your view of the current situation in Myanmar is and how you view ASEAN’s role as of now?
After the military coup in 2021, the situation of our country was the worst in the history before. In 2012 and 2017, Myanmar military conducted mass atrocities against humanity only against the Rohingya. By that time, nobody was able to sympathize with us. So as a truth, if I need to tell you, I am one versus 50 million. I am the only person officially in the parliament and the whole Myanmar who was talking about this was a violation of my right.
These atrocities, violent prosecutions were happening against the Rohingya conducted by Myanmar military police and other vigilantes in Sittwe, Mrauk-U, Buthidaung, Maungdaw and the whole Arakan state. But nobody believes us.
But when there was a military coup in February 2021, these same military did the same thing. Even in some areas worse than in the Rohingya, what they did against Rohingya. So I must say there are now 50 million people in Myanmar, except the supporters of the Myanmar military and blah blah. Yes, there’s always the system. But almost all Myanmar population are under the persecution and daily violence of the Myanmar military.
So regarding this Five Point Consensus, when I heard about the Five Point Consensus from the day one, it came to my mind that it could be a total failure. Because I know this Myanmar military junta very well. They are world class liars. They never keep their promise. They are always named seekers.
The reason why the Myanmar junta signed the Five Point Consensus is just to get support from ASEAN. That’s all. So Min Aung Hlaing, he doesn’t have any political willingness to have a Federal Democratic Union of Myanmar.
Although they have been telling all the time through the newspaper and TV, it was a skyful of lies. It’s not true. Their ultimate goal is in their mind, the military must be forever the ruler of Myanmar. This was in their mind. It was painted in their mind. Nobody can remove them. But sometimes politically they said several things. But I never believed them.
So to make a long story short. So this Five Point Consensus is now we can see very clearly it is a total failure. Because the junta doesn’t have political willingness. Even that junta led by Min Aung Hlaing. They become, you say, terrorists. They are terrorizing the whole population. Initially Rohingya, now the whole population of Myanmar. And they will still persecute everywhere. Killing, attacking and war crime. So in my view, these Five Point Consensus is no more meaningful. It’s a total failure. They don’t have any willingness to implement. It will never happen.
What Should ASEAN and the International Community Do?
Given that, your view on the five point consensus. What do you think that ASEAN and maybe the rest of the international community should do instead? About the situation in Myanmar?
Thank you. It’s a very good question.
APHR is the first human rights organization which raised concern for potential genocide of Northern Arakan, for the events of Buthidaung. After that the US government and some European Union and other countries. Even though as of now, as a human organization, Only APHR, not any other human rights organization are raising their voice for the Rohingya, I mean the genuine voice for a lack of potential genocide.
I personally believe that APHR statements, especially our APHR chairperson Mercy comments, hit some kind of level to the US State Department. So I share with them. Also, I submitted a lot of reports to the US State Department. So probably this is a kind of document which could be referred to very concretely and as an evidence. So Thanks again APHR for taking first place to raise concern for the potential genocide against Rohingya.
I was thinking for a long time. What should ASEAN do? I am very familiar with the ASEAN Charter. Which is very inappropriate and illogical. This is the most illogical charter in the world.
So first of all, ASEAN needs to amend their charter. Especially they need to remove the non interference policy. If they don’t interfere, what is the purpose of it? There will always be good interference and bad interference. You should interfere for the betterment of humanity.
If you fail to interfere or intervene in the human rights violation, you are against humanity. There’s no way. So if ASEAN wants to promote human rights. If ASEAN member states want to have a peaceful region, sustainable development in the region and human rights violations, a free region. First of all, they need to amend and remove that non interference policy.
And secondly, especially in this situation in Myanmar. ASEAN should think to set up a peacekeeping mission. Even force is not possible. A peacekeeping mission. Because every block in the world has the right to do that. NATO is a block they have been doing for the security and stability of their region. Also, we have the Quad block.
ASEAN is one of the important blocks on this planet. Also it plays a great role for the peace and stability and security of the region. So ASEAN member states must call a meeting, an emergency meeting. And it is very important to set up a peacekeeping mission to intervene in Myanmar.
Because the Myanmar military junta is no more valid. They lose the majority of their land. Most of the lands are controlled by the revolutionary forces. Especially those led by people defense forces in ERO. Under the guidance of the National Unity Government.
ASEAN members should recognize NUG as a legitimate government of Myanmar. But so far I can see only East Timor is recognizing NUG. No other country. So still they are just dancing with Min Aung Hlaing on international events. It’s a shame for the ASEAN association as well as member states.
So they should have a clear that it is not only Myanmar, but by taking advantage of the situation in Myanmar.
If ASEAN wants to implement or to end persecution and violence against 50 million people, including Rohingya, they must intervene with their power. We have examples of intervention in the case of Cambodia by the Malaysian military. That is for the betterment of humanity. It was okay. Also in East Timor we have some kind of intervention.
So I think that is the only solution now. Otherwise Myanmar military junta leader, he will not listen to anyone on this planet. So that is what ASEAN should do. If ASEAN really wants to help and end violence against Myanmar people and also for the crisis of Rohingya.
Buthidaung
Thank you very much, U Shwe Maung. As you have spoken about, the Rohingya people in Myanmar have faced persecution and violence for years now. I mean like decades. But of course, more recently there has again been an escalation of violence, as you know, against Rohingya in Rakhine state. Last month there were reports of violence in your home township of Buthidaung. And then more recently it has also spread to Maungdaw. Could you maybe tell us a little bit about what’s going on right now there?
Yeah, so let me start with my township. Now. Buthidaung has more than 200,000 of, I will not use the term IDP, they are not Internally Displaced Persons, they are FDP, Forcibly Displaced Persons by the Arakan Army in 2012 and 2017. Myanmar military soldiers, security forces, police forces and some extreme Rakhine youths. They jointly committed this crime against humanity, violences, persecution, atrocity.
But in 2024, although the Arakan Army was outcrying that they are fighting for freedom, fighting against the Myanmar military junta, that is true, I don’t deny. But at the same time, they are also trying to accomplish their unfinished business in terms of the Rohingya, Myanmar military junta and Arakan Army having the same thought.
As I mentioned earlier, the youth, the people, the fighters, vigilantes, who were involved with Myanmar military soldiers in 2012 and 2017. Today they are active forces of the Arakan Army. I have reported several times to Myanmar, but nobody cared.
So being an elected member of parliament from Buthidaung, I reach everywhere. I interview a lot of people. So this is the gentleman. Also, I reminded Arakan Army high ranking officials to be very careful with the recruits in the Northern Rakhine state. Because in northern Rakhine state, majority of Arakan Army forces are the companion and collaborators with Myanmar military police during the genocide and the violence in 2012 and 2017.
But they didn’t listen to me. But this is why this thing is happening. Although they have been raising their voice. That fight was against Myanmar, the southern part of Rakhine state, that’s true, but not for the case of Buthidaung. Maungdaw is also situated because they have two missions. First mission is to occupy the Northern Rakhine state, also to defeat the Myanmar military. Their second mission is to drive out the Rohingya, from the town to the remote area.
So their ultimate policies, they will kill less people. They will create such a situation so that Rohingya will lift themselves with the fear and persecution that the Arakan Army has done. This is their plan. Even a couple of years ago, the elder brother of Arakan Army chief Tun Myat Naing, said through a video, we have a record for them. I watched that video several times. So that is exactly the policy that they implemented in my hometown, Buthidaung township.
On the eve of 17 May 2024. So they started this thing. But when I was talking about a month ago, I had some kind of difficulty because. Because of the Internet outage, telephone lines are not clear. It’s very difficult for us to verify. But today is very clear. A lot of eyewitnesses have now reached the jungle.
Recently I interviewed five eyewitnesses of Buthidaung violence against Rohingya. So they told me very clearly. Now I will start telling you the situation, what the eyewitness told me on the evening of the 17 May. So a lot of people approached some Arakan Army outposts to the south of the Buthidaung, near the Ba Gone Nar bridge.
He said, what shall we do now? He said, you are too late announcing with the loudspeaker. He said to leave the people by 10:00 a.m. on May 18. But now the situation is so bad. A lot of people are now killed. A lot of arson attacks. All the arson attacks, killing drone attacks are committed by the Arakan Army. Nobody else.
Because according to eyewitnesses by that time, with the telephone call as well as eyewitness statement by the 15 May, there were no single Myanmar military soldiers in Buthidaung town. Even you say the airplane attack. Airplane attacks are in Sittwe and Maungdaw, that’s how we know the truth because people never lied to us. Everybody knows that.
But in Buthidaung, there was no single issue of the bombing because they didn’t do that. I don’t know why they didn’t do that. Because if there was a shell. People are very familiar. One of the eyewitnesses told me that they recognize the shell as the Arakan Army shell. Heavy artillery or Myanmar military. Because Myanmar militaries are stationed western part of the city. The Arakan Army stationed the southern part and eastern part of the Buddha town. Even they recognize the sound of gunshot, is the gunshot of the Myanmar military or Arakan Army.
It has been fighting. Fighting was not only in May, it has been happening like two years ago. They are very familiar. So they are very quite sure. All eyewitnesses consistently told me that they are quite sure. Even during the day of 17 May, they started drone attacks on the hospital where a lot of Rohingya forcibly displaced persons. I am not using IDP, they are FDP, forcibly displaced persons caused by the Arakan Army. They are temporarily refuged Buthidaung township hospital and high school.
The Arakan Army launched with heavy weapons from Buthidaung south and east where they were stationed. If there was an attack from the Myanmar military. Because we know our Rohingya people also don’t believe Myanmar military, whenever they attack previously, the shells or weapons come from the eastern side or from the western side. So direction is different.
On 17 May, all the directions of the heavy artillery were from the south and east. It means the place on the east side of Mayu river. And the people called me on that day from the villagers, and also Ka Kyet Bet, which is the border of Ka Kyet Bet village and Buthidaung South. They started. It means they are threatening the people. They are threatening the people.
Before the sunset of 16-17 May, some elders approached the Arakan Army at the bridge. They said, is it possible for us to leave, not to wait until the 18 may. Let us leave by now to a safe place where we should go. He said no. He said not allowed to leave. Even during the night of the 17 May or the 18 may. You all are allowed to leave only at 06:00 a.m. of 18. Maybe by that time they are confused.
My eyewitness number five is a very intelligent man. He has some kind of suspect. The way the Arakan Army soldiers explain to them not to leave the whole night is very risky. If somebody tries to leave the house, they say they will be shot dead. That is very clear. I have a statement from them. So I will share this statement with the US government and EU, the European Union, of course, with APHR, with all stakeholders. Because by that time, we didn’t get a chance to get those eyewitness statements.
And then people are waiting, waiting for the sunrise so that they can leave. But at the same time, the Arakan Army was telling them that they sent the release and noticed it in a timely manner. Because they didn’t leave. They accused that all arson attacks and killings were committed by the Myanmar soldiers. Which is an absolute lie. It’s not true.
Then on the 17 May, starting from 09:00 a.m. according to all my five eyewitnesses, they consistently told me that the Arakan Army entered block by block. If there are four Arakan Army soldiers, a group, some group, they have ten soldiers or ten forces. Five of them have guns. It’s a gun like the AK 47. Other five have a fire stick with the kerosene, with the clothes and at the end of the stick, this kerosene. And then with the fire, they are set on fire.
I asked my witness, did you see if they set fire to your houses? He said, I saw with my own eyes, how can I make fire? This is why I left home. So I asked him, are you sure the person who set the fire was the Arakan Army? He said, Sir, it’s not Myanmar. I asked him, how do you know that? He explained to me that I saw their badge here. Arakan Army badge, also Arakan Army Logo, also speak Rakhine language.
Myanmar soldiers never speak Rakhine. They are not fluent in Rakhine. But the Arakan Army, they never speak in Burmese. Because they are very chauvinist. They mostly speak their Rakhine language. They know them very well. They are 100% sure.
So to make a long story short, all of my five witnesses are very consistent. Starting from that, they do assault attacks and people are leaving. Then they are also shooting who are leaving their home. They are killing also. Whenever people try to take pictures, they shoot them. Because they know when the people took the pictures, it may reach the outside world. They’re trying to destroy evidence which is also a violation of ICJ provisional measures.
And then also my own sister, my own sister in law who is living at my home, they are forced to leave. My house was set on fire. Also my aunt, a lot of my relatives, my friends, almost everyone, they are forced to leave. And then they are told to leave the town immediately. Then they set fire.
Also they confirm there was no single Hindu’s house burned. Although they are doing propaganda. They say even there were no 1,600 Hindu families. I know. I am a member of parliament from my constitution. All of the hindu people live in my ward too. They are very peaceful people. They are very friendly to the Rohingya. Rohingya never provoked them. We never have any problems. They are just trying to get the attention of the media, probably by the government of India. Because recently the government of India and the Arakan Army have had some kind of relationship. Yeah, I read some media.
Probably for that reason. Arakan Army Chief Tun Myat Naing himself shared this nonsense article of the hostage of 1,600 Hindu family and Buddhist families. It was not true. Even there were no 5,000 Rakhine houses. Because I am a member of parliament for the Buthidaung. There were no 5,000 Rakhine in the downtown. There were only a few houses. My eyewitness told me that not more than 500 maximum. But most of them are Rohingyas.
On the night of the 17 May and night of the 18 May they set fire to the whole town. Also they forcibly deported all the people. Southern part of the Buthidaung which is at the mouth of Bay of Bengal. This is their policy. So they could leave. This is why a lot of people have already left for Maungdaw. A lot of people left for Sittwe. According to my source, now more than 1,000 families are in Ramree. It means they are kind of implemented. Implementing unfinished business of mayonnaise as well as unfinished business of the Arakan Army to annihilate Rohingya from the town as well as from the area. And the same thing they are implementing now in Maungdaw.
Same thing they are doing. They are shooting. They are killing. As of now according to my report, more than two dozen innocent Rohingya civilians are killed by their heavy weapon and drone attack. Maung Hna village of Maungdaw. And then in Aye Tar Li Yar village of Maungdaw there were no Myanmar military forces. Only civilian people.
Myanmar military and police are four miles away from Maungdaw Town. The eastern side of Maungdaw Town. There was a border police battalion fighting around that area. There was no reason for the Arakan Army to launch heavy artillery into the Maungdaw town. So you can ask me why they are doing they are doing. They are implementing their plan.
According to a secret report, they have a plan to create Buthidaung and Maungdaw Rohingya-Free City. And then they will bring the Rakhine people from other areas. So Maungdaw and Buthidaung became a Rakhine majority area. So we can conclude that this is a kind of annihilation of Rohingya.
And then also it is another method of genocide. Genocide without killing a lot of people. Genocide not necessarily required to kill everyone. If there was nobody on the land of, soil of Arakan that is genocide according to Genocide Prevention Convention. So they are doing the same thing they have already done in Maungdaw North and Maungdaw South. So they always force all villagers to leave. Even they are not allowed.
There was no fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army. Even those villages are not allowed to return their villages in Maungdaw north and south. Therefore they sought refuge in the Maungdaw town. So when they are attacking Maungdaw town, they are attacking the whole population of Maungdaw township.
So they are not allowed to go back to their villages and home. Even if they are supposed to leave Maungdaw Town, where will they go? Bangladesh government to close their border. I wrote in my tweet, there was nowhere except jumping into the Naf river. If they jump under the Naf river, there was no other thing except you see dying in the river because Bangladesh crossed the border. Even somebody was swimming in the Naf river. Also Myanmar military, of course Myanmar military jet fighters bombed. They bombed some of the Rohingya villagers because the Arakan Army was never stationed in Rakhine villages.
So one thing we learned in Buthidaung and Maungdaw, although Rohingyas are the majority, there’s also some Rakhine and others. Because in 2012-2017, a lot of people left even though the majority said they were Rohingya. But in Maungdaw also some are Rakhine, some villages are in Rakhine.
The Arakan Army never made a launchpad in the Rakhine village. They always make a launchpad for the Rohingya village. This is why Myanmar military bomb is to that area. In this time, all this began. Rohingyas is not target of Myanmar military in this only. But Rohingyas are their main target in 2012 and 2017. That is true, but not at this time. Because at this time they are struggling. They are fighting against the Arakan Army, so they are more focused on the Arakan Army. However, both are against the Rohingya. Nobody has sympathy. No Myanmar military or Arakan Army has sympathy.
If the Rohingya are killed by any attack by the Arakan Army or Myanmar military, they don’t care. So there is the situation in Maungdaw. But also I could foresee a similar situation in Sittwe. As per the statement of the Arakan Army and the recent press conference made by a spokesperson of the Arakan Army, they will do the same thing in Sittwe.
Also in Sittwe, the Rohingya population, Buthidaung and Maungdaw, are creating Forcibly Displaced Person when people need to leave the rural area. But now the problem is I received several calls from my constituency in Buthidaung. They said last week they told me that they have only a little food left only for a couple of days. By now, probably they may have died.
Because for the last three days, I didn’t receive any. Any call. Probably my own sister, probably my own relative, probably my own niece and sister in law. They could have died now because they don’t have food. So the Arakan Army says, we have requested the international community. International community didn’t send the Russian. Therefore they died.
But there is no excuse that because of the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, the Myanmar military did not force Rohingya out of the town. They fight with the Arakan Army. The Arakan army is responsible for creating this FDP. So if these people are dying from starvation, the Arakan Army is fully responsible. International community must make the Arakan Army responsible, accountable for that. This is the situation.
But in Rangoon, we have a lot of Rohingya. But we have three kind of, actually four different situations. Buthidaung is now the worst. Maungdaw is almost approaching the situation of Buthidaung. After that, Sittwe will become the same thing. I hope it does not happen. But also I request the international community to prevent those kinds of atrocities.
But in Rangoon, who are originally living there and who have already reached there, are still at a safe place. Because the Myanmar military government is not doing anything against the Rohingya living in Yangon and other areas. But, all of their relatives, their own parents, siblings in those townships Sittwe, Buthidaung, and Maungdaw, they’re suffering. So suffering is the same.
What can ASEAN do?
Thank you very much, U Shwe Maung, for giving us that detailed explanation of what is going on in Rakhine state against the Rohingya and between the Arakan Army and also the Myanmar military junta, as you mentioned. Of course, this kind of violence has created many forcibly displaced persons. And a lot of these forcibly displaced rohingya have also been forced to seek refuge in neighboring countries such as Bangladesh. From there, thousands of rohingya have also, due to the desperate conditions that they face, put themselves in the hands of human smugglers. Sometimes to seek a better life in other countries by getting on boats that are very unsafe in countries like trying to reach countries like Malaysia. But then they get stranded and some have been stranded in Indonesian waters, for example. And this has been happening over the years, as you mentioned, 2012, 2017. And also more recently, there have been a few boats that have become stranded. Again, how do you see the situation? And how do you think that ASEAN and ASEAN member states should respond to this refugee crisis?
I must say it is very crucial now for the ASEAN as well as the international community to prevent mass atrocities and violence and persecution against Rohingya. According to pillar three of the Responsibility to Protect. Because the Myanmar military junta is, although it’s a defective government, still it was a government. So the Myanmar military junta is clearly failing to protect the Rohingya. On top of that, the Rohingya were under the persecution and genocide in 2012 and 2017 at this time by the Arakan Army.
So it is very important for the international community, especially the United Nations Security Council, to implement pillar three. The pillar three clearly mentioned if a state failed to protect its own people, it becomes responsible to the international community.
So instead of doing that, if we keep waiting, that will be the ugly history of our period. So at the same time, ASEAN also should cooperate or initiate sending or creating a peacekeeping postal mission. In collaboration with the United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Security Council, in close cooperation with regional stakeholders, including Bangladesh, to create a safe place or a safe zone for the Rohingya. So that Rohingya people could live peacefully, peacefully side by side with other communities on their homeland forever.
Otherwise, we will not be able to. Nobody will be able to end this thing. So there will be a question. But to implement pillar three of R2P. that the United Nations Security Council must approve it. Suppose if it is approved by the UN Security Council, it is very highly likely that either China or Russia will be too. We know that. So even in that situation we should not give up.
And in that situation, I would like to request the international community, especially NATO led by the United States government in cooperation with ASEAN and regional stakeholders and close cooperation with the prime minister of Bangladesh who initiated and proposed the General assembly for a safe zone for Rohingya.
So the US government, especially NATO, is led by the US government. Because NATO is, I understand it is their primary responsibility for the peace and security of 30 countries in the NATO region. But however, this Rohingya issue has become not only a regional issue, but also a global issue. All donor countries, including the EU, are tired of supporting the Rohingya. They are tired of tackling this issue. So this is not only regional for me, this is also global.
So therefore, my last call to end this crisis is regionally and then globally. If the UN Security Council fails or is unable because of a veto from China or Russia, NATO must take initiative under the leadership of the US government and in the cooperation of ASEAN.
Also, I would like to request ASEAN to cooperate with either UN Security Council resolution or the United States government initiative. This is, in my opinion, the only solution. Otherwise Rohingya will face a full fledged genocide. Like Rwanda, like Cambodia. We should not wait for such a situation to happen.
We need to prevent this potential, very highly likely genocide of the Rohingya. So at the same time, I’m not talking about the Rohingya. When the international community will intervene for the Rohingya, at the same time they can implement or as a peacekeeping mission for the 50 million people of Myanmar. Out of 50 million people, their highest risk is now for the Rohingya, because others have only one enemy. Only Myanmar military junta. Myanmar military junta as well as the Arakan Army. So this is why this is the only option or only endeavor I could see to end the Rohingya crisis.
The Role of MPs and Regional Solidarity
Thank you very much, U Shwe Maung. Maybe just for the last question for this podcast. As you know, since the coup in 2021, many Myanmar members of parliament are now in exile. What do you think that Myanmar MP’s in exile can do? To what role can they play to help bring about a resolution to both the Rohingya situation as well as the Myanmar conflict as a whole? And what do you think other MP’s from other Southeast Asian countries can do in solidarity with the Myanmar people?
That is a very good question. Actually, we APHR, are also an association of members of parliament. It’s also a kind of solidarity, although I understand it’s incomplete or not perfect. So we need a perfect one. So it would create a perfect task force incorporating the main major, the parliamentarian from all ASEAN countries, let’s say United Parliamentarian for Ending Human Rights Persecution Task force.
So if we could do that, if APHR could initiate that, it would be good. But I understand it is very challenging. This is one part of the solidarity, because relatively speaking, in every country, members of parliament’s voices are relatively stronger than any other individual or human rights organization. Most of the governments listen to, not only respected members of parliament, but also regional parliamentarians.
So this is why the task force was made by the regional lawmakers from ASEAN member states. So that will help a lot to promote peace and stability and to end violence and persecution in the region. So regarding Myanmar MPs who are in exile, I also, I have great sympathy for that. Because I was an exile MP, I was even worse than their situation. I was forced, by violation of law in 2015, then I have been staying in the US. But after that, our fellow member of parliament became our MP’s in exile. But they are doing a very good job to create a future Federal Democratic Union in cooperation with the National Unity Consultative Council and National Unity Government. They play a great role.
And also at the same time so they have some kind of thing. I have been also advocating for the CRPH and I’m in exile. So in cooperation with NUCC and NUG to create a legislation to recognize the Rohingya ethnic as an official ethnic of Myanmar.
Because we are although indigenous people, 1982 Citizenship Law and a lot of military instruction led to some kinds of acts. You see they have something that makes them Rohingyas like aliens. So although we are indigenous people since there was a lot of criticism and attack, it is very important to make legislation. It’s a small resolution. Only one sentence says “We recognize the Rohingya as a legitimate and indigenous people of Myanmar.” That’s it. Period.
But although I have been calling for more than three years, it still hasn’t happened yet. But the NUG minister as well as the MP in exile gave me a lot of positive thoughts. It could happen in the future when they are in power. But I said, without reaching power it is better to do it now. Because in the future all stakeholders can not deny it.
But recently I learned that I even heard with my own ears during this public assembly hosted by NUCC, some Rakhine community. There are NGO who are supporters of the Arakan Army and United Liberal Arakan. Even they disagree with the amendment of the 1982 Citizenship Law, point to be noted. ULA has been telling their opposing military junta, how come they like the 1982 Citizenship Law.
Whenever the media asked the question about citizenship they said according to law. They are opposing the whole Myanmar military junta which law they are referring to. It’s a joke. They are referring to 1982 Law indirectly. But during the people’s assembly conducted by NUCC, I heard they were like the Arakan National Congress or something. When I checked their profile in the website at Wikipedia, they are a strong supporter of, It’s like a branch of the Arakan Army.
Also the Arakan Army being an Ethnic Revolutionary Organization. They are member of NUCC. So I learned from several sources that in the NUCC because of objections by ULA, NUCC and/ NUG or CRPH is unable to make legislation for the Rohingya.
Even now. Even during the recent interview with the Arakan Army Chief and also at a press conference made by the Arakan Army. When we analyzed that even they are like super powers in Myanmar. This is their strongest ERO among the ERP. Even they don’t care. It looks like they don’t care. They will not care if NUG asks them to or accept Rohingya to make a dialog with Rohingya, etcetera.
So although we appreciate and we feel their Myanmar MP’s exile are like colleagues, also Rohingya are in line with 50 million people. We stand with NUG and 50 million people for a future Federal Democratic Myanmar. But according to my 30 years experience in the region and then my political career, I am quite confident that the ULA and the Arakan Army will not allow that to happen. Because the home of the Rohingya is inside the Arakan, not in the other part of Myanmar. In Yangon it’s like a handful among the people in other areas.
So therefore, although there will be a further democratization union. But in a situation where NUG will be able to govern physically, even at that time, the Rohingya issue will be a big challenge. So therefore, we should not only wait for the restoration of human rights by the fall of the Myanmar military only for the rise of the energy government. But because now the Arakan Army is a very bully to the Rohingya. The more powerful they become, the more they become sort of, you see more and more now they’re bullied. So in that situation the only solution will be a safe zone and the implementation of pillar three of R2P.
Thank you very much, U Shwe Maung. And thank you very much again for taking the time to speak with us for this podcast today..."
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
Date of entry/update:
2024-06-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
Rohingya youth in refugee camps in Bangladesh face intimidation and forced recruitment by gangs, coercing them to join the very army that uprooted them.
Description:
"After the midday prayers on a hot Wednesday, Hussain* was summoned by an armed group to a “community meeting” in his block within the world’s largest refugee settlement.
“They want us to go and fight in Myanmar,” Hussain said. “They are gathering all the young men in the Rohingya community and forcing them to join the Myanmar military against the Arakan Army.”
“We don’t want to go, but they are threatening us daily. It is more terrifying than ever to be in camp right now.”
Since May 15, armed Rohingya nationalist groups have been holding community meetings throughout the 33-camp refugee settlement in Bangladesh, intensifying efforts to recruit young Rohingya males for military service in Myanmar, targeting boys as young as 14.
“The situation deteriorates by the day,” said Mahmudul*, a Rohingya humanitarian worker living in Kutupalong Camp.
“The gang conducts arrests around the clock, targeting anyone, particularly volunteer workers from our community, such as teachers and humanitarian aid workers. They have been organizing meetings in every camp for this purpose.”
Since 2021, following the military’s seizure of power through a coup, Myanmar has been embroiled in a brutal civil war, resulting in the loss of thousands of civilian lives. As 2023 saw a steady increase in fighting between the military junta and ethnic armed groups and resistance forces, the Myanmar junta has sought recruits from the Rohingya population it has persecuted and denied citizenship to for decades.
“Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, already facing immense hardship, are now targeted for forced recruitment by the military through their proxies,” said Htway Lwin, a Rohingya human rights activist and community leader based in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
Several young men have fled the camp to evade recruitment, while others have relocated to the shelters of family and friends located in the Registered Refugee Camp settlement, which is purportedly facing fewer gang-related activities.
“Women and men stay awake at night, remaining alert as they fear their sons will be taken and forced to fight in Myanmar,” said Mohammed Younus* of Camp 4.
The Diplomat documented four cases of forced recruitment and interviewed 19 Rohingya residents of Kutupalong Camp in Bangladesh. Family members of those recruited reported that their loved ones were taken from the camp and transported to Rakhine State. Similar accounts of forced recruitment have been documented by AFP.
One brother of a recruited young male shared that he has been in contact with his brother, who says he has started military training in Rakhine State to fight against the Arakan Army.
“There are many people whose family members were taken forcibly and still there is no news of them. Their parents have been looking for them everywhere but there is no news,” said Kyaw Myint Aung* of Camp 4.
“Some say that they are now in Myanmar and undergoing military training. Others say they are in the Bandarban district of Bangladesh, near the border with Myanmar.”
Over 500 Rohingya refugees have reportedly been pressured by armed groups to join the ongoing war in Myanmar since May, according to Radio Free Asia, a regional news service.
Those who refuse recruitment and assistance to the junta in Rakhine State face beatings and, in some instances, fatal consequences. Other sources share accounts of family members who refused recruitment attempts being detained and then forcefully taken to Myanmar to fight.
Forced recruitment has profoundly affected the lives of Rohingya in Kutupalong Camp, exacerbating their already dire circumstances.
Many Rohingya working with humanitarian organizations cannot go to work due to the high risk, shared Samina Islam*, a humanitarian worker living in the Rohingya Registered Refugee Camp. Samina said the armed groups have also been setting fires in some camps to intimidate the community.
“People are now afraid to leave home,” says Samina Islam, “We can’t sleep well and there are often gunshots heard after dark… The gangs take people mostly at night, but sometimes during the daytime too, so we can never feel safe.”
The armed groups are pitching recruitment to fight the Arakan Army using promises of citizenship and coercion through threats of abduction, beatings, and repercussions on one’s family.
In Rakhine State, where coerced recruitment of Rohingya men has been ongoing since February, the junta government has failed to provide citizenship cards to any Rohingya military recruits, despite their earlier promises to do so.
The factions driving recruitment in the camp say that the Rohingya must forge alliances with the Myanmar army, an old enemy, to confront the new threat of the Arakan Army.
Nearly 1 million people live in the Cox’s Bazar camps, according to the United Nations. Recent accounts from the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Cox’s Bazar echo reports of coerced recruitment akin to those witnessed this year in Rakhine State, perpetrated by Rohingya nationalist groups.
Over 1,000 Rohingya men in Rakhine State, Myanmar have been abducted and forcibly recruited by the Myanmar military to fight on its behalf against the Arakan Army (AA), an insurgent force. Rohingya men and their family members have faced beatings and arrest after refusing to comply with conscription and undertake military training to support the junta’s conflict in Rakhine State. To evade recruitment efforts, over 100,000 young men have fled their homes.
The junta is applying a conscription law to recruit Rohingya young men to assist with their internal conflicts with other ethnic groups. However the law only applies to citizens of Myanmar, and is therefore violating international human rights law when applied to the Rohingya population – as the Rohingya have been denied citizenship in the country since the 1982 Citizenship Law was enacted.
“Myanmar’s military, which has committed atrocities against the Rohingya for decades while denying them citizenship, is now forcing them to fight on its behalf,” said Shayna Bauchner of Human Rights Watch.
Noor Kolima, a human rights defender residing in Kutupalong Camp, said the forced recruitment of youth for the Myanmar military is impacting all Rohingya residing in the camps in Bangladesh. Noor reports that the deteriorating situation is leaving Rohingya youth feeling increasingly unsafe.
Rohingya refugees interviewed for this story and reports from other news outlets accuse three armed groups – the Rohingya Salvation Organization (RSO), the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) – of coordinating recruitment efforts through widespread intimidation, threats of violence, and abduction.
Gangs lack broad support among Rohingya in the camps, leading to escalating conflict between residents and gang members.
Mahmudul said that in many instances, residents of entire blocks, including women and children, have confronted armed RSO members in an effort to protect the young men in their families.
Fires involving shelters and offices within Kutupalong Camp have been reported and verified. Many in Kutupalong allege that the fire outbreaks are a deliberate response to the unrest within camp, as the situation is pitting the armed groups against the wider Rohingya community, resulting in retribution and retaliation efforts.
Suspicions and allegations that Bangladesh’s Armed Police Battalion is complicit in gang recruitment activities were widespread among interviewed Rohingya refugees. Rumors allege the Bangladeshi police are turning a blind eye to the violent and intimidating activities of the groups, failing to arrest the perpetrators, and even facilitating movement of Rohingya youth to the Myanmar border.
Gang violence between the RSO, ARA, and ARSA is also increasing, adding to insecurity. The groups are in conflict, battling for control over different camps within the settlement.
On June 10, a violent conflict erupted in Camp 4, resulting in the death of three RSO members at the hands of ARSA members.
The constant threat of abduction or violence has created a climate of fear and insecurity within the camps. The highly stressful environment is taking a significant toll on the community’s daily life, and physical and mental wellbeing.
Families are often compelled to act as unofficial security in their own blocks, staying vigilant to protect their loved ones. Guards have been hired in some blocks to maintain watch for threats to young men and adolescent boys in the camp.
MHM Kolim Ullah* from Camp 14 expressed, “The feeling of extreme stress and tension within the camp now makes it impossible for us to feel safe or envision a future.”
“I am always in danger,” said Kyaw Myint Aung, “There is no safety, no security… Now the refugee camp is like hell for innocent refugees.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2024-06-21
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"Introduction:
The plight of the Rohingya people represents one of the most urgent humanitarian crises of our time. Decades of persecution and systemic discrimination have rendered them stateless and vulnerable, with successive governments in Myanmar perpetuating egregious human rights violations. In the wake of the 2021 coup, their suffering has only intensified, necessitating immediate and concerted international intervention.
Despite broad humanitarian assistance and widespread condemnation of the actions against them, the Rohingya continue to endure unimaginable hardships, exacerbated by regional neglect and a lack of organized representation on the global stage.
The Global Rohingya Initiative, spearheaded by the New Lines Institute, represents a landmark initiative designed to ensure the voices of the Rohingya community are heard in all discussions with international entities, are leading efforts to build enduring frameworks, and are at the center of any path forward. Our comprehensive approach encompasses a range of activities, from advocacy and capacity-building to policy development and international engagement, with a steadfast commitment to centering Rohingya perspectives and experiences with an aim to equip Rohingya leaders to develop a new global Rohingya representative body with offices in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
The Global Rohingya Initiative stands as a beacon of hope and solidarity in the face of adversity. It is imperative that we heed the Rohingya call for justice and solidarity, recognizing the pressing need to empower them with a unified voice and agency in shaping their own future..."
Source/publisher:
New Lines Institute
Date of entry/update:
2024-06-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"In August 2017, the world witnessed a massive influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh, fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar. As of now, Bangladesh hosts more than 1.3 million Rohingyas, predominantly in Cox’s Bazar district, which has become the largest refugee settlement in the world. While the Bangladesh government and international aid organizations have made commendable efforts to provide for these displaced people, the situation has reached a breaking point, especially due to the political instability in Myanmar.
Recently, another 45,000 Rohingyas fled to an area on the Naf River near the border with Bangladesh due to the escalating violence in conflict-torn Myanmar’s Rakhine State. UN rights chief Volker Turk and UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Thomas Andrews has already urged to open the border again and take these Rohingyas. But Bangladesh cannot and should not bear the burden of taking in more Rohingya refugees. This stance is not rooted in a lack of empathy but rather in the harsh realities confronting the nation and its capacity to sustain such a large population.
Firstly, the economic strain on Bangladesh is considerable. Cox’s Bazar, one of the poorest districts in Bangladesh, has seen its resources stretched to their limits. The sudden influx of refugees has dramatically increased the demand for basic services such as healthcare, education, and sanitation. According to the World Bank, the annual cost of hosting the Rohingyas is around $1.21 billion. This figure is staggering for a developing nation like Bangladesh, which has its own challenges in eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development. The resources allocated to the refugees could have been utilized to improve the living standards of Bangladeshi citizens. The prolonged economic burden is unsustainable and unfair to the local population, who have shown remarkable hospitality despite their own hardships.
The environmental impact is another pressing concern. The Rohingya camps have caused significant deforestation in the region, as trees are cut down to make space for shelters and to provide firewood for cooking. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has reported that around 8,000 acres of forest land have been razed in Cox’s Bazar since the arrival of the Rohingyas. This deforestation has led to soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and increased vulnerability to natural disasters such as landslides and floods. Environmental degradation is a local issue and contributes to broader ecological challenges that affect the entire nation.
Social tensions have also escalated as a result of the refugee crisis. The massive presence of Rohingyas has disrupted the local economy and labor market, leading to increased competition for jobs and resources. This has bred resentment among local Bangladeshis, who feel that their needs and opportunities are being overshadowed by the international focus on the refugee crisis. Additionally, there have been reported increases in crime rates and social unrest in the areas surrounding the refugee camps. The rise in criminal activities, including drug trafficking and human trafficking, has further strained the already limited law enforcement capabilities.
The education of Rohingya children poses another complex challenge. With limited access to formal education and a lack of proper educational infrastructure, a whole generation of Rohingya children risks growing up without basic literacy and numeracy skills. This educational deficit not only affects their future prospects but also hinders the overall development of the refugee community. The international community has provided some support, but the efforts have been insufficient to meet the overwhelming demand. Meanwhile, the local Bangladeshi children in Cox’s Bazar face disruptions in their own education as resources and attention are diverted to address the needs of the refugees.
Health concerns are equally dire. The overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in the refugee camps have led to outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, and measles. The healthcare facilities, already inadequate to serve the local population, are now overwhelmed. The health crisis extends beyond the camps, as infectious diseases do not recognize borders and can easily spread to the surrounding communities. The strain on the healthcare system indicates that Bangladesh’s capacity to manage such a large influx of refugees is being tested to its limits.
Furthermore, the international response has been far from adequate. While numerous countries and organizations have pledged financial support and aid, the actual disbursement of funds has continuously fallen short of the commitments. For example, in the 2024 joint response plan (JRP), only 72.9% was funded halfway through this year. The fund shortage in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 JRP is 26.9%, 30.6%, and 34.8%, respectively. At the same time, the international community’s response has been more reactive than proactive, failing to address the root causes of the crisis or provide a long-term solution. Bangladesh has been left to shoulder the burden with insufficient global support, highlighting a stark disparity between promises and actions.
It is crucial to acknowledge that the Rohingya crisis is fundamentally a political issue that requires a political solution. The root of the problem lies in Myanmar, where the Rohingyas have been systematically marginalized and persecuted. The international community must exert pressure on Myanmar to ensure the safe and dignified return of the Rohingyas to their homeland. Diplomatic efforts, economic sanctions, and international legal actions should be pursued vigorously to compel Myanmar to address human rights violations and create conditions conducive to the voluntary repatriation of the Rohingyas.
While the humanitarian impulse to aid the Rohingyas is commendable, it must be balanced with the pragmatic limitations faced by Bangladesh. The country has done more than its fair share in providing refuge and support to the Rohingyas, often at great cost to its own citizens and environment. It is time for the international community to step up and share the responsibility. Bangladesh cannot continue to bear this burden alone. The focus must shift to sustainable solutions that address the root causes of the crisis and ensure a fair distribution of responsibilities among nations. Only through such concerted efforts can we hope to resolve the Rohingya crisis in a manner that is just and sustainable for all parties involved..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2024-06-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"GENEVA (23 May 2024) – Thousands of innocent lives will be lost if the international community fails to respond to ominous signs of another Rohingya bloodbath in Rakhine State, a UN expert said today.
“Once again, the world seems to be failing a desperate people in their hour of peril while a hate-driven unnatural disaster unfolds in real time in Myanmar’s Rakhine State,” said Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar.
“While the military-imposed internet shutdown makes it challenging to get information from Northern Rakhine, alarming and credible reports of killings, enforced disappearances, and widespread arson are emerging,” Andrews said.
Satellite imagery reveals the burning of large parts of the Buthidaung town, with reports that tens of thousands of Rohingya are being displaced.
“Information that has already emerged from northern Rakhine State more than warrants an immediate emergency response by the international community,” the Special Rapporteur said.
“With multiple armed groups actors operating in Rakhine, including the Myanmar military, the Arakan Army, and Rohingya groups, including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, I call on all to adhere to international humanitarian law and take all steps to protect innocent civilian lives, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Mechanisms to provide emergency humanitarian aid must be immediately established and all parties must support the robust infusion of aid into Rakhine,” the expert said.
“While an investigation must ultimately uncover the truth and justice must be pursued to hold those responsible fully accountable, the military’s role is clear in fostering toxic conditions in Rakhine State, from propaganda fueling ethnic tensions to the forced recruitment of young Rohingya men into the junta’s military.”
Andrews recalled that by opening its border in 2017, Bangladesh saved the lives of untold numbers of Rohingya who fled in the face of genocidal attacks.
“Once again, Bangladesh’s generosity may be their only hope as large groups of Rohingya are forcibly displaced and move towards the border. I urgently appeal to the Government of Bangladesh to reverse its closed border policy and demonstrate their humanitarian support for the Rohingya once again,” he said.
The Special Rapporteur warned however that Bangladesh does not have the capacity to meet the demands of this crisis without the emergency intervention and support of the international community. Rations cuts, inadequate infrastructure, spiraling violence, and reported forced recruitment by Rohingya militant groups have threatened the lives and wellbeing of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. He urged all States to provide an emergency infusion of funds to help rescue and support desperate families fleeing conflict and address the current conditions in the camps.
“The choice of these States to either step up or step away from this horror could literally be a matter of life and death for countless Rohingya,” Andrews said.
Mr. Thomas Andrews (United States of America) is the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. A former member of the US Congress from Maine, Andrews is a Robina Senior Human Rights Fellow at Yale Law School and an Associate of Harvard University’s Asia Center. He has worked with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and parliamentarians, NGOs and political parties in Cambodia, Indonesia, Algeria, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine and Yemen. He has been a consultant for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and the Euro-Burma Network and has run advocacy NGOs including Win Without War and United to End Genocide.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Comprising the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, Special Procedures is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity..."
Source/publisher:
UN Human Rights Council (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2024-05-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
UN Human Rights pages on Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Sub-title:
Ensure that the Rohingya can return to their ancestral homeland with full rights
Description:
"For close to seven years, ever since the mass exodus from Rakhine State in 2017, Bangladesh has shouldered the immense responsibility of sheltering over one million Rohingya refugees who fled persecution and genocide in Myanmar. Despite the challenges, Bangladesh has gone above and beyond in providing humanitarian assistance and refuge to this persecuted community, setting an exemplary standard for global humanitarian response. There is no room for debate on this.
However, this temporary solution cannot be a permanent one, and it is a shame that we continue to see inaction as the status quo. To that end, we wholeheartedly agree with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud who emphasized the need to begin repatriation, noting that Myanmar's internal conflicts -- a most perpetual issue -- cannot be an excuse for delaying the Rohingya repatriation.
The Rohingya crisis has long demanded a sustainable resolution that addresses the root causes -- the systematic discrimination and violence perpetrated by the Myanmar authorities against the Rohingya people. The international community must no longer turn a blind eye. It must hold Myanmar accountable for its actions in Rakhine State and ensure that the Rohingya can return to their ancestral homeland with full rights, dignity, and security.
While diplomatic efforts have achieved little success so far, Bangladesh must persist in its engagements across all stakeholders. A viable solution can only be achieved through a collective effort that ensures accountability for the atrocities committed and guarantees the Rohingya's fundamental rights and citizenship in Myanmar.
Bangladesh's humanitarian leadership in the Rohingya crisis has been beyond incredible, but the burden should have never fallen solely on one nation. It is about time the rest of the world share the responsibility of finding a just and lasting solution to this protracted crisis..."
Source/publisher:
Dhaka Tribune
Date of entry/update:
2024-05-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, International Bill of Human Rights, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma
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"Geneva / Dhaka, 9 May – The Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope has concluded a four-day visit to Bangladesh marking strategic engagements and significant initiatives aimed at addressing the pressing humanitarian needs of Rohingya refugees and advancing global migration discourse. Notably, she also launched IOM’s flagship World Migration Report 2024, the first time away from Geneva.
During the visit, DG Pope met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, underscoring Bangladesh's commitment to address the Rohingya crisis and broader migration challenges.
Accompanied by representatives from major donor countries and the private sector, DG Pope witnessed firsthand the pressing humanitarian needs for the Rohingya response and raised awareness for the need to urgently raise more funding for the refugees.
"I am deeply grateful to our generous donors for their support and commitment to addressing the urgent humanitarian needs of Rohingya refugees and vulnerable populations in Bangladesh. Their substantial contributions will not only make a tangible difference in the lives of those in need, but they also demonstrate our collective responsibility to uphold the principles of solidarity and compassion on a global scale,” said DG Pope. “Together, we are not only assisting Bangladesh but setting a powerful example for collaborative action in tackling migration challenges worldwide.”
During the visit, donors pledged their support to IOM’s emergency and development projects in the country. This will significantly aid in addressing the pressing challenges faced by Rohingya refugees and other vulnerable communities in Bangladesh.
In March, IOM appealed for USD 119 million to support nearly a million Rohingya refugees in what has been called the world's largest refugee settlement in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, and the vulnerable community generously hosting them.
In a momentous step towards preserving Rohingya cultural heritage, DG Pope inaugurated the World Tour of the Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre (RCMC). This exhibition will showcase, in several global locations, the rich cultural heritage of the Rohingya community and raise awareness about their plight.
Additionally, DG Pope participated in a high-level dialogue on the Future of Migration and Bangladesh, engaging in fruitful discussions with key stakeholders on shaping policies and strategies to address migration challenges in the country and region.
Furthermore, the Director General alongside Masud Bin Momen, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, and Gwyn Lewis the UN Resident Coordinator inaugurated the new UN Common Premises in Bangladesh, marking a pivotal moment in advancing the United Nations Secretary-General's Reform Agenda.
This building symbolizes a significant stride towards enhancing the efficiency, coordination, and effectiveness of UN operations in Bangladesh. This would strengthen the UN’s capacity to address pressing issues, uphold human rights, promote sustainable development, and advance peace and security in Bangladesh and beyond.
Through collaboration with donors and partners, IOM remains committed to providing vital support to vulnerable populations and promoting sustainable solutions to migration issues worldwide..."
Source/publisher:
International Organization for Migration ( Switzerland)
Date of entry/update:
2024-05-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, IOM Burma/Myanmar, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Sub-title:
Exploring the historical nexus between Cox’s Bazar and the Rohingya
Description:
"While classical literature extensively documents the historical trajectory of Cox's Bazar, contemporary discourse often overlooks its intrinsic association with the Rohingya refugees. It is pertinent to acknowledge that the annals of Cox's Bazar are inherently intertwined with the Rohingya narrative.
The incursion of Burmese forces into Arakan in 1784 precipitated a mass exodus of Rohingya and Rakhine ethnic communities towards the Ramu region (present day Cox’s Bazar), marking the inaugural instance of refugee influx into Cox's Bazar. Subsequently, in response to this humanitarian crisis, the British colonial administration dispatched Captain Hiram Cox to facilitate the settlement of displaced Rohingya and Rakhine ethnic people, in 1798.
The eponymous nomenclature "Cox's Bazar" thus derives from Captain Hiram Cox, symbolizing the historical intervention undertaken to address the exigencies of displaced refugees.
Prior to the year 1784, the geographical region presently identified as Cox's Bazar Sadar -- inclusive of its municipal boundaries -- alongside the Ukhiya and Teknaf sub-districts wherein contemporary refugee settlements are positioned, exhibited a notable absence of substantive human habitation. This area was characterized by sparse population density, with only a limited number of individuals inhabiting the territory corresponding to the current Ramu and Chakaria sub-district.
It is to be noted that the territorial expanse comprising the entirety of the Chittagong Division, encompassing Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Bandarban, Khagrachhari, Feni, Lakshmipur, Comilla, Noakhali, Brahmanbaria, and Chandpur districts, along with the present-day Rakhine State, was historically under the jurisdiction of Arakan -- an autonomous domain distinct from Myanmar and Bengal.
The settlement and agricultural development of the entire Cox's Bazar district and the present-day Rakhine State of Myanmar were undertaken by the antecedents of the Rohingya populace. The vast tracts of land in these regions were previously uncultivated and sparsely inhabited. Following the Anglo-Burmese war in 1824 and with the implementation of British legislation such as the Waste Land Rules of 1839, 1941, 1863, and 1865, a substantial influx of individuals migrated to these areas with the intention of establishing residence and cultivation.
This phenomenon bears resemblance to the governmental policies of both Pakistan and Bangladesh, wherein efforts were made to settle Bengali populations in the hill tracts of Bangladesh.
It is imperative to acknowledge that the initial arrival of Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar was contemporaneous with the displacement of Rakhine ethnic groups, who were compelled to flee persecution stemming from the Burmese invasion. The vestiges of this historical displacement are discernible in the Burmese market locale within Cox's Bazar city, serving as a poignant testament to the shared heritage and collective tribulations endured by diverse communities in the region.
Prior to the year 1784, the geographical region presently identified as Cox's Bazar Sadar exhibited a notable absence of substantive human habitation
Rohingya ethnogenesis
The Rohingya populace residing in the Arakan region is discerned as a distinctive nation or ethnicity, emanating from the amalgamation of disparate cultures, races, and societal vicissitudes over an extensive historical continuum spanning millennia. The Rohingya ethnic identity is the product of a heterogeneous confluence of migratory movements and cultural amalgamations.
This amalgamation encompasses the historical influx of Arab traders and religious emissaries during the 7th to 9th centuries, Bengali migrants in the 15th century, Indian settlers during the 17th and 19th centuries, in addition to subsequent waves of Bengali, Chittagonian, and individuals from Portuguese, Moorish, Persian, Mughal, and Pathan backgrounds at various junctures in history. The Rohingya are recognized as indigenous owing to their possession of distinctive cultural mores, traditions, and values, which underpin their self-identification as a discrete socio-cultural entity. Despite their minority status within the national context, they persist as a coherent ethnic group within their domicile.
The Rohingya population is deemed indigenous based on their preservation of distinctive cultural traditions, customs, and values, which distinguishes them as a separate entity within their nation, thereby meeting the criteria for indigenous status within contemporary anthropological discourse.
People of Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar
It is of scholarly interest to highlight those elderly inhabitants, specially who are aged 70 years and older, within the regions of Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong, exhibit a tendency to eschew the usage of the term "Rohingya" when referring to Rohingya refugees, preferring instead to employ the appellation "Burmaiya," signifying individuals originating from Burma/Myanmar.
One of the inclinations of this is that the senior citizens of Cox’s Bazar deemed themselves as Rohingya, ie the Rohingya citizen of Bangladesh and the refugees as the Rohingya citizen of Myanmar. It implies that the ethnicity is the same while their citizenships are different. One might argue, but there are some differences when it comes to language and culture. As we all know, language and culture evolve over a period of time. We don’t speak the same as we spoke, eg 20 years ago. Many of the terminologies have been incorporated in our culture due to cultural intermingling.
As someone rooted in rural life of Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong and exposed to various societal strata through familial and professional connections, I've observed striking parallels between the linguistic and cultural norms of marginalized communities in our villages and those of the Rohingya populace. While we've had opportunities for linguistic and cultural development, the Rohingya have faced constraints in this regard.
The linguistic discourse prevalent among marginalized communities and rural agrarians in our villages three decades prior bears remarkable resemblance to the contemporary linguistic vernacular of the Rohingya populace
The linguistic discourse prevalent among marginalized communities and rural agrarians in our villages three decades prior bears remarkable resemblance to the contemporary linguistic vernacular of the Rohingya populace, while the cultural paradigms embraced by the Rohingya community conspicuously parallel to those espoused within our societal milieu of three decades past.
While we've had the opportunity to develop our language and culture over time, through education, exposure to media like Bollywood and Hollywood, and the incorporation of new words and cultures, the Rohingya have not had the same chances. That's the fundamental difference I've noticed.
Historically, all countries in the world have borders with the same ethnic groups living on both sides of the border and Rohingya is no exception. Only difference is some Rohingya are Burmese by nationality, and some are Bangladeshi. The indigenous population of the Naga community residing within the territorial confines of India is recognized as Kachin within the borders of Myanmar, whereas the Indian Mijo ethnic group is designated as Chin within the corresponding geographical domain of Myanmar. Similarly, the autochthonous Shaan populace of Myanmar is denominated as Thai within the boundaries of Thailand.
Those individuals acknowledged as Rakhine within the Rakhine State are identified by the appellations Mogh within the regions of Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong, and alternatively referred to as Marma within the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Although the Durand Line delineates the demarcation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, it fails to segregate the Pashtun ethnicity across both nations, thereby preserving their ethnic identity notwithstanding the divergence in citizenship status. While national borders may be imposed to define the territorial sovereignty of individual states, the intrinsic ethnicity, along with its consequent ethnic affiliations and interrelations, persist beyond such delineations..."
Source/publisher:
Dhaka Tribune
Date of entry/update:
2024-04-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"The intensification of conflict in Myanmar since October 2023 has led to a lack of humanitarian access to areas where people need urgent assistance, as well as a decimation of the health care system and increasing fears of military conscription or forced recruitment by other armed groups.
The normalization of the prohibition of humanitarian access is alarming. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in Myanmar have witnessed a near-total absence of humanitarian assistance for communities who rely on it, including the Rohingya people, a persecuted minority trapped by movement restrictions and lack of legal status, which is particularly affected by the conflict.
Since November 2023, all organizations delivering health care in Rakhine state have been denied authorization to operate, while movement across the entire country is heavily restricted and unsafe. In northern Rakhine state, two township hospitals have been forced to close, and there is now virtually no secondary health care available for vulnerable communities.
MSF has been forced to suspend or reduce regular activities, including running 25 mobile clinics in Rakhine state where staff typically provide 1,500 patient consultations per week. During March 2024, MSF provided only 81 consultations. This severe disruption to the emergency referral process has caused numerous fatalities, particularly among pregnant mothers and babies.
Nimrat Kaur began working as a project coordinator for MSF in Maungdaw, Myanmar in mid-April 2023, just before Cyclone Mocha hit last year. She has seen firsthand the challenges faced by people living there. Upon leaving Myanmar, Nimrat shared her experience and that of her colleagues, reflecting on the events she witnessed and the impact the project has had on people’s lives.
What did you witness in northern Rakhine state?
Since November 13, 2023, we have seen an escalation of conflict in Rakhine state and the townships of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung have been cut off from the rest of the state. People were locked out and blocked in. Communities were not able to move across the state, and supplies could not [pass]. I don’t just mean health care supplies, but basic life-supporting supplies like food, fuel, and water. These kinds of things have been restricted, which led to whatever supplies were available becoming inflated in price. There were some fearful days, and we had to move the team to the safe room almost three or four times one day.
"I am fortunate I had the opportunity to leave the violence, but there are many who don’t have the opportunity to even move. I really feel for that. That thought really consumes me."
How has MSF been supporting communities in this area?
Usually, in northern Rakhine, we provide [care through] mobile clinics. This is where a mobile team of doctors, nurses, and other staff go to rural areas far off from the main town. Since the conflict started, we haven’t been able to run these clinics. This is because of the increased insecurity and because we did not receive authorization. People in the areas we usually visit already have very limited access to health care. We’re extremely concerned about the impact of having no access to essential health care for people who usually rely on our mobile clinics for medical services.
How has the conscription law affected people in northern Rakhine?
Three months into the latest eruption of conflict, the conscription law was announced in the country. The law states citizens are expected to serve in the armed forces for anything from two to five years. I’ve seen how this has affected everyone. Rakhine communities have been trying to leave the state and go to Sittwe or Yangon and find refuge somewhere. Unfortunately, my Rohingya colleagues and the wider Rohingya community do not have the paperwork to move outside of their own village, so I really wonder what is going to happen to them and I am really worried about their safety. I could see the change in the staff’s understanding of what is happening in the country—that the conflict is now at another level.
Why is the Rohingya community particularly vulnerable?
In Rakhine state, it’s a mix of ethnicities. There are Rakhine, Rohingya, and Hindis. Arakanese are citizens of Rakhine, but the Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship in 1982.
Generations of Rohingya people have really struggled for what they have now. You cannot understand how challenging and limited life is for them.
In our team, we have Rohingya staff, some of whom have been able to get a citizenship card, but this is an exception and not the case for most. Other Rohingya staff [from the] same team, same age group, and same village, do not even have a national identification card or a basic yellow card, which is needed to move even just within their own village.
For Rohingya staff working in Maungdaw, it takes months to be authorized to travel from Maungdaw to Sittwe, where the other MSF project is based. It is even longer for the authorization to travel to Yangon because of the paperwork required. For Rohingya staff to travel they need to receive a village administration verification, ward administration verification, police administration verification, and then often other authorizations from other authorities. And then of course, on top of this, you must pay fees, and these fees are not the standard fees people with citizenship cards pay.
Many Rohingya staff in Maungdaw have not seen the other township that they’re working for. The whole time they have been in Maungdaw because they are not permitted to travel. This gave me a sense that these circumstances are very different compared to the circumstances in other states we work in.
What are the current health care options for communities in northern Rakhine?
We haven’t been able to run mobile clinics since the conflict started, and already these communities were vulnerable because of the lack of access to safe health care. We tried to provide a few months' worth of medications to our patients who are taking diabetes or hypertension drugs. We have also supported [them] with teleconsultations, which we have tried to maintain for people who need mental health care. But this also unfortunately could not last for more than a few weeks because since January 10, Buthidaung and Maungdaw have not had any electricity, and with no electricity, there hasn’t been any cell coverage.
The latest blow for people has been the closing of Maungdaw and Buthidaung township hospitals. We’re unsure why Maungdaw [closed], but admitted patients had to leave with no alternative option to go to. Buthidaung closed because it ran out of human resources and supplies. These two township hospitals were our only health care stakeholder left with whom we could work and refer emergency patients to. This has a huge impact on communities here. If the township hospitals are closed, where do people go?
With hospitals shut down, people reach out to MSF and other health care organizations on the ground to support them, but we have had limited capacity in terms of resources. We usually stock up for a minimum of four to five months, but those stocks have not lasted very long. We still don’t have any way to bring in our supplies. Staff have not felt safe working in Maungdaw, Buthidaung, or Rathedaung.
"The latest blow for people has been the closing of Maungdaw and Buthidaung township hospitals. This has a huge impact on communities here. If the township hospitals are closed, where do people go?"
Day-to-day activities are becoming more difficult. We need fuel to run an office so we can have internet and be connected to the rest of our team. It has really affected us to not be able to serve the community we are there for.
I am fortunate I’ve had the opportunity to leave the violence, but there are many who don’t have the opportunity to even move. I really feel for that. That thought really consumes me..."
Source/publisher:
Médecins Sans Frontières
Date of entry/update:
2024-04-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"More than three years since a military coup in Myanmar led to a surge in conflict across the country, the United Nations estimates that almost two million people have been internally displaced by the ongoing violence, while thousands more have fled to neighbouring countries.
In Rakhine State – an area in the west of Myanmar that has seen a particular increase in fighting since November 2023 – the humanitarian crisis created by this conflict comes on top of several other pre-existing emergencies, the most significant of which is the continuing fallout from large-scale and violent attacks against the area’s Rohingya ethnic minority in 2017, which drove hundreds of thousands to flee for their lives across the border into Bangladesh.
More than six years later, close to one million Rohingya remain trapped in miserable conditions in the overcrowded camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, while many of the estimated 600,000 Rohingya who remain in Myanmar are confined to dismal fenced camps or rural villages, are prohibited from moving without approval from the authorities, and face ongoing persecution in their daily lives.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been responding to the needs of the region’s Rohingya communities for more than three decades. In Myanmar, we operate two humanitarian medical projects in Rakhine State, where we are one of the only providers of essential health services for many Rohingya, who have been stripped of their citizenship by the ruling authorities. As a direct result of this imposed statelessness, the Rohingya endure discrimination and exclusion across all aspects of their lives, including restrictions on their freedom of movement, education and livelihoods opportunities, as well as access to healthcare. (Elsewhere in Myanmar, we also operate in the conflict-affected areas of Shan and Kachin.)
MSF is also the largest provider of health services in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, where we run hospitals and provide critically needed primary and secondary care, including sexual and reproductive healthcare and mental health services for a population with few other options. In Malaysia, MSF runs clinics for Rohingya patients, many of whom endure appalling conditions and indefinite confinement in immigration detention centres.
As a result, MSF has seen first-hand the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Myanmar, and the continued suffering of the Rohingya, whose statelessness leaves them with nowhere to go —facing indefinite encampment in squalid conditions in Bangladesh, unable to return safely to Myanmar, and unwelcome in other parts of the region. We have also borne witness to the failure of the international community to find a solution to this crisis, and to the increasing global indifference to the plight of the Rohingya, as the world’s attention has been drawn to other emergencies.
Stateless and in need of assistance
That indifference is particularly alarming given the dependence of many Rohingya on humanitarian assistance for survival. In Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees do not have the right to leave their camps and are not legally allowed to work. That leaves them trapped and dependent on international support — support that has been reducing year on year, leaving them stuck in increasingly deplorable living conditions.
Meanwhile, the Rohingya still in Rakhine State also depend on international humanitarian agencies for some of their most fundamental needs. And yet, not only have the authorities in Myanmar often deliberately blocked humanitarian activities in Rakhine State (where renewed violence is also currently making it extremely difficult for our teams to operate), but what response exists remains critically under-funded by humanitarian donors.
A crisis where Canada makes a difference
Canada is an important actor in this context. Since the start of the current Rohingya displacement crisis in 2017, when violence drove so many Rohingya from Myanmar into Bangladesh, Canada has played a leading role in the international response, both as a donor and through its humanitarian diplomacy.
Canada’s willingness to take action, starting with the appointment of a Special Envoy to Myanmar in the first months following the August 2017 attacks, through to the launch in 2018 of Canada’s strategy to respond to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh, was based on recommendations made in Special Envoy Bob Rae’s report that same year. This highlighted the urgency of the crisis to other member states in the international community at a critical time, as did Canada’s efforts to fund and help facilitate the global humanitarian response in Cox’s Bazar. Through its official strategy, Canada committed to “alleviating the humanitarian crisis; encouraging positive political developments in Myanmar; ensuring accountability for the crimes committed; [and] enhancing international cooperation.”
Canada must renew its Rohingya and Myanmar strategy
In March 2024, however, Canada’s strategy (which was renewed for a second phase in 2021) is set to expire, and these objectives remain mostly unmet. In part that is because the context has changed: since the coup of 2021, for example, the situation for people in Myanmar has deteriorated significantly. At the time of writing, communities in many of the areas where MSF is present remain in grave danger while their villages are used as battlegrounds. Meanwhile, the emergence of a number of other international crises have directed the world’s attention away from Myanmar, Bangladesh and the Rohingya.
But that loss of global attention is precisely why Canada’s continued engagement on this emergency is so crucial. It is also why MSF is calling on Canada to renew its strategy for a third phase – because we are already seeing the impact that reduced donor engagement is having on our Rohingya patients and their communities.
In Cox’s Bazar alone, some of our facilities are becoming increasingly overburdened as other humanitarian actors depart for lack of funding. Our teams are also seeing the consequences of reduced water and sanitation services, increased violence in the camps (including sexual violence), and outbreaks of disease amid deteriorating conditions. In Myanmar, Rohingya and other communities in Rakhine are facing increasingly desperate circumstances as assistance continues to dwindle and conflict further reduces humanitarian activities.
A global humanitarian priority
As an independent humanitarian medical organization, MSF will continue to deliver critically needed care ourselves to displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh, Myanmar and beyond, whatever the commitment by international humanitarian donors may be. But we can’t do it alone.
So it is crucial that Canada and other governments continue to make the Rohingya a priority for humanitarian assistance funding. And since financial support alone will not solve this crisis (nor alleviate the conflict in Myanmar), sustained diplomatic engagement is also essential. Such efforts should focus on ensuring a safe and sustainable future for the Rohingya, and an end to their statelessness.
Through the launch of its strategy in 2018, Canada made an important commitment to these objectives, and to the Rohingya people. As the global response to their suffering continues to wane, and amid the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Myanmar – and in the face of a growing number of other international crises consuming global resources and attention – that commitment is needed now more than ever..."
Source/publisher:
Doctors Without Borders
Date of entry/update:
2024-02-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
The military has suffered numerous battlefield setbacks in Rakhine state and elsewhere in recent months.
Description:
"Myanmar’s junta is offering freedom of movement to Rohingya Muslims restricted to camps for the displaced in Rakhine state as part of a bid to entice them into military service amid the nationwide rollout of a conscription law, according to sources in the region.
The enactment of the People’s Military Service Law on Feb. 10 has sent draft-eligible civilians fleeing from Myanmar’s cities, saying they would rather leave the country or join anti-junta forces in remote border areas than fight for the military, which seized power in a 2021 coup d’etat.
Myanmar’s military is desperate for new recruits after suffering devastating losses on the battlefield to the ethnic Arakan Army, or AA, in Rakhine state. Since November, when the AA ended a ceasefire that had been in place since the coup, the military has surrendered Pauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, Myay Pon and Taung Pyo townships in the state, as well as Paletwa township in neighboring Chin state.
But rights campaigners say the junta is drafting Rohingya into military service to stoke ethnic tensions in Rakhine state, while legal experts say the drive is unlawful, given that Myanmar has refused to recognize the Rohingya as one of the country’s ethnic groups and denied them citizenship for decades.
Some 1 million ethnic Rohingya refugees have been living in Bangladesh since 2017, when they were driven out of Myanmar by a military clearance operation. Another 630,000 living within the country are designated stateless by the United Nations, including those who languish in camps for internally displaced persons, or IDPs, and are restricted from moving freely in Rakhine state.
Residents of the Kyauk Ta Lone IDP camp in Rakhine’s Kyaukphyu township told RFA Burmese that junta forces, including the township administration officer and the operations commander of the military’s Light Infantry Battalion 542, took a census of the camp’s Muslims for the purpose of military service on Monday.
Junta personnel compiled a list of more than 160 people deemed eligible for conscription and informed them they would have to take part in a two-week military training program, according to one camp resident who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
“The township administration officer came … and told us that Muslims must also serve in the military, but we refused to follow his order,” the resident said. “Then, the military operations commander arrived here along with his soldiers, and forced us to do so under the military service law. They collected the names of more than 160 people.”
Freedom of movement
Some 1,500 Rohingyas from around 300 families have been living at Kyauk Ta Lone since ethnic violence forced them to flee their homes in Kyaukphyu 12 years ago.
Since taking the census on Monday, junta officers have repeatedly visited the camp, trying to persuade Rohingya residents to serve in the military with an offer of free movement within Kyaukphyu township, said another camp resident.
“They won’t guarantee us citizenship,” he said. “But if we serve in the military, we will be allowed to go freely in Kyaukphyu.”
Other camp residents told RFA they “would rather die” than serve in the military, and suggested the recruitment drive was part of a bid by the military to create a rift between them and ethnic Rakhines – the predominant minority in Rakhine state and the ethnicity of the AA.
No date was given for when the training program would begin, they said. After receiving training, the recruits would be assigned to a security detail along with junta troops guarding routes in and out of Kyaukphyu, and dispatched to the battlefield “if necessary.”
Rohingya IDPs are afraid to serve in the military, but are unable to flee the camp because it is surrounded by junta troops, residents added.
Other recruitment efforts
The military service census at the Kyauk Ta Lone IDP camp came as Rohingyas in the Rakhine capital Sittwe, the Rakhine townships of Buthidaung and Maungdaw, and other parts of Kyaukphyu reported that junta troops have been arresting and collecting data from members of their ethnic group as part of a bid to force them into military training.
On Monday and Tuesday evening, military personnel arrested around 100 Rohingyas of eligible service age from the Buthidaung villages of Nga/Kyin Tauk, Tat Chaung, Pu Zun Chaung and Kyauk Hpyu Taung, said a resident who also declined to be named.
“People doing business in the village were arrested. Village elders were also arrested,” said the resident, who is also a Rohingya. “At least one young person from every house was arrested and taken to the army. The parents of those who were arrested are quite worried now.”
Junta troops said that the AA had established camps near the Rohingya villages and residents would have to undergo military training to defend the area, he added. They said the residents would be equipped with weapons and returned to their villages after the training was complete.
Rohingyas in Sittwe and Maungdaw, where an AA offensive is now underway, also reported junta census efforts and pressure to join military training. They said that larger villages are expected to provide 100 people for training, while smaller ones should send 50 residents.
Law does not apply
A lawyer who is representing Rohingyas in several legal cases told RFA that the People’s Military Service Law “does not apply” to members of the ethnic group because they do not have citizenship status in Myanmar.
He added that the junta's attempt to recruit Rohingyas is part of a bid to drive a wedge between them and the people of Myanmar, many of whom oppose the military regime.
Nay San Lwin, an activist on the Rohingya issue, said that the junta hopes to divert attention from its losses to the AA in Rakhine state by igniting tensions between ethnic Rakhines and Rohingyas.
“If the Rohingyas are forced into their army, there could be a lot of problems between the Rakhines and the Rohingyas,” he said. “That's what they want. Once that happens, they’ll drop all support for the Rohingyas as usual. But the main reason is to use the Rohingyas as human shields.”
Nay San Lwin noted that as successive governments in Myanmar have denied the Rohingya citizenship, there should be no pressure to force them to serve in the military.
The junta has released no information on efforts to recruit Rohingyas in Rakhine state and attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun and Rakhine State Attorney General Hla Thein, who is the junta’s spokesman in the region, went unanswered Thursday.
The AA issued a statement on Wednesday calling on ethnic Rakhines to take refuge from junta oppression – which it said includes unlawful arrests, extortion, forced military recruitment, and extrajudicial killings – in AA-controlled territory, instead of fleeing to other areas of the country.
Conscription eligibility
According to Myanmar’s compulsory military service law, men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 face up to five years in prison if they refuse to serve for two years, while highly skilled professionals aged 18-45 must also serve, but up to five years. More than 13 million of the country’s 54 million people are eligible for service.
Conscription is slated to be implemented at the end of April 2024, with a goal of recruiting up to 60,000 service members each year, in batches of around 5,000 people..."
Source/publisher:
"Radio Free Asia" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2024-02-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"On 7 February, Obaidul Quader, Bangladeshi Minister for Road Transport and Bridges, told the media that Rohingya refugees from Myanmar will no longer be allowed to enter his country. “They have already become a burden for us,” Quader curtly opined. The statement came amid reports of the continuing violence between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military which have resulted in the intrusion of Myanmar security force personnel and civilians, including Rohingya, from Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh. While the minister didn’t elaborate on the official steps to prevent such an inevitable influx, the recent developments have yet again underlined the pitiable plight of the Rohingya, whose lives have swung perilously between despair and demise.
De-humanising existence in Bangladesh
It is easy to blame Bangladesh for being unreceptive to the Rohingya. However, it has been the forced host, according to the UNHCR, to nearly one million refugees, 975,350 Rohingya from 202,836 families.[1] on its territory for the past seven years. Fifty-two percent of this population are children. They live in cramped, bamboo-and-plastic camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh’s border district with Myanmar, as well as in Bhasan Char, a nearby island, where more stable facilities were provided to ease the pressure on Cox’s Bazar.
International aid for the upkeep of the refugees has declined steadily over the years, burdening Bangladesh. In February 2023, the World Food Programme announced a reduction in the value of its food assistance to $10 per person from $12.[2] The amount was further reduced to $8 in June, even as the percentage of refugees who did not have adequate food consumption increased from 79 percent to 90 percent. Donor budgets had been stretched by the pandemic, economic downturn, and competing global crises. This meant that families were either having less nutritious food or the parents were forced to eat less or skip some of their meals so that their children could eat. In December 2023, however, a $87 million grant from the United States allowed the amount to return to $10 per person.[3]
Shortage of food and consequent rampant malnutrition, huge issues in themselves, aren’t the only challenge for the Rohingya. In 2023, the camps in Bangladesh witnessed cyclones and landslides. Multiple fires, some of which have been labelled as “planned acts of sabotage” by investigators,[4] have periodically gutted a large number of shanties. Human trafficking has increased significantly, as have crime and gang violence within the camps, resulting in deaths and serious injuries. The inmates aren’t allowed to work, and children don’t have access to education. The widespread vulnerabilities have been exploited by alternative agendas. These include those who exploit the desperate desire to escape.
Over the years, Rohingya, both those from Myanmar and the camps in Bangladesh, have sought to flee from despair by undertaking perilous journeys on rickety and leaky wooden boats in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, hoping to reach Malaysia and Indonesia. Over time, more women and children are undertaking such journeys. Total numbers have grown dramatically, picking up between November and April, when the seas are calmer. According to the UNHCR, in 2023, nearly 4,500 Rohingya embarked on deadly sea journeys in Southeast Asian waters, of whom some 569 perished or went missing.[5] This number of reported missing or dead persons is the highest since 2014.
Compelling such desperation is the stark reality that the prospect of ever returning to their homes in Myanmar has dwindled. Always bleak, given the hostile attitude of the Myanmar military, who have refused to give the Rohingya citizenship and protect them on their return, the possibility of return is now negligible. The ongoing violence between the AA and the Myanmar military has dashed those hopes even further.
Shattered Malaysian Dreams
As of the end of January 2024, there were 108,310 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia registered with the UNHCR.[6] UNHCR says its statistics “do not map or reflect new arrivals into the country.” The attraction of Malaysia as a land for a better life and opportunities notwithstanding, recent incidents involving the Rohingya point to the opposite.
In Malaysia, most refugees, especially those who enter the country illegally after arriving by sea, are considered undocumented migrants. Malaysia is not a signatory to the United Nations’ Refugee Convention of 1951. It does not have any laws to recognize and provide for those fleeing persecution and conflict. The country has no system to process asylum applications. The refugees have no right to work, receive education or healthcare. They can only register with the local UNHCR office, and get a recognition card that provides them some measure of protection and support, including limited access to healthcare, education, and other services provided by the UN and its partners. However the UNHCR card is only an identity document and has no formal legal value in Malaysia.
The refugees, therefore, live a precarious existence as “illegal migrants,” doing odd low-paid jobs in restaurants, retail, and other service sectors, as well as agriculture and construction, but are always at risk of arrest. The fact that they are mostly semi-literates or illiterates has exacerbated the situation. Without legal protection and proper contracts, they are not entitled to receive Malaysia’s national minimum pay of Ringgit 1,500 (US$329) per month or Ringgit 7.21 ($1.64) an hour. Worse still, in recent times, the country’s immigration department has accelerated a crackdown on undocumented migrants, arresting them and sending them to immigration detention centres, which since 2019 have been beyond the reach of the UNHCR.[7]
Frequent riots have broken out in these poorly managed centres, leading to, on at least two occasions, inmates escaping and subsequently getting rearrested after a manhunt. In early February 2024, 131 Myanmar men, including 115 Rohingya, escaped such a facility in Perak state. One of them was hit by a vehicle on the highway and killed.[8] Earlier, in April 2022, more than 528 Rohingya refugees, including children, fled a temporary detention centre in Penang state, and six were killed trying to cross the highway. Most of the others were rearrested.
Media reports have highlighted the plight of underage Rohingya girls, travelling from Myanmar and Bangladesh, being forced into abusive marriages with Rohingya men already in Malaysia.[9] Traditionally, parents of Rohingya brides are expected to pay grooms a dowry amount, which can be high, depending upon the suitability and demand of the groom. The journeys from Bangladesh and Myanmar to Malaysia often add to the spiral of exploitation. Boats have sunk, killing all on board. On many occasions, traffickers themselves have sexually abused the girls. Living on the fringes of the fringe, such girls, are not part of any statistics on Rohingya who live in Malaysia.
The Indonesian Pushback
Compared to Malaysia, Indonesia has received fewer Rohingya arrivals, although there has been a steady increase in arrivals to the two western islands of the country. Between November and December 2023, an estimated 1,500 Rohingya landed in north Sumatra. Another approximately 1,500 Rohingya have arrived in Aceh, the westernmost province of Indonesia. Around 70 percent of these refugees are women and children. Most of them are housed in temporary shelters, which have become overcrowded with fresh arrivals.
Life of refugees, especially the children, in overcrowded shelters is far from ideal. They do not have the freedom to go out of the cramped shelters. Like Malaysia, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees. Though it has a record of taking in refugees if they arrive, it has become far less receptive to refugee arrivals. While some Indonesians sympathise with fellow Muslim Rohingya, others blame them for consuming scant resources and coming into conflict with the locals.
Consequently, the Rohingya have faced the ire of the residents who don’t want them in their communities and have frequently protested such arrivals. In December 2023, for instance, a mob of Indonesian university students attacked the basement of a local community hall in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, where 137 Rohingya were taking shelter. Videos of the incident showed the students, many wearing jackets with different universities’ insignias, running into the convention centre’s basement, chanting, “Kick them out” and “Reject Rohingya in Aceh.”[10] Elsewhere in Aceh, residents have tried to prevent Rohingya boats from reaching the shore and surrounded the tents of Rohingya on beaches and other temporary locations, demanding that they be relocated.[11] The Indonesian navy, too, in December 2023 forcibly pushed a boat packed with refugees back to international waters after it approached Aceh’s shores.[12]
Those in the temporary shelters have faced an organized online misinformation campaign, which also targets the local UNHCR staff. Anonymous accounts on Instagram, TikTok, and X have spread false information and have also identified UNHCR staff in Aceh, publishing personal information (“doxing”), leading to numerous online threats.
Then-President Joko Widodo blamed the surge in the arrivals of Rohingya on human trafficking and pledged to work with international organisations to offer temporary shelter. He appealed to the international community for help and intensified patrols of its waters due to a sharp rise in Rohingya refugees.
Plan of Action
Although inadequate amounts of humanitarian funds do keep coming to the agencies working with the Rohingya, amidst other ongoing humanitarian catastrophes, this crisis is clearly at risk of sliding off the global, and certainly regional, priority list. While the world, as well as the most prominent regional organization, ASEAN, has been shown to have little leverage with the military junta in Myanmar, there is no other country that can (or will) step forward to deal with the basis for the crisis. Since Myanmar will not, Rohingya options are limited— either to survive in the dehumanizing environment the Bangladeshi refugee camps provide or to attempt high-risk sea journeys that, even when ending with a successful landing either in Indonesia or Malaysia, provide little hope of upliftment.
The UN agencies are desperately working with impacted states and other stakeholders, including refugees, to develop a comprehensive regional response to address these dangerous journeys. However, there are few signs of progress.
This regional and global amnesia to the crisis has to end. The root causes of these dangerous maritime movements must be addressed. The international community must step up to make good on pledges made at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in December 2023, which included “advancing solutions and enhancing self-reliance for Rohingya refugees to provide hope and reduce the compulsion to take dangerous boat journeys.”[13]
Meantime, conditions in Bangladesh need to be drastically improved. And those already in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia must be allowed to live a life of dignity, with the right to movement and employment.
Dr. Bibhu Prasad Routray is the Director of Mantraya. This analysis has been published as part of Mantraya’s ongoing “Fragility, Conflict, and Peace Building” project. All Mantraya publications are peer-reviewed.
END NOTES
[1] UNHCR, “Rohingya Refugee Response/Bangladesh: Joint Government of Bangladesh – UNHCR Population Factsheet”, 31 January 2024.
[2] “U.N. to cut food aid for Rohingya refugees, citing fund shortfall”, Reuters, 17 February 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/un-cut-food-aid-rohingya-refugees-citing-fund-shortfall-2023-02-17/.
[3] World Food Programme, “WFP’s Rohingya Refugee Operation in Bangladesh Receives Major Funding Boost of US$ 87 Million from the United States”,13 December 2023, https://www.wfp.org/news/wfps-rohingya-refugee-operation-bangladesh-receives-major-funding-boost-us-87-million-united
[4] Ruma Paul, “Bangladesh panel says fire at Rohingya camps ‘planned sabotage’”, Reuters, 12 March 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladesh-panel-says-fire-rohingya-camps-planned-sabotage-2023-03-12/.
[5] UNHCR, “Urgent action needed to address dramatic rise in Rohingya deaths at sea”, 23 January 2024, https://www.unhcr.org/us/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-urgent-action-needed-address-dramatic-rise-rohingya-deaths-sea.
[6] UNHCR, “Figures at a glance in Malaysia”, https://www.unhcr.org/my/what-we-do/figures-glance-malaysia.
[7] “Dozens of Rohingya refugees flee Malaysian immigration detention centre”, Al Jazeera, 2 February 2024, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/2/dozens-of-rohingya-refugees-flee-malaysian-immigration-detention-centre.
[8] “More Than 100 Rohingya Flee Malaysian Detention Center”, Voice of America, 2 February, 2024, https://www.voanews.com/a/more-than-100-rohingya-flee-malaysian-detention-center-/7467813.html.
[9] Kristen Gelieneau, “‘I feel trapped’: Scores of underage Rohingya girls forced into abusive marriages in Malaysia”, Associated Press, 13 December 2023, https://apnews.com/article/rohingya-refugees-bangladesh-myanmar-malaysia-migration-f481e725f97d1b004a474e5facb10144.
[10] “Indonesian students evict Rohingya from shelter demanding deportation”, Al Jazeera, 27 December 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/27/indonesian-students-evict-rohingya-from-shelter-demanding-deportation.
[11] Human Rights Watch, “Indonesia: Protect Newly Arrived Rohingya Refugees”, 16 January 2024, https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/16/indonesia-protect-newly-arrived-rohingya-refugees.
[12] “More Rohingya refugees arrive in Indonesia despite rejection from locals”, Associated Press, 31 December 2023, https://apnews.com/article/indonesia-myanmar-rohingya-refugees-202c304c3a1a9c447511960063e4e822.
[13] UNHCR, “Urgent action needed to address dramatic rise in Rohingya deaths at sea”, op.cit.
Dr. Bibhu Prasad Routray
Dr. Bibhu Prasad Routray served as a Deputy Director in the National Security Council Secretariat, Government of India and Director of the Institute for Conflict Management (ICM)’s Database & Documentation Centre, Guwahati, Assam. He was a Visiting Research Fellow at the South Asia programme of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore between 2010 and 2012. Routray specialises in decision-making, governance, counter-terrorism, force modernisation, intelligence reforms, foreign policy and dissent articulation issues in South and South East Asia. His writings, based on his projects and extensive field based research in Indian conflict theatres of the Northeastern states and the left-wing extremism affected areas, have appeared in a wide range of academic as well policy journals, websites and magazines..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2024-02-22
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Type:
Individual Documents
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Human Rights Council
Fifty-fifth session
26 February–5 April 2024
Agenda item 2
Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Summary
The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 50/3, in which the Council decided to hold, during its fifty-third session, a panel discussion on the measures necessary to find durable solutions to the Rohingya crisis and to end all forms of human rights violations and abuses against Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar. Also in that resolution, the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit a report on the panel discussion to the Council at its fifty-fifth session. The present report contains a summary of the panel discussion, which was held on 21 June 2023.
I. Introduction
Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 50/3, the Council, during its fifty-third session, convened a panel discussion on the measures necessary to find durable solutions to the Rohingya crisis and to end all forms of human rights violations and abuses against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar.
The panel discussion, held on 21 June 2023, provided an opportunity for members and observers of the Human Rights Council, experts and other stakeholders, including representatives of the Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar, to discuss the situation of human rights of Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar, and to identify potential measures and durable solutions to the Rohingya crisis, with a particular emphasis on ways to work towards the sustainable return of refugees in safety and dignity.
The discussion was opened by the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. The panellists were Yasmin Ullah, Chair of the Board of the Alternative Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Network on Burma; Chris Lewa, Founder of the Arakan Project; Kyaw Win, Executive Director of Burma Human Rights Network; and Mohshin Habib, Adjunct Professor at Laurentian University (Ontario, Canada).
II. Background
Violations against ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar affect the entire spectrum of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. The Rohingya minority of Myanmar has, over generations, been subjected to institutionalized persecution, denial of identity and extreme discrimination that together have created a cycle of marginalization and led to serious violations of their human rights, which may amount to international crimes, including mass forced displacement. It continues to be deprived of citizenship and civil documentation, faces extreme restrictions on freedom of movement, has very limited access to health and education services, and to livelihood opportunities. Long-standing armed conflicts have also led to gross violations of the human rights of ethnic minorities in other States, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, forced labour, sexual and gender-based violence, and extensive forced displacement.
Since the military coup of 1 February 2021, Myanmar has been caught in a downward spiral of violence, characterized by the widespread violations committed by the Myanmar military of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including the widespread use of indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery attacks in populated areas, the raiding and burning of villages, arbitrary arrests, the use of torture, extrajudicial killings and sexual violence. This catastrophic situation of human rights has also further affected the Rohingya and other minorities, causing further refugee movements to neighbouring countries and unprecedented internal displacement within Myanmar.
The situation of human rights of the Rohingya and of other minorities in Myanmar has been extensively documented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in several recent reports submitted to the Human Rights Council2 as well as in the reports of successive holders of the mandate of Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar3 and of the independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar.4 More recently, in June 2022, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 47/1, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) organized a panel discussion at the fiftieth session of the Council on the root causes of human rights violations and abuses against Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar. Participants in the panel discussion identified the lack of accountability for the human rights violations of the Rohingya and other minorities and the continuing impunity enjoyed by the Myanmar military as the root causes of the current crisis.5 Addressing root causes of discrimination and human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar and ensuring accountability for serious crimes committed were essential to achieve durable peace and to build a society on the basis of the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Supporting long-term grass-roots initiatives aimed at strengthening intercommunity and interreligious dialogues, addressing hate speech and providing human rights education to young people were also essential.
At the international level, efforts to ensure legal accountability are ongoing at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Meanwhile, steps to that end have also been taken at the national level in third States with relevant jurisdiction. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has been providing key support to such efforts.
From August to November 2022, fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army in Rakhine State further exposed the Rohingya community to grave risks and violations. Battles were fought in and around Rohingya villages, resulting in casualties and displacement. OHCHR had also received credible reports of the use of sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls by both parties. The Myanmar military had also imposed further restrictions on humanitarian access and on movement. Rohingyas were required to obtain temporary travel authorization for movement between townships in Rakhine State. Anyone – including children – caught undertaking unauthorized travel faced arrest and imprisonment. These had significantly affected the Rohingya community and exacerbated their protection risks and vulnerabilities.
Since 2017, more than one million Rohingya in refugee camps in Bangladesh had been living in difficult conditions, facing serious security, economic and human rights challenges. Lack of adequate security in the camps had led to threats, beatings, kidnappings and numerous killings of Rohingya refugees. Owing to dwindling funding, food assistance had been reduced by 30 per cent, making life in the camps even more difficult. Gender-based violence remains high, with high rates of domestic violence and risks of trafficking in women and girls.
As a result of the systemic discrimination, crippling restrictions and rising hardships, an increasing number of Rohingya had been taking immense risks to flee Myanmar and Bangladesh. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2022 alone, 3,545 Rohingya — a 360 per cent increase over the number in 2021 — attempted dangerous sea journeys to other countries in order to seek protection, security, family reunification and livelihoods, with 348 people believed to have died or gone missing at sea.6 Those intercepted at sea and returned to Myanmar faced imprisonment. The number of Rohingya arrested for unauthorized travel within Myanmar, namely seeking to travel outside Rakhine State, doubled in 2022 to around 2,000 cases.
The gravity of the situation had also drawn the attention of the Security Council. At the end of 2022, while expressing concern at the recent developments in Myanmar and underlining the risks that the Rohingya situation poses for the wider region, the Council adopted resolution 2269 (2022), its first resolution on the situation in Myanmar, in which it underscored, among other things, the need to address the root causes of the crisis in Rakhine State and to create the conditions necessary for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons.
On 14 May 2023, Cyclone Mocha devastated Rakhine State, disproportionately affecting Rohingya communities, especially those who had been displaced. There were reports of disproportionate numbers of deaths of Rohingya and extensive damage to their dwellings. The dire consequences of the cyclone had been exacerbated by the actions of the Myanmar military directed at preventing humanitarian access to the affected areas and its failure, over the years, to create conditions conducive for sustainable returns. The military had suspended travel authorizations for all relief operations for several weeks and ordered that all disaster relief responses and supplies be directly managed by its own personnel. The military had not allowed the Rohingya to freely move to seek assistance, and also obstructed the relief efforts of local civil society groups through threats and arrests of those delivering aid or raising funds for relief efforts..."
Source/publisher:
UN Human Rights Council (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2024-02-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Armed conflict and peace-building in Burma - theoretical, strategic and general, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
Asylum Seekers Still Risk Being Returned Home to Harm
Description:
"The Nagoya High Court last month ordered the Japanese government to grant refugee status to an ethnic Rohingya asylum seeker from Myanmar. A lower court had previously ruled that 44-year-old Khin Maung Soe was a Rohingya, but that his ethnicity was an insufficient basis for considering him a refugee. The high court found that because the Myanmar military had “committed ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya” since the February 2021 military coup, there “exists objective fact to feel fear of persecution.”
The ruling is unprecedented as Japan’s refugee determination system puts more weight on asylum seekers’ individual circumstances than their status as a member of a particular group. The Japanese government had rejected Khin Maung Soe’s refugee application four times before he filed the lawsuit in 2020. In 2017, the Myanmar military’s campaign of mass atrocities drove more than 730,000 Rohingya abroad, most to Bangladesh. Those remaining in Myanmar face systematic abuses, including the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty. Since the coup, restrictions have increased and conditions have deteriorated.
Japan has highly restrictive policies on asylum requests. In 2022, only 202 people out of 3,772 applicants were given refugee status, and 1,202 people had to apply for refugee status more than once, including 83 from Myanmar.
Khin Maung Soe’s case also exemplifies the heightened risk asylum seekers face after Japan’s Diet passed a bill last year to amend the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. The amendments allow the government to deport asylum seekers who apply for refugee status more than twice. The law will go into effect by June, meaning Khin Maung Soe may have been sent back to Myanmar had he not won the case.
The Japanese government should ensure refugees like Khin Maung Soe aren’t forced returned to harm’s way. Japan should respect the international treaties it has ratified, notably the Refugee Convention, by upholding the principle of nonrefoulement, which prohibits the return of anyone to a place where they would face a real risk of persecution, torture or other ill-treatment, or a threat to life. The government should also establish independent bodies to oversee refugee applications and appeals as recommended by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2024-02-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"The future looks increasingly bleak for over a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, most of whom were forced out of western Myanmar since the most current and most virulent wave of anti-Rohingya persecution began in 2017, when the military of Myanmar launched merciless onslaught against the Rohingya communities. The head of the UN agency for human rights later referred to the military's conduct as "acts of horrific barbarity," potential "acts of genocide," and "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
Bangladesh, a lower-middle-income country, compelled to assuming enormous amount of her limited resources to meet costs and impacts incurred upon her economy, society and environment, made an example of warmest of hearts and deepest empathy for human suffering by welcoming nearly a million Rohingya refugees.
As other crises have captured attention and donor weariness has set in over the past six years, foreign financing for essential, life-saving services has decreased drastically. Food aid must now be reduced by a third, according to the UN. The cost of each person's rations is currently just $0.27 per day. Various other services have also been cut. This reduction is probably going to continue in the upcoming years given the numerous other problems occurring throughout the globe, such as the crisis in Ukraine.
Stepping into the 7th year, not even a single Rohingya has returned to Myanmar. Bangladesh seems solely carrying the burden of this huge refugee alone. The country is expending US$ 1.22 billion every year for the Rohingyas from her own limited resources. Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar is now hosting the largest refugee camp in the world, with one of the largest humanitarian operations in terms of scale and dimensions.
Additionally, the nation has never received a sizable amount of funding for Rohingya refugees. Instead, the amount of support has decreased with time. While donors only contributed 60% of the required cash in 2020, down from approximately 72% to 75% two years earlier, Bangladesh received roughly 30% until now in 2023 and around 50% in 2022.
Bangladesh has been doing everything in its power, with the backing of the international community, to protect the safety and wellbeing of the displaced Rohingyas, despite the loss of biodiversity, loss of forest area totaling almost 6,500 acres of land, and the detrimental consequences on the local people being immeasurable. Food, shelter, medical attention, and other services are being provided to them. They also have the chance to improve their abilities by going to learning facilities that use the Myanmar Curriculum, going to skill-development events, and taking advantage of possibilities for employment. These are aiding in the retention of their language and culture and will eventually aid in their integration back into their own society once they return.
In these situations, the international community must remember that it owes the Rohingyas a core humanitarian duty. Given that Bangladesh has been shoulder the burden in terms of societal and demographic balance, local and regional security, and the fight against violent extremism, international actors cannot dump more than a million Rohingyas entirely in Bangladesh. The UN, ASEAN, the West, and all other actors should do action to lessen the harm caused by this protracted conflict.
In accordance with the UN's appeal for humanitarian relief, actors must ensure that the aid provided to Rohingya refugees is adequate. In order to ensure that the Rohingya's fundamental needs - food, shelter, health, and education - are satisfied, they must cooperate with Bangladesh to stabilize total funding for the refugees.
Second, the international community ought to back the pilot repatriation project, taking into account that Myanmar has never had a fully democratic setting free from military intrusion. The claim that "democracy is prerequisite before any repatriation" is therefore only a deliberate disrespect for Myanmar's past.
Nobody should make an effort to obstruct test repatriation. Before beginning a large-scale repatriation move, this simulated repatriation will help identify the problems. This will help in the creation of better planning before the start of a full-scale repatriation.
Third, Global actors should continue to support international accountability mechanisms- genocide cases in the ICJ, ICC, Argentine International court, Indonesian and German court against the Junta. In order to broaden the scope of the prosecutor's ongoing investigation to include just crimes committed on the territory of Myanmar, the UN Security Council should refer the case to the ICC, as it did in the cases of Sudan and Libya.
Fourth, continue to pressure Myanmar Junta and contact with opposition EAOs, PDFs and NUG to bring peace in the country.
H.E Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "Since we have sheltered the Rohingyas, we are fulfilling our responsibility and we are doing our best for them."
The writer is Associate Professor & Security Affairs Analyst..."
Source/publisher:
Daily Observer
Date of entry/update:
2023-10-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"On 25 August 2023, 1.3 million Rohingya refugees residing in southeastern Bangladesh observed ‘Genocide Day.’ This marked the 6th anniversary of their mass expulsion from northern Rakhine by the Tatmadaw, the Myanmar Armed Forces. The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted ethnic minority groups in the world and the international community has so far failed to uphold their rights, allowing flagrant violations of international law.
According to Article 2 of the United Nations (UN) Charter, member-states of the UN are to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of one another. However, since the Rohingya community has been forced to take refuge in many different countries, the issue concerns the international community at large and warrants interference. Nearly 1.3 million Rohingyas have taken shelter in Bangladesh over the past five decades, while hundreds of thousands are living as refugees in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and India. The Myanmar government, whether in its military or civilian form, has been persecuting Rohingyas for decades and has blatantly violated scores of international laws in the process.
Violations of International Law by the Myanmar Government
Since the independence of Myanmar in 1948, the Rohingyas have been subjected to deliberate political, legal, economic, cultural, and social discrimination. According to Article 2 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Articles 26 and 27 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and Article 1 of the 1969 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), such discrimination is strictly forbidden.
In late 2016, the Myanmar government began a new crackdown, which culminated in clearance operations against the Rohingyas in response to an attack on Myanmar security forces by Rohingya insurgents.
In late 1977, the Tatmadaw, along with Burmese immigration officials, launched Operation Nagamin against the Rohingyas. Rooting out ‘foreigners’ and ‘illegal immigrants’ was used as a justification for the Operation. The Burmese troops carried out murder, rape, and other atrocities against Rohingya civilians, and forcibly evicted them from their homes, forcing between 200,000 and 250,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh. In October 1982, the Burmese government issued the Burmese Citizenship Act, excluding the Rohingyas from citizenship and institutionalizing anti-Rohingya discrimination. This was a violation of Article 15 of the UDHR, which clearly states that none should be arbitrarily deprived of his or her nationality. In 1991, the Tatmadaw launched another crackdown on the Rohingya civilians, repeating the pattern of 1977–1978.
In late 2016, the Myanmar government began a new crackdown, which culminated in clearance operations against the Rohingyas in response to an attack on Myanmar security forces by Rohingya insurgents. According to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency, during this campaign of terror, around 25,000 Rohingyas were killed, more than 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were subjected to rape, some 34,000 Rohingyas were burnt alive, and over 114,000 Rohingyas were tortured.
According to Article 2 of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, killing, causing serious physical or psychological harm, and creation of conditions designed to bring about the destruction of any national, ethnic, racial, or religious group are acts of genocide. In addition, according to the UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1820 adopted in 2008, mass rape is an act of genocide. The Myanmar government has perpetrated all these atrocities against the Rohingyas, and in accordance with international law, this constitutes a deliberate genocide against the Rohingya people.
The Role of EAOs, Citizens of Myanmar, and the International Community
Since 1948, northern Rakhine witnessed the rise of several ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) in response to the persistent oppression of the Rohingyas. These EAOs had different aims, including integration into East Pakistan, autonomy within the Myanmar state, and national self-determination. Between the 1970s and the 1990s, a number of Rohingya EAOs, including the Rohingya Liberation Army (RLA), the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF), were active against the Myanmar government. The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) has been active since the early 2010s, and the RSO was reactivated following the 2021 coup d’état in Myanmar. The Tatmadaw-controlled Myanmar government responded to the insurgency by repeatedly launching brutal crackdowns on the entire Rohingya population, irrespective of their political affiliation.
Tragically, the rest of Myanmar’s citizens have reacted to the decades-long persecution of the Rohingyas with inaction, and in some cases, with enthusiasm. Buddhist nationalist organizations have long viewed the Rohingyas as a ‘demographic threat’ and cheered on the Tatmadaw’s atrocities against the Rohingyas. In addition to the ethnic Bamars, who constitute the majority of Myanmar’s population, ethnic Rakhines have also been opposed to the Rohingyas.
Several high-level UN officials, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein and the Assistant Secretary-General Andrew Gilmour, have characterized the persecution of Rohingyas as a ‘textbook example of ethnic cleansing.’ In November 2019, the Gambia, backed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), filed a case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the Myanmar government of perpetrating genocide against the Rohingyas. The case was supported by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Canada. In addition, an Argentine court, under the principle of universal jurisdiction, is probing whether Myanmar conducted a genocide against the Rohingyas. Furthermore, the United States has imposed limited sanctions on Myanmar for its atrocities against the Rohingyas and recognized the atrocities as a ‘genocide’ in March 2022.
However, these actions have proved insufficient in resolving the Rohingya crisis. The Tatmadaw-controlled Myanmar government has been dragging its feet over the repatriation of the Rohingyas since 2017 and is unlikely to admit its culpability in genocidal actions. Despite issuing some promising statements, the opposition NUG has not yet made any concrete steps towards ensuring justice for the Rohingyas.
The rest of Myanmar’s citizens have reacted to the decades-long persecution of the Rohingyas with inaction, and in some cases, with enthusiasm.
Instead of just issuing verbal condemnations, the international community should take concrete measures, including the imposition of comprehensive sanctions on Myanmar to hold those who are complicit in the Rohingya genocide accountable. Finally, if Myanmar fails to ensure justice for the Rohingyas, the international community should treat the Rohingya crisis as a threat to international peace and security and undertake necessary actions against the Myanmar government in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.
Conclusion
Myanmar is a member of the UN, the International Court of Justice, and the International Labor Organization. It is also a party to the 1948 Genocide Convention, but it has overtly violated the treaties, conventions, and declarations of all of these institutions by persecuting the Rohingyas. The international community is duty-bound to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.
However, Myanmar has been flouting international law with near impunity for decades by brutally persecuting the Rohingya civilians. Ensuring accountability for the genocide against the Rohingyas and facilitating their repatriation will be welcome steps on the part of the international community.
Moreover, the Rohingyas should not remain stuck in refugee camps for the foreseeable future. International law provides them with the right to return to their homeland. It should be noted that the overwhelming majority of the Rohingyas are in favor of returning to their homeland, on the condition that their safety should be ensured. By facilitating the delivery of justice and ensuring their return the international community could end the suffering of the Rohingyas and uphold international law..."
Source/publisher:
South Asian Voices
Date of entry/update:
2023-10-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
The Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh looks set to drag on indefinitely. Insecurity in the overcrowded camps is growing. In this excerpt from the Watch List 2023 – Autumn Update, Crisis Group urges Europe to keep providing humanitarian assistance and increase its intake of refugees.
Description:
"The future looks increasingly bleak for close to one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, most of whom were forced out of western Myanmar more than six years ago. The 2021 coup in Myanmar brought to power the same military officers whose brutality toward the Muslim minority in Rakhine State in 2016-2017 pushed them across the border. Although the regime insists it wants repatriation to begin, it has refused to guarantee citizenship to returnees. Meanwhile, the situation in Rakhine State has become more complex, due to the growing strength of the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group that is fighting for greater autonomy for the Rakhine Buddhist majority and now controls much of the state’s centre and north.
The refugees are facing mounting problems in their overcrowded camps. International aid is declining sharply, forcing the UN to cut vital food assistance by one third in 2023. At the same time, insecurity is growing. Poverty and hopelessness threaten to create a vicious cycle in which refugees – particularly young men – join criminal gangs and armed groups, fuelling the violence. Women and girls are embarking on risky boat journeys or overland travel (via Myanmar and Thailand) to Malaysia – their trips often paid for by waiting Rohingya men in exchange for marriage. Others stay and are married off at a young age. Bangladesh, despite having earned global praise for hosting the large Rohingya population, is getting impatient with the attendant burdens. By refusing to acknowledge that the crisis will likely drag on indefinitely and planning accordingly, Dhaka risks making a difficult situation worse.
The EU and its member states can help address this set of challenges by:
Increasing funding for the UN’s humanitarian appeal in Bangladesh to help meet the needs of Rohingya refugees, lest camp conditions deteriorate further. With violence on the rise, it is particularly important that the EU expand its support for protection services for vulnerable refugees, including community leaders and young men at risk of harm by armed groups, and women facing intimate partner violence; its member states should also consider accepting the most vulnerable for third-country resettlement.
Using the EU’s influential position in Bangladesh to encourage Dhaka to adopt a long-term strategy recognising that the vast majority of the refugees are likely to remain in the country for years to come. Although integration may not be politically feasible, refugees need greater access to education and better job opportunities so that they can live in dignity. The EU should make clear that, if Dhaka changes tack, it stands ready to mobilise additional funding for projects that reduce the need for humanitarian aid, such as income generation and durable shelter.
Maintaining, to the extent possible, humanitarian support for Rohingya who remain in Rakhine State. It should work directly with local service providers, which may help navigate restrictions imposed by Naypyitaw, and also avoid inadvertently strengthening the regime or legitimising its initiatives, such as the planned closure of camps for the internally displaced. To improve coordination at the national level, the EU should lobby the UN to appoint an experienced permanent resident coordinator.
Continuing to support international efforts to hold Myanmar’s military accountable for its abuses against the Rohingya and other groups in Myanmar, both prior to and since the coup.
Dwindling Hopes for Repatriation
The Rohingya refugees in southern Bangladesh are facing increasingly grim prospects of returning to their homes in Myanmar, as conditions in the camps become ever more difficult. Over the last two years, international funding for basic, life-saving services has dropped dramatically as crises elsewhere grab attention and donor fatigue sets in. The shortfall is particularly acute in 2023: with the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis Joint Response Plan barely 40 per cent funded, the UN has been compelled to slash food aid by one third. It now spends just $0.27 per day on each person’s rations. There have also been cuts to other services. Shrinking budgets have forced the UN and international NGOs to lay off refugees from paid volunteer roles that, due to Bangladeshi government restrictions, are one of their few legal sources of income. Given the many other emergencies around the world, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, this decline is only likely to continue in the coming years.
Meanwhile, violence is steadily increasing in the sprawling camps as armed groups and crime rings entrench themselves among the refugees. For a time, the dominant such group was the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which carried out the attacks in Myanmar in 2016-2017 that prompted the military’s violent campaign against the Rohingya. But in September 2021, ARSA overreached when it killed a prominent Rohingya community leader, Mohib Ullah, drawing international attention to the problem of rising violence in the camps. The killing spurred Dhaka into action, and security forces began cracking down on ARSA by arresting some of its members.
Other armed groups have taken advantage of a weakened ARSA. Bangladeshi authorities say no fewer than eleven are now active in the camps. Over the past year, the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) in particular has grown in power, gradually wresting control of several camps from ARSA. Many of these groups work closely with Bangladeshi crime syndicates to move drugs – mostly yaba (a mix of methamphetamine and caffeine) but increasingly crystal methamphetamine, which is much more lucrative – over the border from Myanmar and to major markets in Dhaka and Chattogram, a southern coastal city.
Turf wars among ARSA, RSO and other groups have erupted. The number of killings so far in 2023 is already higher than in all of 2022; the victims are typically young men or those in community leadership positions, although women and children are sometimes caught in the crossfire. Abductions, in which gangs hold refugees for ransom, have also skyrocketed. Bangladesh’s Armed Police Battalion, the agency in charge of camp security since 2020, has been unable to bring the gangs to heel. It has also faced well-substantiated allegations that its members are shaking down, wrongfully detaining and even torturing refugees themselves.
Bangladesh and Myanmar’s military regime have ... sought to start repatriating Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State.
Against this backdrop, Bangladesh and Myanmar’s military regime have, since the beginning of 2023 and with Chinese support, sought to start repatriating Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State, following two failed attempts in 2018 and 2019. Each country has its own reasons for wanting Rohingya to return. Naypyitaw hopes it can strengthen its defence at the International Court of Justice, where it has been accused of violating the Genocide Convention, and relieve international pressure in the wake of the 2021 coup. Dhaka has its eye on the general election planned for January 2024, before which it hopes to have a foreign policy victory that dilutes the public’s impatience with hosting of such a large refugee population. As for Beijing, it is seeking opportunities to portray itself as a constructive international player, amid heightened tensions with Washington, and also hoping to gain further support from Dhaka and Naypyitaw in Asia.
Yet despite assurances from both Dhaka and Naypyitaw, a proposed “pilot project”, under which a first contingent of 1,176 refugees would go back to Rakhine State, is unlikely to proceed. The Myanmar regime has sent several delegations to visit the refugees in Bangladesh and, in May, refugee leaders even travelled to Maungdaw in northern Rakhine for a visit intended to show them that it is safe. In September, following a fresh round of meetings, the regime and Bangladesh announced plans to repatriate up to 7,000 refugees by the end of the year. But Myanmar has refused to meet key refugee demands, particularly regarding citizenship (which most Rohingya lack), a stance that is likely to limit the number of candidates willing to return.
Another factor complicating repatriation is the emergence of the Arakan Army as a political force in Rakhine State. Since the 2021 coup, the group has gained control of much of the countryside in central and northern Rakhine, including along the Bangladeshi border. Repatriation at scale is thus likely to be possible only with the group’s agreement. Yet, so far, it has been left out of discussions between the two governments.
The bottom line is that for most refugees, going home remains a distant prospect. While the sheer desperation of life in the Bangladesh camps may persuade a small minority of Rohingya to return notwithstanding the risks, that is hardly something to celebrate. The conditions in Rakhine State are not conducive to safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation, and they are unlikely to be as long as the military regime is in power.
At the same time, the Bangladeshi government refuses to consider viable alternatives for addressing the refugee crisis. Insisting that speedy repatriation is the only way forward, it has imposed restrictions on camp operations and refugee liberties that leave Rohingya almost entirely dependent on outside aid and compel humanitarian groups to keep operating on an emergency footing rather than prepare for prolonged displacement. It has also shifted around 30,000 Rohingya to Bhasan Char, a low-lying silt island almost 40km from the mainland, where acute exposure to cyclones adds a new dimension to their vulnerability. Dhaka’s policies – ranging from denying refugees the right to work to insisting that they live in temporary shelters and remain inside fenced camps or on Bhasan Char – are adding to the humanitarian response’s cost at a time when international funding is declining.
If it does not change, Bangladesh’s policy is likely to make a bad situation worse in the years ahead. Making life more difficult for Rohingya refugees will inevitably push them toward dangerous coping strategies. Unless conditions in the camps improve, those unable to find a way out may grow more susceptible to militancy as time passes. Men and boys may enlist in armed groups or gangs. Girls and women may wind up in underage marriages or in arranged marriages in Malaysia that require them to brave the seas in rickety boats captained by unscrupulous human smugglers to reach their new spouses. Increasingly, Rohingya are also making the hazardous trek to Malaysia overland through Myanmar and Thailand, where they risk arrest for violating immigration laws. In the wake of further cuts to food rations in June, there have been growing reports of intimate partner violence and malnutrition.
The Situation in Rakhine State
Living conditions are also worsening for most of the Rohingya who still live in Rakhine State. More than 120,000 remain confined to displacement camps that were set up over a decade ago; most lack citizenship and all rely on international aid for food and basic services. Cyclone Mocha, which hit Rakhine in May, wiping out several camps, underscored how vulnerable this population is. Naypyitaw said 117 Rohingya were killed, but other sources put the number higher. The regime subsequently blocked an aid delivery plan put forward by the UN, as well as a proposal to bring supplies across the border from Bangladesh.
The regime is now slowly moving forward with a plan to close some of the camps for the displaced, but like the talk of repatriation, this scheme appears to be a ploy to burnish its image by reducing the number of displaced people, including Rakhine Muslims. The lack of proper planning and care for the welfare of camp residents is obvious, as those who have been relocated thus far are languishing in shabby resettlement sites close to the old camps, where they have even less access to social support.
As for Rohingya living in Rakhine outside camps, their basic rights continue to be unprotected, and the combined effects of conflict, COVID-19, the coup and Cyclone Mocha have deepened their troubles. Many feel they are stuck between the Arakan Army and the military, which has threatened community leaders with arrest if they are found to be cooperating with the ethnic armed group’s bureaucracy. A bright spot has been improved relations between Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine communities, thanks to the Arakan Army’s emergence; very popular among the Rakhine, the group’s leaders have emphasised that the majority Burmans, rather than Muslims, are the real enemy of the Rakhine people. The Arakan Army has also taken steps to include Rohingya in the lower levels of its bureaucracy and eased movement restrictions in areas it controls. Recent tensions between the Arakan Army and ARSA in northern Rakhine State threaten to undo some of this fragile progress, however, as fears of renewed Rohingya insurgency among ethnic Rakhine will likely fuel anti-Rohingya sentiment.
What the EU Can Do
First, as one of the world’s largest humanitarian donors, the EU should increase its aid to Rohingya refugees through the UN humanitarian appeal. Brussels has generally maintained a consistent level of support for Rohingya appeals over the past six years, and EU member states provide limited additional funding. In July, the EU released an additional €12.5 million to address humanitarian needs of people in Myanmar and Rohingya in Bangladesh. But the dire – and rapidly worsening – situation in the camps is reason enough to increase funding further, particularly in the short term. With a strong presence in Bangladesh, including in Cox’s Bazar (the southern district where most camps are located), the EU should also work with other donors to stabilise overall funding for the refugees, and help ensure that the Rohingya’s basic needs – food, shelter, health and education – are met through the UN-led humanitarian response. In light of growing violence and insecurity, Brussels should also give more to aid organisations providing protection services, which are struggling to cope with rising insecurity in the camps, and to support alternative solutions for those most at risk.
EU member states, meanwhile, should follow the lead of actors such as the U.S. and Canada in committing to resettle some number of Rohingya refugees – especially from among the most vulnerable. Dhaka has recently permitted resettlement for the first time since 2010. (It was previously reluctant because it feared the availability of this option could become a pull factor encouraging more Rohingya to cross into Bangladesh.) Although third-country resettlement will help only a small proportion of refugees, it will be life-changing for those people, and the benefits may go further besides. It could also improve the climate for discussions with the Bangladeshi government by demonstrating Europe’s commitment to taking concrete measures of its own to alleviate the crisis.
Secondly, it is important for the EU to push the Bangladeshi government harder on the parameters it sets for the refugee response. Dhaka’s regulations prevent refugees from working legally, leaving them almost entirely dependent on international aid – an unsustainable situation given the precipitous falloff in assistance pledges. The EU, which Bangladeshis perceive as neutral in their domestic politics, and is a vital trade partner (accounting for almost 40 per cent of exports), should encourage Dhaka to loosen restrictions on Rohingya employment and movement, which would allow humanitarian agencies to move beyond emergency relief.
Brussels should make clear to Dhaka that it will mobilise funding for longer-term initiatives that would reduce Rohingya dependence on humanitarian aid.
As part of that effort, Brussels should make clear to Dhaka that it will mobilise funding for longer-term initiatives that would reduce Rohingya dependence on humanitarian aid, such as job opportunities and durable shelter. For example, the EU could make clear that, apart from providing funds itself, it will convene a donor conference to solicit pledges, as it did with the event it co-hosted in 2020 with the U.S., UK and UN High Commissioner for Refugees. That event raised $600 million in new pledges for humanitarian programs. Before a new conference can take place, however, Dhaka will need to change its approach to the refugee crisis, accepting that the vast majority of the refugees will remain in Bangladesh for years to come.
Thirdly, the EU and member states should send a clear signal about repatriation. Given the crisis in Myanmar, the chances that Rohingya refugees can go home have only grown slimmer. While respecting the wishes of those refugees who may nonetheless want to return, the EU should make clear that it opposes the current pilot project given the military regime’s failure to ensure safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation.
Fourthly, the EU should also maintain its support to Rohingya in Rakhine State, who due to a combination of conflict and economic crisis have become even more reliant on international aid since the coup. It will be easier said than done. Since the coup, the military regime has tightened restrictions on humanitarian aid, including limiting the travel authorisations required for visiting Rakhine State, blocking visas for international staff and introducing a new Organisations Law that gives the junta greater control over aid groups.
For donors like the EU, these strictures only increase the urgency of shifting as much funding as possible to local partners including NGOs and community-based organisations, which can more easily navigate these restrictions. To work with these groups and ensure the safety of their staff and beneficiaries, Brussels will likely need to relax its usual requirements on partner registration, banking and reporting. Close coordination with other actors, particularly the UN, will also be essential to ensure that funding is efficiently and usefully allocated. To enhance the effectiveness of the UN country team, the EU should push the UN leadership to appoint a permanent resident coordinator as soon as possible, filling the vacancy left when the last one departed in November 2021. The incoming official should have the skills and experience necessary to handle Myanmar’s particular challenges.
Finally, the EU and member states should continue to support international accountability mechanisms that aim to hold to account perpetrators of abuses, including conflict-related sexual violence, against the Rohingya in Myanmar during the 2016-2017 military crackdown. The primary such mechanisms are the International Criminal Court and the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, a body the UN has tasked with gathering evidence for future criminal proceedings. Their efforts serve as a reminder to potential perpetrators that a cloud of criminal suspicion – and the prospect of prosecution – will follow those who choose to commit atrocities..."
Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (Belgium)
Date of entry/update:
2023-10-04
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"After several failed attempts in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, Bangladesh and Myanmar recently announced a pilot initiative for the repatriation of Rohingyas. Myanmar scheduled a tour to Rakhine for the ambassadors or consul generals of 11 countries, including Bangladesh, India, China, and eight ASEAN members, in early March 2023, to review the situation there. The envoys noted that Rakhine has a secure security environment now. The repatriation process should now begin.
Following the Ambassador's visit, a commission from Myanmar's military junta visited Bangladesh to evaluate potential repatriation candidates. As part of this pilot initiative, Myanmar confirmed a list of over 1,000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh who may be returning soon. On May 5, a 20-person Rohingya delegation from Bangladesh visited Rakhine to examine the situation and urge other Rohingya into voluntary return as part of a confidence-building campaign.
Deng Xijun, China's Special Envoy for Asian Affairs, visited Myanmar twice before visiting Dhaka in July. He reassured Bangladesh that Myanmar had now agreed to return the Rohingyas to North Mangdaw in Rakhine. He explained that the Rohingyas would initially live in temporary camps following their repatriation. They would later build their homes there with voluntary labor. Myanmar will pay the Rohingyas for this.
Unfortunately, certain Western countries and right-wing organizations have continued to advocate for the suspension of this pilot project, claiming that democracy is required for any repatriation and that the current political atmosphere makes it difficult for Rohingyas to return. "Those who keep claiming that the situation in Myanmar is "not favorable" to repatriation have rarely visited Rakhine," Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen responded. "It's bizarre. They also did not address whether the circumstances in Cox's Bazar is conducive to the displaced people living a dignified life. This is a question they must answer for themselves.
Coups, military rule, ethnic conflicts etc. have been the history of Myanmar, so does the persecution on Rohingyas. The unrest was sparked mostly by religious and socioeconomic divisions between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims. During World War II in Burma, Rohingya Muslims allied with the British and promised a Muslim state in exchange fought against Rakhine Buddhists aligned with the Japanese. Following the country's independence in 1948, the newly established union government of the largely Buddhist country denied the citizenship of the Rohingyas, subjecting them to widespread and systematic discrimination. Many worldwide academics, analysts, and political figures, including South African anti-apartheid crusader Desmond Tutu, have linked it to apartheid.
Burmese authorities became increasingly antagonistic to the Rohingyas during Ne Win's military reign, enacting measures that denied them citizenship. The persecution of the Rohingyas thus went beyond all bounds. Violent, large-scale crackdowns against Rohingya, such as Operation King Dragon in 1978 and Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation in 1991, drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into Bangladesh. When the Burmese Citizenship Law was passed on October 15, 1982, Rohingya Muslims in the nation were legally unrecognized and denied Burmese citizenship.
To summarize, Myanmar has never had a truly democratic environment devoid of military intervention. As a result, some actors' assertion that "democracy is a prerequisite before any repatriation" is only a purposeful disregard of Myanmar's past.
However, triangular attempts with China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar persist. On September 4, a high-level team from South Asia and Southeast Asia, led by Bangladesh's ambassador to Myanmar, visited Rakhine to discover what steps have been taken to restore trust and give protection to the Rohingyas. Ko Ko Hliang, a union minister and the committee's vice-chair-1 for Rakhine State stability, peace, and development, informed and directed the delegate. The delegate, according to sources, was happy with Myanmar's conduct.
Chinese Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun informed that, 'Myanmar agreed to settle the Rohingyas in their original villages- a demand that the Rohingyas had been making in response to Myanmar's earlier plan of resettling Rohingyas in camps or model villages. Several voluntary organizations including 'Asian Coordination Centre for Humanitarian Assistance' and UNHCR will be engaged during the repatriation process.' All technical issues have been discussed. Myanmar has confirmed identity of 2087 Rohingyas already. Repatriation of the first batch may begin within months. 100 refugees could be sent home every day."
Since the beginning of the crisis in 2017, this can be considered a breakthrough. Every stakeholder should back the endeavor. We should keep in mind that the Rohingya issue appears to be taking a back seat to other global crises in 2022 and 2023, including the Russia-Ukraine war. Because of the huge political attention in, and donor pledges for, Ukraine, there is a donor scarcity for Rohingyas. Bangladesh, the host country, has received little more than 50% of the required cash in 2022, while donors gave only 60% of the required funding in 2020, down from approximately 72% to 75% two years earlier. As of mid-August, the 2023 Appeal, which asked USD 876 million, was only about 28.9% financed, rendering Rohingya refugees particularly vulnerable this year.
Second, because the Rohingya refugees lack viable economic options, the nearby Rohingya camps may become havens for criminal activity, putting the security of the entire region at risk. The recruitment of refugees by extremist networks is raising increasing concern since it may feed unrest not only in Bangladesh but also throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Third, around 30,000 Rohingya infants are born in refugee camps in Bangladesh each year on average. As a result, the Rohingya population has risen to around 1.2 million. A new generation of Rohingya children is growing up without a sense of belonging, exacerbating the catastrophe.
Fourth, the security situation for Muslims in Rakhine is better than it has ever been. Living conditions, health care, and education have all improved. The number of Muslim-specific educational institutions has grown. After a nine-year hiatus, Sittwe University welcomed 200 Muslim students last year. This year, a large number of Muslim students were accepted. Muslims, too, have access to medical treatment. The Junta government is providing a 'National Verification Card (NVC)' to returnees. Junta's willingness to resolve the situation appears to be improving. Except for Rakhine State, the country has been plagued by severe conflicts between the regime and ethnic groups. Rakhine State is presently better than it has ever been.
In such circumstances, without a doubt, the repatriation procedure should begin immediately. The world community has a primary humanitarian duty to assist the Rohingyas. Though the decades-long antagonism between Rohingya communities and the Myanmar government is unlikely to be erased quickly, the ASEAN, the United Nations, and global and regional entities can all play vital roles in fostering trust between them.
The international community should send a clear statement that "we are watching the situation in Myanmar, as well as the conduct of the Myanmar Junta towards the Rohingyas." If we can input this and act on it, the ice of mistrust will slowly but surely melt. "The returnee Rohingyas will not be abandoned; they will be observed and their security condition will be monitored"- such a message should be delivered by global actors.
Nobody should attempt to prevent test repatriation. Such mock repatriation will help to identify the issues before embarking on a large-scale repatriation move. This will aid in the development of better planning prior to the start of a full-scale repatriation. This is a litmus test for the international community, right-wing organizations, global actors, and Myanmar parts that must pass with flying colors..."
Source/publisher:
"The Daily Observer" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2023-09-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Myanmar is passing through a critical time due to unrest and conflict between the government and the anti-junta forces. There are no indications that the current violence in Myanmar will stop; instead, it is getting more organized every day.
According to Duwa Lashi La, head of Myanmar’s anti-junta National Unity Government (NUG), the People’s Defense Force (PDF), a paramilitary force fighting the junta, has witnessed a significant improvement in efficacy. The PDF is currently fighting the military junta successfully, having organized and established tactical regiments and battalions that are armed with automatic weapons. The NUG leader said that anti-junta forces are now outperforming the nation’s armed forces. Attack drones are another weapon that PDF militants are employing to defeat the junta forces. NUG Defense Ministry Spokesman Mong Mong Swee said that PDF had opened new fronts in Chin state along with the Sagaing and Magway regions to conduct offensives against Myanmar army. They gained control of new areas of Kayah and Kayin state. PDF have been able to inflict heavy casualties, including killing junta soldiers, in the ongoing war over the past two years.
At a meeting of the National Defense and Security Council on July 31, junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing mentioned that the PDF was fighting with the army in Sagaing, Magway, Bago and Tanintharyi regions as well as Kayin, Kayah, Chin and Mon states. These states have been particularly affected by war, mine attacks and arson. The junta has extended the state of emergency for another six months to take ‘security measures’ to deal with the wider conflict.
According to international military analysts, the junta has suffered more casualties than the revolutionary forces in nearly every conflict or battle in Myanmar. To cope with this, in addition to ground combat, Myanmar Army will have to use more air power and aircraft against the PDF and rebel groups. Following the fourth extension of the state of emergency, anti-junta groups claim that combat has escalated in eight of the nation’s states and regions as the Myanmar military resumes operations to reclaim territory controlled by ethnic militias and the PDF. The Myanmar military stepped up its operations in the Shan, Kachin, Kayin, Mon, Sagaing, Bago, Magway, and Tanintharyi areas.
Officials of the Karen National Union (KNU) said that, their troops were engaged in fierce battles with junta forces in Kayin and Mon states as well as Bago and Tanintharyi regions. Junta troops are attacking seven areas controlled by the KNU, in those areas 109 battalions are deployed by the army. Fighting in Kachin state’s jade mining region has intensified and the junta has carried out airstrikes in jade mining areas. According to statistics provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the ongoing violence has forced more than 1.6 million civilians to leave their homes.
Western nations tightened their sanctions against Myanmar after the military took control in 2021. However, ignoring these sanctions, Myanmar’s junta chief visited China, Russia and India and bought weapons and equipment from those countries. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Sweden regularly studies the global armaments trade. According to data from Sipri’s Trends in International Arms Transfer 2022 study, which was published in March 2023, 42% of Myanmar’s arms imports from 2018 to 2022 came from Russia, 29% from China, and 14% from India.
Recently, Myanmar received two Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia in the first phase. Later, four more Sukhoi fighter jets will join Myanmar’s fleet. During a visit to Russia in September 2022, Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing signed a deal to buy 6 Sukhoi SU-30SME fighter jets from Russia. The Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 SME fighter jets are effective in air-to-ground and air-to-air attacks. These aircrafts will enhance the junta’s capacity to deal with ongoing violence.
Bangladesh has maintained its diplomatic, commercial, and other contacts with Myanmar while taking Myanmar’s situations into consideration. On September 6, General Hlaing, the head of the State Administration Council, received the credentials from Md. Monwar Hossain, the recently appointed ambassador of Bangladesh to Myanmar. While speaking with the Ambassador after accepting the credential, the Chairman reaffirmed Myanmar’s serious political commitment to repatriating the Rohingyas. This is a positive sign in the current context. General Hlaing voiced his optimism for the further advancement of bilateral ties between Bangladesh and Myanmar during the conversation and covered a number of topics of mutual interest, including the repatriation of Rohingyas, commercial connections, and improved air, land, and sea connectivity. Furthermore, they exchanged their views on enhancing military cooperation and public relations, as well as issues like conventional and non-conventional security cooperation, including the prevention of drug trafficking and arms smuggling. The ambassador of Bangladesh has asked for his assistance in order to develop and expand bilateral relationships between the two countries.
On August 24, a human chain and a demonstration were held in front of the Cox’s Bazar District Commissioner’s office to call for proper repatriation measures. Local leaders said at the demonstration held under the banner of “All Residents of Cox’s Bazar” that the long-term presence of Rohingyas in the bordering upazilas of Ukhia and Teknaf poses a threat to the survival of the local community there. Drug and human traffickers now useing the Rohingya camps as a safe transit location, murders and crimes occur often in the camps. This in turn created pressure on the daily life of the locals. As a result local people wish to resolve this issue permanently. Bangladesh’s main focus is to return the 1.25 million Rohingyas who have been staying inside Bangladesh for the last six years. Under the auspices of the pilot project launched by the Myanmar government at request of China, efforts are being made to return a limited number of Rohingyas to Myanmar. Bangladesh requests assistance from international community and organizations in this regard. Bangladesh further urged all parties involved to refrain from impeding the return of Rohingyas under the pilot project. The Rohingyas also wish to go back to their country of origin, where they have homes and other amenities. To begin with, a group of Rohingyas should return to Myanmar for observing the situation. Once they return to Rakhine, they will have a better understanding of the situation, challenges and the difficulties there. This knowledge will facilitate to undertake the repatriation of remaining Rohingyas. By December this year, Bangladesh, China, and Myanmar hope to begin a trial program for returning Rohingyas home.
On September 4, Bangladesh and Myanmar convened a conference at the director general level to discuss repatriation. The Myanmar military administration has consented to allow the Rohingyas to return to their villages. Bangladesh and Myanmar will hold several meetings in the coming days to make the pilot project for the repatriation a success. A four-member delegation led by the Director General of the Myanmar Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh went to Myanmar to attend the meeting. After that, an official delegation from Myanmar will visit Cox,s Bazar and discuss with the Rohingyas prior to the start of this repatriation. More than 3,000 Rohingyas have been listed for pilot repatriation. Bangladesh places a high priority on safeguarding the Rohingyas’ safety, dignity, and security in addition to preventing family separation during repatriation and allowing Rohingyas from the same area to travel together.
According to Western countries and the UN, Myanmar does not have a functioning democracy, and as a result, there has not yet been established a conducive climate for the repatriation of Rohingyas. Reviewing the present situation in Myanmar, it is evident that the ongoing conflict is going to escalate in the days to come and that both sides are enhancing their capabilities. Furthermore, the international community as a whole, including the UN, Amnesty International, the Western countries, international NGOs, has been unable to exert meaningful pressure on Myanmar. Despite its continued efforts, ASEAN has not been able to control the situation in Myanmar and bring about peace. However, Bangladesh cannot continue to shoulder the burden indefinitely. Additionally, the total amount of support provided to the Rohingyas is declining gradually and the issue poses a threat to regional stability. For the past six years Bangladesh has sought a workable solution bilaterally, trilaterally and multilaterally and is keen to resolve this issue.
The nature of the issues in Rakhine State differs from those in other regions of Myanmar. The Arakan Army acknowledges the Rohingyas as inhabitants of Rakhine, and the NUG is dedicated to fostering circumstances that would allow the Rohingyas and other displaced groups to return home voluntarily, safely, dignifiedly, and indefinitely. The issue’s significance has also grown due to General Ming Aung Hlaing’s commitment to returning the Rohingyas to their homeland. Compared to other parts of Myanmar, Rakhine’s condition is now stable. It is time to implement the pilot project for the repatriation of a small group of Rohingyas. The pilot project will help identify the difficulties and issues related to the repatriation procedure. These results are then examined to develop the most appropriate course of action. The entire repatriation of the Rohingyas should be carried out in the future using the lessons learned from this experience. In the middle of the current uncertainty, it is anticipated that the Rohingya crisis would see a ray of hope if all these issues are adequately handled..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2023-09-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Local URL:
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"The Story So Far
There are more than 1 million Rohingya refugees living in the Asia and Pacific region. Most live in Bangladesh, home to the world’s largest and most densely populated refugee settlement. Amidst the pressures of competing global crises and dwindling humanitarian resources,
Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, have continued to generously host Rohingya refugees. In the absence of a regional response mechanism, Malaysia hosts over 150,000 asylum-seekers and refugees — the vast majority of whom are Rohingya, and Indonesia has stepped in to disembark 10 boatloads of 1,137 Rohingya refugees since December 2021. New initiatives to create third country solutions for Rohingya hosted in the region are being developed. Opportunities to support Rohingya refugees in achieving greater self-reliance and resilience and prepare them for sustainable reintegration when they return home, are being implemented with an incremental expansion of education, portable skills development and livelihoods activities.
A Paradigm Shift is Needed
These initiatives must be scaled up. With limited opportunities to develop self-reliance and lacking prospects for sustainable solutions, Rohingya refugees are risking their lives in search of solutions. In 2022, the region witnessed a 360 per cent increase in maritime movements compared to the previous year. A paradigm shift is however needed, in collaboration with Rohingya communities, to transform the Rohingya response into comprehensive and coordinated action towards achieving sustainable solutions and resilience.
The Multi-Stakeholder Pledge
While the first Global Refugee Forum in 2019 resulted in over 1,400 pledges, only 7 per cent targeted Asia Pacific. Pledges were not only financial. They also included technical support and policy commitments.
The second Global Refugee Forum will be held in Geneva, in December 2023. It is a unique opportunity to put a spotlight on the situation of Rohingya refugees, the imperative to work towards solutions, and sustain the support offered by host countries in the region. At the forum, stakeholders can demonstrate their commitment in support of a multiactor pledge that expands solutions and enhances collective resilience, including through climate action, and as such contributing to peaceful coexistence.
Key elements of this pledge will also contribute to the protection of Rohingya refugees along the SouthEast Asia onward movement route. Recognizing each context within the region has its own specificities, the pledge does not envisage a one-size-fits-all approach.
By combining collective strengths and expertise, this multi-stakeholder pledge has the potential to be truly transformational. Beyond the region, offers of resettlement and complementary pathways are an integral element of an expanding package of solutions, notably for the most vulnerable refugees and for those with no prospect of future return to Myanmar. An increasing number of States in and beyond the region are willing to offer resettlement or complementary pathways through access to higher education opportunities, labour mobility, family reunification and private or community sponsorship; the latter also includes Rohingya diaspora.
A sample of commitments:
• Implementation of 300 quick impact projects in Rakhine State to support the creation of conditions conducive for return.
• 25,000 Rohingya submitted for resettlement consideration each year and 15 pilots initiated to expand complementary pathways.
• Civil registration and legal identity documentation provided in support of solutions.
• Predictable and sustained funding for the humanitarian response.
• Ensuring access to quality education for all Rohingya students in Rakhine and countries of asylum.
• Building refugee resilience so that one refugee in every household is engaged in selfreliance activities, notably skills development, community work and livelihood opportunities.
• Strengthening partnerships with Rohingya-led organizations (RLOs).
• Improving climate resilience through naturebased solutions and eco-disaster risk reduction..."
Source/publisher:
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2023-09-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations
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Format :
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Size:
1.33 MB
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Sub-title:
Rohingya refugees are not numbers but individuals with hopes and fears just like us
Description:
"Abdullah Al Bukhari, Ananda Paul, Sunzida Suba, Rubaya Islam Ruhi, and Moumita Rahman Ipsita
We have had a completely different experience than what we see when scrolling through social media or flipping the pages of most daily newspapers. We met Rohingya refugees in person, and got to know about them ... not as numbers but as human beings like you and me. We -- five students from the Department of Law of the University of Dhaka -- have been to the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar last month, and witnessed how refugees have been trying to live and be happy with whatever they can get.
We recently got the chance to meet the Rohingya refugees who had to cross the border and flee to Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine state to save themselves from ethnic cleansing. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) conducted a Certificate Courses on Refugee Law and Protection at our department. After attending the course, five of us were selected to go on a field visit to see the lives of Rohingya refugees.
It took us an hour and a half to reach the camps in Ukhiya from the city of Cox’s Bazar, and we went first to the Camp-4 Extension. This can be considered a model camp, because it was built in a planned way considering the number and needs of the refugees, which had not been possible for many Rohingya camps in Ukhiya.
Going all the way to one of the Legal Assistance Centres, the signboard indicated the center is run jointly by BRAC, UNHCR, and the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) –- a proof of strong collaboration among NGOs, the United Nations, and the government authorities across the camps. Inside the centre, there were numerous awareness posters showcasing the plight of the refugees, with text written in both Bengali and Burmese. We came to know how refugees receive legal assistance and mediation through such centers.
UNHCR has been working to ensure legal assistance and justice for Rohingya refugees in collaboration with BRAC, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), while the RRRC has been providing administrative support. The legal assistance centers run by BRAC and BLAST are always open for Rohingya refugees seeking legal assistance and remedies, they work on legal counselling, mediation, representation at police and court, jail visit, and legal awareness. UNHCR has been working to raise legal awareness among the refugees sheltered in Bangladesh. This also helps Rohingya refugees and their community leaders work together with humanitarians for their own safety and security.
Access to justice is a human right, and it does not change whether a person is a citizen or a refugee. BLAST, BRAC, and UNHCR are playing a good role in preserving Rohingyas’ access to justice while they are in exile in Bangladesh.
Afterwards we went to see the work of the Community-Based Protection team -- sustainable solutions or development cannot be achieved if decisions are made by others while not taking the concerns of refugees themselves in consideration. That is why UNHCR takes a community-based approach in all of its operations.
The Camp 4 Extension in Cox’s Bazar is divided into several blocks. In each block, refugee representatives are elected. They need to be a resident of that specific camp, should not have any criminal record, cannot have a record of multiple marriages, and there are some other prerequisites. All Rohingya above the age of 18 can vote to elect their representative.
The elected Rohingya representatives are then trained on different important issues, so that they know how to solve or where to refer to for regular problems faced by refugees. They also remain in constant contact with authorities, and raise the concerns of their people in official meetings.
These refugee representatives work to ensure social protection and legal protection. They identify the concerns of the community and hold small meetings to address those. They also raise awareness on health and hygiene, child-marriage, domestic violence, and empowerment, and settle petty quarrels through mediation.
We were soon getting hungry as it was past midday already. Surprisingly, the “women’s market” in the camp has a small restaurant with delicious food made from fresh ingredients cooked by Rohingya women. We had our lunch and saw various small initiatives taken by refugee women to support their families. This is an exclusive centre for only women to explore their talents and learn from their peers as well. Several shops are there with their hand-crafted jute products, various clothing items and garments. They have made the entire centre so neat, organized and women-friendly to flourish the inner skills of a woman. We wish we had the same cozy yet productive centre for women in our own villages.
A short visit to the Jute Production Centre at camp-5 was another eye-opener. Launched after the pandemic, this centre carries out both training and production of jute items. And it is amazing that the entire camp uses only jute bags for all kinds of packaging, carrying and, shopping purposes. Around 150 female refugees are actively working here on 8-hour shifts. They productively use their time and skill and can contribute to their family. We could not help but buy gifts from here.
What we cannot explain is the experience we have had after talking to the Rohingya refugees in each of these spots. They are human beings like us, with strengths, vulnerabilities, concerns, and hopes. This side of the coin about the stories of Rohingya refugees was completely unknown to us, and we are glad that we know them now. Not just as refugees, not just as a number but as individuals with their own stories..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2023-09-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"With the election approaching, Dhaka is busy greeting foreign delegates and observers. The foreign observers are all invariably pressing for a free and fair election. It appears a balanced goal of the Westerners holding to their deep convictions of democracy and freedom. However, the policy is riddled with inconsistency and only appears subordinate to the geostrategic goals. The esteemed values of democracy and freedom are not sacrosanct per se — rather only viewed from a narrow geostrategic prism.
While the US is placing too much attention on the upcoming election, it is missing out on the urgent crisis in the region—the Rohingya crisis. The US’s handling of Myanmar was shambolic, with flimsy leverage on Myanmar. Rather, US’s diplomacy was focused solely to stopgap measures, that overlooked the steady worsening of the crisis.
Myanmar is a classical example of how Western emphasis on democracy can be so tenuous. The arbitrary seizure of power in Myanmar—abandoning election results did not miss the eagle eye of the United States. Surely, Myanmar holds all the trappings of a rogue state prancing with its brutality at the heart of South and Southeast Asia, a major theatre of the US’s vaunted Indo-pacific strategy. In 2017, Myanmar had flushed out 11 million Rohingyas—igniting a dismal humanitarian disaster. For the whims and caprice of the Myanmar ruling cliques, Bangladesh bears the brunt—with the country strained on holding the burdens of astronomical refugees despite depleting aid directed to Rohingya. However, the myriad of Myanmar’s misdemeanors only elicited vacuous criticism and did not propel any effective policies to hold Myanmar accountable for its blatant human rights infringements.
Granted, US offered $1.6 billion in aid since the genesis of the crisis. However, this is only a stopgap measure and does not ensure an effective resolution of the crisis. The Biden administration failed to calibrate an official response in addressing the crisis, and the American policy only continued sanctions on the key military general imposed by Donald Trump.
The United States is one of the key players in the region. When US President Barack Obama was at the helm, the US greeted Myanmar’s entry into the global economy following a protracted period of self-imposed exile since 1962. Obama mended fences with Myanmar in 2012 after an election that infused belief in the revival of democracy in Myanmar, although later Myanmar’s tryst with democracy proved ludicrously short-lived. In 2016, sensing a semblance of a democratic regime in Myanmar, United States put an end to the remnant of sanctions. This shows that the US holds leverage on Myanmar—at least the US wielded a pivotal role in facilitating Myanmar’s entry to democracy. Given the stubborn attitudes of Myanmar, the sanctions on trade and investment can be reimposed and the scope of civilian sanctions can be significantly broadened to punish Junta and its accomplices. While America is not a supplier of military hardware to Myanmar, however through pressurizing US’s security partners the US can smother the access of military hardware that is used for brutally clamping down on nascent democratic movements.
However, none of this action materialized. Evidently, America is restrained in its foreign policy adventures and is not inclined in locking horns with China, and exerting pressures might spiral into a regional conflagration that is distasteful for the US. Conveniently, thus, the US had shied away from one of the pressing crises of humanity and the arbitrary and strong-arm rule of the Myanmar Junta.
The worrisome state of Rohingya languishing in the camps is a travesty of human rights and the dignity of humanity. Being a grudging host of the refugees, Bangladesh demonstrated benevolent generosity for the Rohingya, although the groundswell of local discontent turned against Rohingya. The government headed by Sheikh Hasina remained staunchly committed to the safety and security of Rohingya—whereby a register of the public opinion shows that the local people in Cox’s Bazar find their resource strained due to Rohingya. The Rohingya crisis paints a grim case of humanity, straying from their ancestral homes and inhabiting lives in outright precarity.
Any political turnaround in Dhaka will hang the fate of the Rohingya in balance. Rohingyas were greeted with unparalleled altruism by Sheikh Hasina. Although the long-term presence of Rohingya had visibly aggrieved the general mass, the government remained stuck to its commitment. Parties with nationalist affinities in Bangladesh railed against the government and viewed the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh as a fiasco of the government’s policies. These views gain traction as nationalist and populist parties inflame popular sentiments with xenophobic agenda. Hence, any engineered transition in Dhaka might put the fate of Rohingya in jeopardy—resulting in a deep crisis.
The crisis of Rohingya, the US’s handling of Myanmar, and the recent shuffling of US diplomats in Dhaka—all indicate a US policy of flaws and amiss. Despite holding leverage on Myanmar, US failed to avert a humanitarian disaster and an arbitrary rein of power—events that are anathema to the United States. In contrast, the US is showing an exaggerated response in anticipating Bangladesh’s election, despite the repeated promise of the government of holding a free and fair election. This incongruence in US policy does not bode well for the future..."
Source/publisher:
Geopolitics
Date of entry/update:
2023-09-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"The Rohingya crisis is an ongoing issue in Bangladesh. Six years have passed as of this August without a single Rohingya returning to Myanmar. A number of initiatives and activities have been seen during the past year to address this situation. Despite all, the repatriation process has not yet started. The clash between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar Army in the Myanmar-Bangladesh border region took place in last August. That has created a threat across the bordering areas, which can be called as military provocation by Myanmar. However, Bangladesh has dealt with this crisis diplomatically and managed to control it successfully. Peace in the area as a whole, as well as inside Myanmar, is in danger as a result of this ongoing violence.
The Rohingyas living in Bangladeshi camps for more than six years are growing impatient and frustrated since there hasn’t been a favourable environment for their repatriation to Myanmar. This has led to numerous security problems and posing threat to peaceful existence. Security situation of the Rohingya camps is becoming unstable day by day. Murder, human trafficking, drug and weapon smuggling, kidnappings and fires occur often. These elements make the worsening of the law-and-order situation and the incidence of armed attacks highly worrisome from a security standpoint. A regional and global security threat has evolved from crime and human trafficking in Myanmar and throughout Southeast Asia. Trafficking of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis from the coasts of Myanmar and Bangladesh to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia has become a serious problem. Illegal drug and yaba trafficking from Myanmar to other neighbouring countries has increased alarmingly and poses a security threat to the entire South Asian region.
More than 20,000 workers from more than 100 foreign and local organizations are working in various types of humanitarian services in Rohingya camps. NGO employees working in the camp are concerned since the security situation deteriorates daily, and many of them are experiencing insecurity. Due to threats of kidnapping, murder, and other terrorists’ incidents, more than 20 NGOs have limited their support activities in the camps, and some of them are even ceasing to operate, which is concerning. To control terrorist activities, environmental degradation and reduce pressure on the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, the Bangladesh government has relocated 30,500 Rohingya to Bhasan Char under its own management, with plans to accommodate a total of 100,000 Rohingyas.
Bangladesh has sought assistance from friendly countries, donor agencies and international organizations to cover the cost of shifting the Rohingyas from Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char, as this relocation process is expensive. At the same time, donors’ help was requested for the construction of new infrastructure in Bhasan Char. More Rohingyas can be sent to Bhasan Char as soon as feasible by constructing more camps, which will increase the assurance of their protection. To support this initiative, the international community must act immediately.
At the initiative of China, Myanmar government has undertaken a pilot project to build 15 new villages on 750 plots to house Rohingyas. A delegation of 27 members, including 20 Rohingyas, was taken there on May 5 at the initiative of Myanmar to boost the confidence of the Rohingyas and see if the environment in Rakhine State is suitable for repatriation. The Rohingya’s staying inside Bangladesh expressed that they do not want to go back to the model villages and camps. they want to return to their villages in Myanmar and they are not interested in repatriation if they can’t go back there. The process of repatriation has largely ceased at this point. However, China has continued to engage in this process. China’s Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun visited Dhaka on July 30 and brought a new dimension to the progress of the repatriation process. As the Rohingyas do not want to go back to the camps in Myanmar, the new proposal has agreed to resettle the Rohingyas in the areas where they used to live instead of taking them to camps or model villages. Rohingya women rally to return to Myanmar, they want to return to their country. 52 percent of total Rohingyas in the camps are women. Many of the Rohingya also said they were willing to return to Myanmar voluntarily.
Regarding this initiative of Myanmar, the UN and Western countries said that the security situation in Myanmar is not safe for Rohingya repatriation and asked to halt this project. The UN has said that repatriation will begin when democracy returns to Myanmar. In the current context, it can be assumed that a change in the situation in Myanmar is a matter of time. As a result, the problem is likely to persist for an indefinite period of time. Since Myanmar does not allow Western countries and the UN organizations to work with the Rohingya in their country, the UN is unable to play an effective role in solving the Rohingya problem in Myanmar. Noeleen Heyzer, the UN Special Envoy for Myanmar, resigns after 18 months in office after failing to perform her duties as a result of the Myanmar government’s lack of cooperation.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has reduced food aid for the Rohingya from $12 to $10 per capita per month since March1. Later, from June 1, it was reduced from $10 to $8, which is disappointing. The Rohingyas are completely dependent on funding from the international community. Aid workers fear that this will increase the food crisis in the Rohingya camps and worsen the security situation in the camps. Representatives of some countries and donor agencies providing aid to the Rohingyas visited Rohingya camps in July. Relief aid to the Rohingyas is currently dwindling, with some countries offering to assimilate the Rohingyas with Bangladesh which Bangladesh has refused. Bangladesh came up with the proposal to relocate the of Rohingyas to a third country. If some country wishes to accept Rohingyas, Bangladesh will be open to welcome the idea.
Chief Prosecutor of International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Asad Ahmad Khan has expressed concern that the reduction of food aid to the Rohingyas could worsen the law-and-order situation in the camps and will have a negative impact on women and children. The European Union (EU) Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmour said that, the ongoing funding crisis to deal with the Rohingya issue is worrying and that the EU’s support for the Rohingyas will continue, which is encouraging. The US delegation announced another Tk 740 crore in aid to the Rohingyas, urging them to be patient in their quest for repatriation and justice.
At present many events are taking place related to the Rohingya crisis. Myanmar is showing interest to repatriate the Rohingyas to their original villages. This is a shift from their earlier decision of the pilot project taken with the initiative by China. Western countries and donor agencies reduced the aid for the Rohingyas and this in turn created unease among this community. Rohingya women and voluntary Rohingyas are showing their interest to return to Myanmar, despite the reluctance of some Rohingyas for repatriation.
Rohingyas should go back to Myanmar and donor agencies should continue their humanitarian support until this problem is solved. World humanity should come forward to solve this problem quickly. The deterioration of the security situation in the Rohingya camps poses challenges to Bangladesh’s security as well as regional and global security. The Rohingya crisis is a regional and global crisis caused by Myanmar. It is an additional pressure for Bangladesh. Bangladesh is forced to bear the burden of this crisis. Bangladesh government has to spend more than 1 billion dollars every year for Rohingyas. The Government of Bangladesh will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Rohingyas but will not allow national security to be compromised. Myanmar government and the international community must take initiatives for the sustainable solution of the Rohingya problem. Myanmar’s military rulers, opposition coalitions, Buddhist religious organizations, intellectuals and ordinary people of the majority Bhamar and Rakhine population must be involved in order to find a permanent solution to this problem. For the development of Rakhine, importance should be given to implementing the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission report.
Bangladesh should be prepared with all kinds of military, diplomatic, economic and social capabilities to deal with this problem. In the coming days, new donors will have to be sought to continue the relief efforts to deal with this crisis. It is a regional problem and its impact will affect the region. ASEAN countries along with regional powerful country India should take active measures to solve this crisis. Countries where Rohingyas have taken refuge fleeing from Myanmar can also be associated with it. Efforts should be made to quickly build up reserves in order to maintain relief efforts and financial aid in the event of any serious catastrophe. Necessary measures should be taken so that humanitarian agencies working in Rohingya camps feel safe to work inside the camps.
There is a need to develop an implementable roadmap to address this protracted problem, which will help in creating an enabling environment and confidence for the Rohingyas to voluntarily return to Myanmar. That will also allow to take steps to deal with possible crises in different periods. The actions needed should be executed as part of a permanent framework to guarantee sustainability and continuity of crisis resolution operations. This problem created by Myanmar involves the lives, livelihood and security of 1.25 million Rohingyas who have taken refuge in Bangladesh and about 500,000 local people. Bangladesh has been facing this huge humanitarian crisis for six years, all concerned stakeholders must be united to expedite the repatriation of Rohingyas to relieve Bangladesh from this Burden. [View of the sprawling Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher:
"The Geopolitics"
Date of entry/update:
2023-09-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Statement from Refugees International:
“August 25, 2023, marks six years since the genocide that devastated the Rohingya people of Myanmar. Refugees International stands in solidarity with the survivors and recommits to partnering with them in advocacy to rebuild the Rohingya community both in current countries of refuge and toward a time where it is safe to return to their homeland.
Today, more than 1 million Rohingya refugees continue to live in the largest refugee settlement in the world in Bangladesh, facing aid cuts and ongoing restrictions on their freedom of movement and access to education and livelihood opportunities. They also face rising insecurity at the hands of criminal and extremist groups in the camps. Another 600,000 Rohingya remain at risk inside Myanmar, under the same military leaders responsible for genocide. Tens of thousands of other Rohingya have sought safety and a better life in surrounding countries, including India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, but too often face the risks of arbitrary or indefinite detention or forced return to the genocidal authorities from which they fled.
On this sixth day of remembrance, Refugees International calls upon the United States and other countries of influence to sustain support for humanitarian and accountability efforts for Rohingya. We further urge an increase in resettlement of Rohingya to the United States and other third countries. And we call upon other countries of refuge to increase the education and livelihood opportunities that will enable the Rohingya community to thrive. Finally, we urge global action to pressure Myanmar’s military junta, through such actions as further coordinated sanctions and arms embargoes, to create the conditions conducive for the safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return of Rohingya to their homeland.”
For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Refugees International Vice President for Strategic Outreach Sarah Sheffer at [email protected]..."
Source/publisher:
Refugees International
Date of entry/update:
2023-08-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Six years after an unprecedented exodus of Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh, medical needs in the world's largest refugee camp remain pressing and care increasingly inadequate.
In a global context marked by multiple large-scale humanitarian crises, international funding allocated to the humanitarian response for these one million stateless people is under increased pressure year on year. A very worrying situation for these people, who rely almost entirely on humanitarian aid due to their lack of legal status, which prevents them from working legally to sustain themselves or their families.
Despite being one of the largest healthcare providers in the camps, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reached capacity in several areas, and we are now obliged to set stricter admission criteria to cope with the overwhelming medical needs of patients coming to our facilities.
We are therefore calling on international donors to significantly scale up their financial contributions to provide adequate support and prevent further irreversible consequences on the physical and mental health of Rohingya people.
Six years after the exodus
In just a few weeks in August 2017, more than 700,000 men, women and children fled the mass violence perpetrated against them by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State in northwestern Myanmar. They found refuge in the hills of Cox's Bazar district in Bangladesh.
The Bangladeshi people organised the reception of their neighbours, as they did on previous occasions. Six years later, what was a temporary solution to offer refuge to people escaping harrowing violence, has become a protracted crisis with no meaningful solution on the horizon.
Although the camps now have better roads, more latrines and drinking water than at the initial peak of the emergency, people still live in overcrowded shelters, and the construction of permanent structures is not allowed. Fires have destroyed hundreds or thousands of shelters, presenting an ongoing, but preventable risk to the safety of people living in the camps.
As the area is prone to natural disasters, shelters made of bamboo and plastic sheeting are often damaged and destroyed by strong winds, torrential rains and landslides. Added to this environment of extreme vulnerability is the impossibility of evacuating the camps to safer areas, as was the case during Cyclone Mocha in May this year. Most of our hospitals had to close for two days, their semi-permanent structures threatening to collapse.
Less and less funds reach the world’s largest refugee camp
For the time being, the return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar remains a dream: they need guarantees of their rights, including recognition of their citizenship and a return to homes on their land.
Time seems to stand still. Life in the camps feels like a never-ending day. Camps have been surrounded by fences and barbed wire since the outbreak of COVID-19. Rohingya people are not allowed to work or leave the camps. Access to food, water and healthcare for one million stateless people depends on international humanitarian aid.
But aid is increasingly under-funded by international donors. Over the past two years, the commitment of UN member states to the humanitarian funding appeal has been dwindling: from around 70 per cent in 2021 to 60 per cent in 2022, and around 30 per cent so far in 2023. In March, the World Food Programme’s food rations were cut from the equivalent of US$12 per person per month to US$10, and then again to just US$8 in June.
Our teams witness difficulties faced by health centres run by various organisations dependent on this funding for human resources, drug supplies and the ability to ensure patient follow-up. Regular maintenance of water and sanitation infrastructure is also a challenge, making hygiene conditions and access to drinking water problematic in many camps.
Growing medical needs strain services
Unsanitary living conditions complicate the health situation considerably, leading to various health issues. Last year, patients with dengue fever increased tenfold on the previous year, and at the start of 2023, we saw the highest weekly increase in patients with cholera since 2017.
Forty per cent of people living in the camps suffer from scabies, according to the results of a long-awaited survey presented by the camps’ health sector coordination in May. This is well above the World Health Organisation’s recommended threshold of 10 per cent to start a mass drug administration for scabies outbreaks.
This situation has put an increasing strain on MSF’s services over the past two years. Our teams have been treating the consequences of difficult living conditions since the influx six years ago: infectious diseases, respiratory, intestinal and skin infections. But over the years, we have also seen a growing need to treat long-term illnesses linked to a chronic lack of access to healthcare for the Rohingya in Myanmar, such as diabetes, hypertension, or hepatitis C.
The number of patients arriving at the outpatient department of the ‘hospital on the hill’, built by MSF in the middle of the camps in 2017, increased by 50 per cent during 2022. This situation goes hand in hand with several health centres closing in the area in the past year due to a lack of funding and a rampant scabies epidemic.
In this hospital as well as in our mother-and-child hospital in Goyalmara, we saw an unusually high rise of paediatric admissions from January to June 2023 compared to the same period last year. In July, while the annual peak season of medical needs was only just starting, our paediatric hospital admissions were at capacity.
How will patients cope?
MSF is not directly affected by the crisis in funding from international donors, but the capacity of our services to absorb the ever-increasing demand for care is reaching its own limits. The growing number of consultations inevitably puts pressure on our human resources, hospital bed management and drug supplies.
As long as the Rohingya in Bangladesh are contained to camps and trapped in a cycle of dependency on humanitarian aid, it is imperative that international donors significantly scale up their financial contributions to provide adequate support and prevent further irreversible consequences on their physical and mental health..."
Source/publisher:
Médecins Sans Frontières
Date of entry/update:
2023-08-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations, Public Health, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"On 25 August 2017, the world witnessed the beginning of the forced displacement of more than 750 000 Rohingya people from Rakhine State in Myanmar, fleeing violence and persecution from the Myanmar military. The vast majority of them settled temporarily in the Cox’s Bazar District of Bangladesh, whereas others fled across the region.
Six years later, and despite international efforts and calls on Myanmar to create the conditions for their return to their homeland, the crisis is still alive now which is the shame for the international community.
Almost half a century has passed since 2017, but Myanmar has not taken back a single Rohingya to their country. Instead, drama has been created around the return at various times. Despite the sincere efforts of the Bangladesh government, Myanmar has always given an ax blow to the possibility of Rohingya return. On November 23, 2017, a 19-point agreement was signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar due to the concerted efforts of the Bangladesh government and international criticism. In the light of that agreement, Myanmar initially plans to take back 3,450 Rohingyas divided into seven groups.
The deal did not see the light of day on the issue of proof-of-citizenship. In 2019, the Gambia filed a case against the Myanmar government at the International Court of Justice, which is still ongoing. During the hearing of that case, all their lawyers and counsel, including Aung San Suu Kyi, avoided the word ‘Rohingya’ and their citizenship. Surprising but true, in February 2021 there was a political change in Myanmar, but there was no change in opinion.
Rohingya shelter project has been established in Bhasanchar along with Cox’s Bazar to improve the quality of life of Rohingyas on behalf of Bangladesh government. The Bangladesh government is doing everything possible to ensure all the benefits of the Rohingyas. There is little cooperation from Myanmar. There are many questions about the strong role of the international community. On June 18, 2021, the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on the issue of Myanmar discussed the country’s various problems, especially democratic problems, state of emergency, political prisoners, restoration of democracy, but the issue of Rohingya return did not find a place.
Due to the long process of return of Rohingyas, murders, kidnappings, shootings, torture, drug trafficking and other criminal activities are a regular occurrence in the camps. The activity of several armed groups in the camps is an open secret. According to the information of Cox’s Bazar District Police, there are more than 2500 cases against Rohingyas from 2017 to 2022, with more than 5000 accused. More than 10 terrorist groups including Arsa, RSO, Nabi Hussain Group, Munna Group, Dakat Hakim Group are active. It is said that behind these groups are the invisible hands of various groups in Myanmar. On September 29, 2021, Rohingya leader Muhibullah (Master Muhibullah) was killed at around 8:30 pm. He was vocal about the return of the Rohingyas.
As a result of the efforts of the Bangladesh government, the issue of Rohingya return is gaining importance at the international level. The Rohingya return process is delayed due to international political turmoil and Myanmar’s indifferent attitude. Among the reasons being used as a political tool behind this delay are citizenship, voluntary return and living conditions for the Rohingya in Myanmar.
The 1982 military government barred the Rohingya with the Burma Citizenship Act. Since then, Myanmar has refused to recognize Rohingya as citizens of their country. Myanmar is using Rohingya citizenship as a tool in this return process. The international community has always been silent on the issue of citizenship law. So far, two final attempts to return the Rohingyas have failed due to objections regarding the security of the Rohingyas. In the light of the agreement of November 2017, a joint working committee of the two countries was formed to solve the Rohingya problem in Dhaka on December 19 that year. Then Myanmar started the politics of delay in the name of checking the list. An initial attempt at a comeback in 2018 ended in failure. A Chinese-brokered repatriation initiative failed in 2019, citing concerns that the Rohingya’s environment in Rakhine state is not suitable for return. Negotiations on Rohingya return stalled in February 2021 after Myanmar’s military coup d’état changed the government.
However, the hope is that in 2023, China has taken the initiative to continue trying to return the Rohingyas as a mediator between Bangladesh and Myanmar without international intervention. Diplomatic level discussions are already ongoing. However, again two things are left out in this process. The first is the consent of the Rohingya and the second is the place of return. As part of this process, a group of Rohingya went to Rakhine state for the first time in May this year to see if there is a habitable environment. According to the media, after returning to the camp in Cox’s Bazar, some of them agreed to return to Myanmar after seeing the environment there, while others said they did not agree. There is also a demand for all the family members to go back to the original village together. In the early stages, camps or model villages in northern Maungdu and nearby areas of Myanmar came up for repatriation.
Just as it is not clear whether all Rohingya family members will be taken in together, Myanmar has given birth to new politics over whether Rohingyas will be taken back to their villages or returned to model villages. Again, whether this return process is delayed by the turmoil of international politics has also given rise to renewed discussions. Especially, after the US plans to set up a resettlement program for the Rohingya came to light. However, the international community should forget all political differences and take the humanitarian aspect into serious consideration and help the Rohingya return immediately.
Bangladesh’s top priority is Rohingya repatriation, as more than 1 million Rohingya have been staying here for 6 years. Efforts are underway to repatriate a small group to Rakhine under a pilot project. Bangladesh wants international organizations to help in this. A section of the international community is playing politics with the Rohingyas in the camps in Cox’s Bazar. Due to this, their repatriation process is becoming difficult at times.
The international community and the great powers did little to pressurize the Junta to repatriate the Rohingya. Prior to Junta, the international community also failed to convince the democratic government to repatriate the Rohingya and bring the perpetrators to justice. Bangladesh has tried bilaterally, trilaterally, and multilaterally for the past six years for a viable solution. It has left no stone unturned, yet found nothing. Bangladesh eagerly wants to explore the initiative as something is better than nothing. Owing to bilateral political, economic, connectivity, and economic issues, Bangladesh itself has to solve the problem. While Bangladesh is trying heart and soul to repatriate the Rohingya to their birthplace, the NGOs are not doing enough for the most persecuted community of its time.
Advocacy networks such as UNHCR, HRW, and Amnesty International failed to create effective pressure on Myanmar. Like the NGOs, the Great powers also failed to pressurize Myanmar effectively. The declining fund, deteriorating camp conditions, growing insecurity, and adverse impact of the refugees on the host community have made Bangladesh a desperate host looking for reducing the burden, where its international partners are only performing their formal duties within a set boundary. This crisis is also destabilizing regional security. It is important to note that aid for the Rohingya is decreasing daily. The current Ukraine conflict has the entire world on edge. Although the world community has lost sight of the Rohingya humanitarian issue as a result of the war in Ukraine. Furthermore, it also has the responsibility of international community to provide an external guarantee for Rohingya’s safety upon repatriation..."
Source/publisher:
Eurasia Review
Date of entry/update:
2023-08-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Six years ago, in August 2017, the Myanmar military began a deadly operation in Rakhine State targeting the Rohingya group. This “Clearance Operation” caused incredible suffering and destruction including the loss of civilian life, widespread use of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and the demolition of Rohingya villages. The UN’s Independent, International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (IIFFM) conducted in-depth field investigations and found reasonable grounds to believe that during this operation, the Myanmar military committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Rohingya, not least of which is the deportation of over 700,000 Rohingya from Rakhine State into neighboring Bangladesh.
To this day, over one million Rohingya survive in one of the world’s largest refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, waiting for conditions to allow for their safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return to Myanmar in accordance with international law. With the UN’s World Food Programme cutting their food rations, and with the deteriorating security situation inside the camps, many Rohingya find themselves in a dire situation with impunity being but one of many pressing concerns. Through its offices in Cox’s Bazar, Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) provides legal assistance and support to Rohingya survivors in these refugee camps.
Having been deported en masse to Bangladesh, and without a fair legal remedy available within Myanmar, Rohingya survivors are forced to rely on pathways for justice outside of Myanmar. A variety of efforts on the international level have yielded some results, but so far, no court has found any individual or state responsible for crimes against the Rohingya. For example, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) granted the Office of the Prosecutor’s request to open an investigation into crimes against humanity committed, at least in part, on the territory of Bangladesh such as deportation, persecution, and other inhumane acts. LAW has submitted statements of several Rohingya survivors for the consideration of the OTP in their ongoing criminal investigation. Although the OTP’s investigative activities in this situation are ongoing, to date, no arrest warrants have been announced.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is also conducting litigation brought by The Gambia against Myanmar alleging breaches of the 1949 Genocide Convention, to which Myanmar is a party, in particular, Myanmar’s failure to prevent and punish those responsible for genocide against the Rohingya. Despite some logistical challenges, in December 2019 LAW supported three Rohingya survivors to travel from Cox’s Bazar to The Hague to attend an oral hearing at the ICJ on provisional measures, where they joined The Gambian delegation in the courtroom. In a unanimous decision on 23 January 2020, the ICJ granted The Gambia’s request for provisional measures, ordering Myanmar to prevent genocidal acts against the Rohingya group, preserve any evidence of these acts, and to report regularly on its implementation of the order. On August 24th, Myanmar military was due to submit its counter-memorial to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the only ongoing case on genocide in the world. LAW is supporting this litigation through providing witness statements and other evidence to The Gambia’s legal team. An upcoming report from LAW, that combines both in-depth psychological interviews with cutting-edge legal analysis, will demonstrate reasonable grounds to believe that the Myanmar military’s use of SGBV during the 2017 Clearance Operation constituted acts of genocide under the Genocide Convention.
The UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), supports these important international efforts, as well as domestic efforts, through providing evidence in accordance with its mandate to collect, consolidate and analyze evidence of international crimes committed in Myanmar, and to prepare files to facilitate fair and independent criminal proceedings in national, regional, or international courts or tribunals.
In parallel, there are several initiatives in domestic courts seeking to hold members of the Myanmar military accountable for their crimes under principles of universal jurisdiction. These efforts seek to initiate structural investigations that will examine the military apparatus and eventually result in criminal responsibility for individual perpetrators. In Argentina, for example, federal prosecutors into allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity the Myanmar military committed against the Rohingya based on a complaint filed on the basis of universal jurisdiction. In Germany, Fortify Rights submitted a complaint earlier this year under the principles of universal jurisdiction, alleging the Myanmar military has committed crimes against humanity and genocide against the Rohingya, as well as crimes against humanity against civilians after their 2021 coup d’etat. In 2022, another criminal complaint was filed in Turkey under principles of universal jurisdiction alleging the Myanmar military committed crimes against humanity, including the torture of civilians after the *coup. *In Indonesia, LAW also participated in a lawsuit brought in 2022 to change a domestic law to allow for non-citizens to bring human rights claims against foreign perpetrators, with an eye towards achieving justice for Rohingya survivors in a fellow ASEAN state. Unfortunately, the Constitutional Court in Jakarta dismissed this case in April 2023, finding that their human rights law only applied to Indonesian citizens.
LAW has assisted with several of these initiatives in different ways. For example, LAW’s Executive Director has testified in one case. In another case, LAW helped review the draft complaint. In yet another case, LAW provided logistic, financial, and material support to a group of Rohingya witnesses to travel and to testify in a proceeding about their experience being persecuted Myanmar. LAW assisted by obtaining witnesses’ informed consent, preparing them for their testimony, and establishing extensive individualized security and protection plans. Over months-long conversations with ministries from various governments, LAW faced significant challenges in securing travel documentation given Myanmar has effectively revoked their citizenship through decades of legal and political discrimination. This difficulty was not just for the travel documents for the destination country, but for every stop along the flight path. While their live testimony was indeed impactful, and added value to the case in ways that remote testimony simply cannot, future proceedings should consider having at least some Rohingya witnesses testify via a secure audio-visual link, given the incredibly complex political and security challenges LAW and victims faced.
Despite these numerous and important international efforts, there has been no final determination by a court that an individual or state is responsible for the crimes committed against the Rohingya. For the over one million Rohingya refugees around the world, and the 600,000 Rohingya who remain in Myanmar – including over 120,000 in conditions of mass detention – it is more important than ever that justice actors across the world keep the pressure on the Myanmar military in each of these legal fora to ensure an end to impunity for their crimes.
*By Nick Leddy, Head of Litigation, Legal Action Worldwide, former Trial Lawyer for the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, where he worked, inter alia, on the situation in Myanmar/Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher:
Legal Action Worldwide (Genève)
Date of entry/update:
2023-08-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
No Justice, Freedom Since 2017 Atrocities
Description:
"(Bangkok) – One million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face little prospect of safely returning home, six years since the Myanmar military launched a campaign of mass atrocities in Rakhine State on August 25, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. The United Nations Security Council has failed to hold Myanmar’s generals accountable for crimes against humanity and acts of genocide against the Rohingya.
Over 730,000 Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh in 2017 now live in sprawling, overcrowded camps under growing restrictions by the authorities and spiraling violence by armed groups. About 600,000 Rohingya remain in Myanmar, effectively detained by junta authorities under a system of apartheid.
“Rohingya on both sides of the Myanmar-Bangladesh border are trapped in stateless purgatory, denied their most basic rights, awaiting justice and the chance to go home,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of addressing these issues head on, UN Security Council inaction and government aid cutbacks are leaving Rohingya in even more desperate straits.”
Rohingya in both Bangladesh and Myanmar describe a pervasive sense of hopelessness that grows each year as restrictions increase and conditions deteriorate on both sides of the border, Human Rights Watch said.
Since the February 1, 2021 military coup in Myanmar, security forces have arrested thousands of Rohingya for “unauthorized travel” and imposed new movement restrictions and aid blockages on Rohingya camps and villages. The junta’s systematic abuses against the Rohingya amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty. More than three months since the deadly Cyclone Mocha struck Rakhine State, the junta continues to block lifesaving humanitarian aid, including urgently needed medical care for communities experiencing dengue and malaria outbreaks.
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh describe new barriers to education, livelihoods, and movement that are similar to the restrictions they faced in Myanmar. Bangladesh authorities have also moved about 30,000 Rohingya to the isolated silt island Bhasan Char, where they face movement restrictions and food and medicine shortages.
Without recognized legal status in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees are on a precarious footing under domestic law, making them vulnerable to rights violations. “We have lost six years here,” a Rohingya woman told Human Rights Watch. “I am human. Why have I been treated this way throughout my life? I have millions of these thoughts every day.”
Amid surging violence by armed groups and criminal gangs in the camps, Bangladesh authorities are failing to provide protection, maintain security, or prosecute those responsible. Refugees report facing layers of barriers to police, legal, and medical assistance.
Bangladesh authorities have imposed restrictions on community-led schools since December 2021. “The prolonged refugee situation, lack of access to education and work, and ongoing violence are leaving us hopeless,” a Rohingya community leader said. “We are struggling to see a way out. We want to build better lives but can’t. The lack of education is keeping us from building skills and knowledge. The education gap in our community is growing.”
Camp authorities have recently resumed harassing and evicting Rohingya shop owners, including destroying their stores, a practice that began in December 2021. “First they surround us with fencing, now they’re shutting down our small businesses and stopping us from going outside to work,” one refugee said. “They also stopped local vehicles from operating in the camps, which was the only way that some older people, pregnant women, and people with medical crises could move around. Now we have to walk four to five kilometers just to collect rations.”
The 2023 UN Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis has received less than one-third of the US$876 million sought in donor contributions. The funding shortfall has led the World Food Programme (WFP) to cut Rohingya food rations by a third since February, down from $12 to only $8 a month, increasing malnutrition, disease, and desperation among refugees. Rohingya and humanitarian workers report that the ration cuts are already having medical and social consequences.
“With the ration cuts, we don’t have enough food to serve ourselves,” a Rohingya volunteer said. “Think about the little kids in our families or the pregnant women. They’re all affected.”
Donors, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Australia, should increase funding and pressure to meet the needs of the Rohingya refugee population. They should urge Bangladesh to reverse its restrictions so that refugees have access to the necessary tools for rebuilding their lives. Countries should also increase resettlement opportunities for Rohingya, particularly those who have been targeted by armed groups, who not only fear persecution at home in Myanmar but also threats to their lives in the camps.
The prospect of durable, voluntary returns has grown ever more distant since the military coup in Myanmar, carried out by the same generals who orchestrated the 2017 mass atrocities.
Bangladesh authorities contend that the repatriation of Rohingya is the only solution. The government has initiated steps with the Myanmar junta to return Rohingya to Rakhine State under a pilot project that has been marked by coercion and deception.
The UN and concerned governments should continue to underscore that conditions for the safe, sustainable, and dignified return of Rohingya do not currently exist. Rohingya refugees have consistently said they want to go home, but only when their security, access to land and livelihoods, freedom of movement, and citizenship rights can be ensured. “The toll of displacement has tested our resilience and strength over these six years,” one refugee said. “I dream of being able to go back to my own country Myanmar, to my village and home, with full rights of citizenship and everything else that a person deserves.”
The international response to the 2017 atrocities was fragmented and halting, with the UN Security Council doing little more than issuing a handful of statements. The council should take concrete, meaningful action, including instituting a global arms embargo, referring the country situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and imposing targeted sanctions on junta leadership and military-owned companies.
“Moving ahead with repatriating Rohingya now would mean sending refugees back to the control of a ruthless and repressive junta, setting the stage for the next devastating exodus,” Bauchner said. “Building conditions for the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of Rohingya will need a coordinated international response to establish rights-respecting civilian rule in Myanmar and achieve justice for past atrocities.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2023-08-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations
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Local URL:
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Description:
"More than 1.1 million Rohingya refugees are living in Bangladesh, and the UNHCR’s most recent news item, “Rohingya refugees face hunger and loss of hope after latest ration cuts,” raises questions regarding their nutritional status and food security.
At the beginning of the year 2023, the World Food Program (WFP) shockingly lowered the amount of ration per person twice in the course of just three months.
The WFP cut the value of monthly food vouchers from USD 12 to USD 10 per person in March and further reduced it to USD 8 per person in June 2023, highlighting the financing shortfall.
Therefore, a Rohingya refugee’s daily budget for food and nutrition must not exceed 27 cents. Even the UN was had to reduce food rations for Rohingya refugees by 17%, which made the already dire situation worse.
The WFP, on the other hand, is adamant that it needs an immediate USD 125 million to avoid further rationing.
Are 27 cents enough for a Rohingya? is a million-dollar question. Morjina, a 27-year-old mother of three young children who is a single parent, said, “I had to cut the size of my children’s meals, but for how long? My family does not have access to enough food, and I am truly unsure of our future. (UNHCR, July 19 2023)
Ironically, funders have already turned their focus to the crisis in Europe (Ukraine). They had previously issued a warning that 20 to 30 percent of financing will be cut in 2022, including funds for the UN.
We are aware that geopolitics affects how much money is distributed for aid by bilateral and international donors.
However, it is amazing how they came up with the idea of reducing the ration when you take into account all political and nonpolitical issues. Without food, it is possible to survive without shelter, clothing, or education, but it is difficult to battle hunger.
One might infer from their strategy that they lack the foresight to recognize the disastrous effects of their choice.
Rohingyas may resort to sex slavery, underage marriage, or the perilous boat passage to neighboring countries to feed their hunger, which may result in crime and gender-based violence. There is evidence that Rohingyas are considering joining armed organizations because they can earn Tk 5,000 per month.
The decision will ultimately worsen the current situation of being trapped. The Bangladeshi people will also suffer as a result of their geopolitical choice, in addition to the Rohingya refugees.
Nearly a million Rohingyas are already living in Bangladesh. Only to house the Rohingya, the nation sacrificed its environment and natural beauty, and Bangladesh’s motives were solely humanitarian.
The Rohingya population will be forced to engage in criminal activity as a result of the lower ration, which will negatively impact Cox’s Bazar residents in the area.
Local media reports that several Bangladeshis were slain by Rohingyas in the Cox’s Bazar region, and that this trend is likely to continue.
The moment has come for the international community to reconsider its approach to the Rohingya refugee catastrophe. They were not to blame for their destiny, nor was the crisis brought on by the Bangladeshi administration or the state itself. They shouldn’t have to suffer as a result of something they did not do.
The UN and the international community, who support human rights, ought to take the initiative to find a solution. Either they (the international community) provide sufficient financial contributions to support a sizable number of refugees in Bangladesh, or they take decisive action against Myanmar to put an immediate end to the issue.
It’s time to eliminate their prejudice against the West. Both Ukrainians and Rohingyas are human beings. Thus, on a humanitarian level, these crises should receive equal attention. We cannot kill one in order to feed the other.
In actuality, the media, particularly the international media, has a tremendous impact on raising money for the Rohingya refugees. For instance, the Washington Post’s lead item from March 15, 2023, “Aid dwindles for Rohingya refugees as money goes to Ukraine, other crises,” is important in gaining support for the Rohingya cause internationally.
As a result, the international community’s resource allocation to the Rohingya refugees is decreasing, and local, regional, and international media outlets must broadcast more articles on this..."
Source/publisher:
"EurAsia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-31
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Indian authorities summarily imprison Rohingya refugees for years
Description:
"(COX’S BAZAR and BANGKOK, July 28, 2023)—The Government of India should immediately and unconditionally release indefinitely detained Rohingya refugees and end the arbitrary arrest and detention of refugees, said Fortify Rights today. The government should also investigate violations within its detention facilities and hold officials found responsible to account.
In a new investigation, Fortify Rights documented evidence of Indian authorities beating Rohingya refugees, denying them due process rights, and indefinitely detaining hundreds, in some cases for several years. Indian authorities have detained Rohingya refugees in at least New Delhi, Jammu, Manipur, and Assam for immigration-related offenses.
“The Indian government must end its indefinite detention of refugees and investigate the violent crackdown and beatings of Rohingya refugees in detention,” said Zaw Win, Human Rights Specialist at Fortify Rights. “No one should be imprisoned for being a refugee – a status no one willingly chooses. Indian authorities must protect Rohingya who have fled an ongoing genocide in Myanmar.”
Fortify Rights interviewed 14 people in India, including 12 Rohingya refugees, three of whom are currently detained in India. Fortify Rights also obtained and reviewed photographs and video footage from inside detention centers in India.
On July 24, 2023, Indian police reportedly arrested more than 70 Rohingya refugees in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier, in a separate incident, on July 18, 2023, hundreds of Rohingya refugees detained in Jammu protested their indefinite detention, including through a hunger strike. Indian authorities responded with tear gas and beatings, injuring several refugees. Two days after the incident, a Rohingya infant present during the incident reportedly died. Fortify Rights did not independently confirm the child’s cause of death.
A Rohingya refugee, 30, originally from Buthidaung Township in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, has been detained in India for five years. He told Fortify Rights how Indian authorities arrested and beat him on May 1, 2018, at the India-Myanmar border in Manipur. He said: “[The Indian authorities] beat us with a rod asking us why we were ‘crossing the border illegally’ . . . They beat us very often. They beat my leg and knee. They beat us inside the custody [detention center].”
Later, and without legal representation, the authorities brought the man to court, summarily convicted him, and sentenced him for entering India without permission.
“I have been in detention for the last five years,” he told Fortify Rights. “It is hell here in detention . . . We want to be free.”
Another detained Rohingya man (location withheld for security reasons) told Fortify Rights that Indian authorities arrested him in December 2020 for immigration offenses under Section 14 of India’s Foreigners Act, 1946. He remains in detention after being summarily convicted and sentenced to one year in prison. He said:
[The Indian authorities] detained me . . . It was on the bus . . . in Karimganj District in Assam . . . they took us to prison . . . [I have] stayed in detention for more than two and a half years now. Going through the court like this, I have become so hopeless.
Fortify Rights confirmed from the court documents that the court sentenced him to one year in prison. Despite serving this sentence and being a refugee recognized by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the U.N. agency mandated to protect refugees, Indian authorities continue to detain him. He told Fortify Rights: “UNHCR provided us with their cards, which means, from what I understand, that they must protect and help their cardholders as refugees . . . If a UNHCR-recognized refugee has to continue to stay in jail even after finishing his sentence, he is not safe.”
Another Rohingya refugee originally from Maungdaw Township in Rakhine State and now detained in India (location withheld for security reasons) told Fortify Rights how Indian authorities detained him while he was traveling in Assam:
We showed [the Indian authorities] our [UNHCR] refugee identification card. The policemen told us that the Indian government does not accept refugee identification for travel. So, they took us to the court. It was in Assam that we were arrested. We were detained for nine months in a detention center in Assam.
From 2021 to 2022, Indian authorities transferred this refugee between three different detention facilities. He said, “After three years, we were told that we would be moving [to a different facility] . . . We were told that our prison period had finished, and we were moved to the refugee camps, but it is not a camp; it is a detention center.”
Indian authorities effectively denied him legal representation. At the time of writing, he remains in indefinite detention.
Speaking about the conditions in the detention center, he told Fortify Rights: “UNHCR is not helping us in detention . . . We are not fed well in detention. They provide rice with lentils . . . There is no education for our children . . . We are hardly surviving.”
Fortify Rights also spoke to relatives of those detained and some who fled to Bangladesh and other neighboring countries out of fear of arrest or being forcibly returned to Myanmar.
A Rohingya man, 49, originally from Maungdaw Township, told Fortify Rights that he fled India to Bangladesh fearing arbitrary arrest by Indian authorities.
Another Rohingya man told Fortify Rights that he witnessed Indian authorities arrest and separate a refugee family in Narwal, Jammu in May 2021. Fortify Rights obtained and reviewed video footage of the incident, which shows a Rohingya woman being arrested by authorities, put into a vehicle, and separated from her infant child. The Rohingya man who witnessed the incident said:
In a family of a husband, wife, and four children, the police only arrested the mother and one child. A breastfeeding infant was not taken with the mother. The people are very traumatized by how the police forcefully separated the infant from the mother. Then the people tried to flee the area . . . I have videos of the breastfeeding child being left behind when the police arrested the mother.
Fortify Rights also received and reviewed a mobile-phone audio recording from July 19, 2023, between a Rohingya relative and a family member inside a detention center—the location of which is withheld for security reasons. In the audio recording, a Rohingya woman explains that Indian authorities had beaten her, and she pleads with her relative to tell the authorities not to beat her, saying: “[A]t night, we will be beaten, and [I] already have been beaten so badly . . . Please ask my brother to ask [the police] not to beat me . . . Please tell them not to beat me.”
She also pleaded in the audio recording to be granted bail and have a lawyer represent her. At the time of writing, she remains in detention.
Indian authorities have also cracked down on Rohingya en masse in detention. Most recently, on July 18, 2023, Indian authorities violently cracked down on Rohingya refugees in Hiranagar Detention Center in Jammu. According to mobile-phone video footage obtained and reviewed by Fortify Rights and substantiated by interviews with refugees, Rohingya detainees staged a protest against their indefinite detention. Some took part in a hunger strike, calling for their release. Indian authorities responded with tear gas and beatings, injuring several refugees and reportedly killing a detained infant.
Mobile-phone footage reviewed and on file with Fortify Rights shows the aftermath of the protest and crackdown by authorities in the detention center. On July 20, 2023, two days after the crackdown, Fortify Rights spoke to a relative of a detainee at the Hiranagar Detention Center. He said: “When I [spoke to] him, he told me, ‘There are people who got injured as [the authorities] fired teargas [at us]. . . We are doing a hunger strike here.”
Media reports and Rohingya advocates allege that the Rohingya child who died in the Jammu detention facility died from injuries related to tear gas inhalation. Indian authorities denied the allegation to Indian media, claiming the death was unrelated to the crackdown.
A Rohingya refugee community leader in India, knowledgeable of the incident, told Fortify Rights that some Rohingya in the Hiranagar detention facility “have been detained for more than two years.”
On July 18, 2023, Superintendent of Kathua District Detention Center Koushal Kumar told journalists: “[Rohingya refugees] tried to break open the gate and come out, but we closed the gate . . . I cannot [say] the exact number of persons injured.”
On July 19, 2023, the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, a leading Rohingya organization in India, said they “strongly condemn” the Indian authorities’ crackdown on Rohingya refugees and called for “an immediate end to the human rights abuses and arbitrary detention.”
India should conduct an independent investigation into the violent incident at the Hiranagar Detention Center and release those detained, Fortify Rights said today.
“We’re concerned that the recent violence against Rohingya in India could lead to renewed calls to force them back to Myanmar, and that must be avoided at all costs,” said Zaw Win. “Refugees have rights, and India is obligated to respect those rights.”
On March 5, 2021, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir invoked powers under Section 3(2)(d) of the Foreigners Act of 1946 and Section 2(d) of the Citizenship Act of 1955 to convert Hiranagar Detention Center in Kathua District to a “holding center” to detain Rohingya with immigration-related offenses.
Section 2(b) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 defines “illegal migrants” as foreigners who entered India without a valid passport or travel documents or those who entered with a valid passport or travel document but remained in the country beyond the permitted period. The Foreigners Act regulates the entry of foreigners into the country, their presence, and departure. Section 3(2)(d) of the Foreigners Act empowers the central government to issue orders removing or restraining the presence of foreigners in specific areas.
Customary international law and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which India is a state party, forbids the arbitrary, unlawful, or indefinite detention of any person, including refugees and migrants. Refugees may only be detained as an exceptional measure of last resort following an individualized assessment and after the exhaustion of all alternatives to detention.
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution protects this right stating that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.” Moreover, Article 22 of the Constitution protects all persons arrested and detained. These protections include the right to know the grounds of arrest and detention, the right to a lawyer, and the right to be presented before a court.
India has also signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). As emphasized by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance in 2019, Indian authorities’ discrimination against Rohingya, who are an ethnic minority, violates India’s obligations under the UDHR, ICCPR, and CERD. While the Foreigner’s Act empowers the Indian central government to place restrictions on groups of foreigners, such restrictions should not override its commitments under CERD. Any restrictions also should not violate refugee rights to equality before the law and the equal protection of the law guaranteed under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
India has signed but has not ratified the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). As a signatory, India is bound to follow the principle of non-refoulement, which is a peremptory norm of international law. Article 3 of UNCAT enshrines the principle of non-refoulement, prohibiting states from returning any person on its territory or under its jurisdiction to a country where they face persecution. India’s previous returns of Rohingya to Myanmar, which is committing genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya people, violated this peremptory norm.
India should also sign and ratify the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, said Fortify Rights.
In 2019, Fortify Rights documented Indian authorities beating and threatening to return Rohingya refugees to Myanmar while forcing dozens into Bangladeshi territory. All Rohingya in that instance were UNHCR-recognized refugees.
“India should provide a safe haven for Rohingya fleeing genocidal attacks and other international crimes in Myanmar,” said Zaw Win. “Rather than continuing their persecution, the Indian government should allow Rohingya refugees access to legal status, education, livelihoods, and freedom of movement.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Fortify Rights"
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Local URL:
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Description:
"London, UK - The Burma Human Rights Network is alarmed by ongoing reports of traffickers moving Rohingya from Bangladesh to India. While far fewer Rohingya are trafficked to India than Malaysia and Indonesia, it remains an overlooked area of concern. India’s treatment of Rohingya and other refugees is also a serious concern, with refugees staging protests, including hunger strikes, inside Hiranagar Jail, Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. Eight refugees were reportedly injured when authorities intervened to stop the peaceful protest.
BHRN calls on authorities in India to facilitate dialogue with Rohingya refugees and grant them full human rights. Refugees should be afforded the opportunity to work, go to school, and move freely. Furthermore, the international community should directly challenge the discriminatory policies of Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The Rohingya are shuffled like merchandise all over the world by callous traffickers taking advantage of their desperate situation. India should end the indefinite detention of the Rohingya and other refugees and uphold its commitment to international legal obligations,” said BHRN’s Executive Director, Kyaw Win.
Indian media is reporting an increase in Rohingya being trafficked into the country. The most recent arrest took place on 18 July, when Assam police arrested a man named Partha Sen in connection to the trafficking of 14 people, including four Rohingya. Rohingya trafficked from Bangladesh are frequently men looking for work or women trafficked for marriage because their families can’t afford a dowry.
Rohingya, Bangladeshis, and immigrants in India are frequently referred to as ‘intruders’ and shown contempt by the government and many of the nationalists within the country. Much of the animosity towards the Rohingya intersects with the country’s widespread Islamophobia. India has a history of poor treatment of Burmese refugees, detaining them in poor conditions, and has sent some back to Burma in violation of the principle of nonrefoulment. Since 2017 India has repeatedly sought to send the Rohingya back to Burma, despite the genocide against them and ongoing conflict in the country.
Political parties and media in India must address their use of incendiary language against migrant populations. Anti-Muslim rhetoric in India has created a deep division in the country, resulting in frequent targeted violence against minorities. The situation needs to be addressed and corrected for the sake of the Rohingya, minorities in India, and the country as a whole.
Organisation’s Background
BHRN is based in London and operates across Burma/Myanmar working for human rights, minority rights and religious freedom in the country. BHRN has played a crucial role in advocating for human rights and religious freedom with politicians and world leaders..."
Source/publisher:
Burma Human Rights Network
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Trafficking: Burma-specific material
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
135.04 KB
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Sub-title:
espite fires burning down learning centres and Cyclone Mocha’s wrath, a record 300,000 Rohingya refugee children attend first day of school
Description:
"COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh, 23 July 2023 – Against the odds of displacement, fires burning down learning centres, and Cyclone Mocha’s wrath, classrooms in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh are filling up today with children, excited on the first day of school. Thanks to expanded education opportunities for teenagers and girls, a record 300,000 children are enrolled for the 2023/24 school year.
The new academic year marks the first time that Rohingya refugee children of all ages will be studying under the Myanmar Curriculum. Since its launch in 2021, this formal curriculum has gradually been expanded with grades 3-5 and grade 10 opening today for the first time in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps, significantly increasing learning opportunities for both older and younger children.
“Rohingya refugee children want to learn, and to turn their hopes and dreams for a better future to actual potential,” said Mr. Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh. “The single most important ingredient for ensuring a safe and dignified return of these children to Myanmar is ensuring that they can continue their education while they are here in Bangladesh. I urge our partners and donors to stand by UNICEF as we deliver on our promise to provide education for every Rohingya refugee child.”
In addition to the new opportunities for older children, a dedicated campaign has brought more than 13,000 children who were out of school into the classroom. Efforts to support adolescent girls to continue their education are key to the record attendance this year. Due to social norms, parents are often reluctant to send girls to school once they reach puberty. In response, UNICEF and partners have worked closely with the refugee community to demonstrate to parents the benefits of education for girls, to provide girls-only classrooms, and to organize chaperoning to classes by female mentors.
Delivering education in the largest refugee settlement in the world is an immense operation. One million refugees – half of them children – have lived in the densely populated camps in Bangladesh since 2017 when they fled violence and persecution in neighbouring Myanmar. Education for Rohingya refugee children is provided through 3,400 learning centres – 2,800 of which are supported by UNICEF – as well as through community-based learning facilities.
On the first day of school in the camps, UNICEF appeals for US$33 million to urgently support education for Rohingya refugee children in the 2023/24 academic year..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Children's Fund
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Children, Education rights: reports of violations in Burma, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Worldwide refugee crises have taken center stage in the news in recent years. According to the UNHCR report, there are currently 110 million refugees worldwide, compared to 100 million in 2022.
The report also said that the number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) worldwide remained stable at 40 million for two decades until 2011, but this number has almost tripled due to the Syrian crisis in 2011 and various events in recent years. The re-establishment of Taliban rule in Afghanistan in 2021, the war in Ukraine in 2022, and finally the civil war in Sudan on April 15 this year have exacerbated the refugee crisis.
A refugee is a person or persons who have sought refuge from their own country to a neighboring or foreign country due to social or political discrimination and who fear loss of life or persecution upon returning to their country. They are called refugees in international law. Internationally, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) takes care of refugees in coordination with the concerned country or countries.
This year, on the occasion of the World Refugee Day (June 20), UNHCR head (High Commissioner) Filippo Grandi said the number of refugees around the world is increasing at an alarming rate. He expressed concern and said that violence among people is increasing. He lamented that we live in a polarized world where international tensions dismiss all humanitarian issues. There is a growing laxity among countries in following the principles of the 1951 Refugee Convention, even among many signatories to that convention.’
Currently, the number of displaced Myanmar nationals (Rohingya) residing in Cox’s Bazar and Noakhali in Bangladesh is said to be 9 lakh, but with the addition of 30,000 new births every year, this number will exceed 12 lakh in 2022. However, Bangladesh does not recognize these Rohingya as refugees and calls them Forcefully Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN). Even though the Rohingya crisis that has been going on since 2017 has been going on for almost 6 years, it can be said without hesitation that there is no visible progress in resolving it, i.e., repatriation to Myanmar. At different times, the representatives of different countries and international organizations during their visits to Bangladesh have traditionally only heard the message of hope.
During a visit to Cox’s Bazar on March 30, Senior Vice President for US Development Daniel Runde said that the US is serious about solving the Rohingya problem. He said that the United States is working with the international community for a sustainable solution to the Rohingya problem. Meanwhile, in mid-April, an impromptu meeting on the Chinese-mediated repatriation of the Rohingya was held in Kunming, where officials from the foreign ministries of Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China participated.
A 27-member team, including 20 Rohingyas, visited Maungdaw in Myanmar’s Rakhine state on May 5 to boost the Rohingyas’ confidence and interest in repatriation. They visited various villages and transit centers in Maungdaw city and spoke to the Rohingyas there. From their reactions, it can be understood that all those hoping for repatriation are optimistic.
Meanwhile, as time goes on, there is increasing uncertainty about the continuation of humanitarian aid for the Rohingya. The reason for this is the prolongation of the Rohingya’s stay and the creation of new humanitarian crises around the world. Humanitarian services for the Rohingya are challenged to continue at the same level while providing funding for the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, the floods in Pakistan, the earthquake in Turkey, the civil war in Sudan, the food crisis in Africa, etc.
The 2022 report of the United Nations Office in Dhaka, published on April 4, feared a financial crisis in 2023 with Rohingya aid. On June 1, the United Nations cut the per capita allocation for the Rohingya to $8 for the second time in a year, from $12 earlier this year. The UN said it had to take this step as funding sources for the Rohingya continued to dwindle. As of June 1, only 24 percent had been pledged against the UN’s $876 million aid appeal for 2023. On the other hand, it is not possible for Bangladesh to bear the pressure of more than 12 lakh Rohingya indefinitely.
Although the government has sheltered these Rohingyas for humanitarian reasons, there is practically no regional or international initiative to repatriate them. Although the government has been vocal about the Rohingya issue in bilateral discussions and various national and international forums, world leaders are not seen as active in solving the problem; rather, the matter is still limited to assurances. During the Prime Minister’s visit to Geneva last week, when UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi met him, the Prime Minister called for creating a favorable environment for the return of the Rohingyas to the country.
Grundy reiterated UNHCR’s support for Bangladesh on repatriation but acknowledged its limitations. Meanwhile, the joint working group (JWG) of Bangladesh and Myanmar on the issue of Rohingya repatriation was held in June 2022, after three years.
Most of the world’s refugee camps are long-term destinations for refugees, and their inhabitants are travelers on an uncertain path. Refugees in Bangladesh (Rohingya) have been living inhumane lives in confined spaces for a minimum of 6 years and a maximum of 30 years. Syrian refugees have been in Turkey and other countries for more than a decade. The Afghan refugee crisis in Pakistan and Iran has been ongoing since the 1990s.
During the post-Afghan war (2001–2002) that began after the 9-11 (2001) attacks by the United States, Afghan refugees took shelter in Pakistan, where 36 million refugees were already stayed since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1990s. Half of these refugees scattered across the world are children (under 18), who face an uncertain future without formal education.
According to international law, no refugee may be forced to return to their home country, where they are at risk of further persecution. In parallel, as a populous country, it is not possible for Bangladesh to shelter refugees or displaced Rohingyas staying in the country for a long period of time in accordance with international standards. Apart from this, due to the delay in their repatriation, various social disturbances are occurring frequently. Incidents of violence and conflict are frequent inside and outside the camps, which is alarming. In addition, Rohingyas often spread outside the camps, even to different parts of the country, and get involved in illegal activities.
We must not only sympathize with the plight of refugees. The forces that are creating this situation must be held accountable. Public opinion should be created in favor of refugees in the domestic and international arenas. The sooner the repatriation of Rohingyas is possible, the better for Rohingyas and their host countries. Sustainable repatriation through bilateral and international diplomatic efforts is the only solution to this crisis. So, the role of rich countries cannot be ignored; big countrie must work earnestly to solve the refugee problem..."
Source/publisher:
Eurasia Review
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"14 July 2023: The member States of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council and broader international community must do far more to support the struggle for human rights and democracy in Myanmar if they are genuine about wanting to facilitate the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya refugees, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).
The UN Human Rights Council adopted resolution A/HRC/53/L.30 on the “Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar” on 14 July 2023. The resolution urges “Myanmar” to immediately commence the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of all forcibly displaced Rohingya from Bangladesh (OP32), among other calls. This contradicts earlier statements in the resolution that recognise the lack of tangible progress in creating conditions in Myanmar conducive to repatriation.
“A UN Human Rights Council resolution should be concerned with human rights – in this case, the human rights of the Rohingya. Instead, resolution A/HRC/53/L.30 appears to be more concerned with normalising premature and dangerous initiatives to bring about their repatriation,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “Rohingya refugee communities have made it very clear that they do not want to return to Myanmar before their rights are guaranteed and their citizenship restored. That should be the focus of the Human Rights Council.”
The Government of Bangladesh has recently been cooperating with the military junta in Myanmar to implement a so-called repatriation pilot scheme, that has involved members of the junta visiting the refugee camps in Bangladesh and several Rohingya refugees visiting a repatriation facility in Myanmar.
Rohingya who took part in the so-called ‘go-and-see’ visit concluded they would not return to Myanmar under the arrangement as suitable conditions do not exist. UN agencies have provided practical assistance to the scheme, despite the UN Refugee Agency expressing a position that conditions for sustainable repatriation do not exist – an assessment also publicly stated by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights during the current 53rd Regular Session of the Human Rights Council.
Rohingya living in Myanmar, primarily in Rakhine State, are subjected to a systematic violation of their rights that may amount to genocide. The discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law effectively deprives the Rohingya of full citizenship. Rohingya are also denied freedom of movement, including 120,000 people who have been confined to camps in central Rakhine for eleven years. The military systematically denies international actors access to Rohingya communities in need of humanitarian assistance, most recently in the wake of devastation caused by Cyclone Mocha in May.
“Myanmar is right now in the midst of a fully-fledged national liberation movement to free the whole country from the externally abetted tyranny of the military,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “That is the same military that perpetrated the atrocities against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017, seeking to re-impose the same constitutional framework that enabled their persecution for generations. The cause of the Rohingya is the cause of Myanmar. The two cannot be divorced from one another.”
The crisis in Myanmar has worsened throughout 2023. The military junta has increased its use of airstrikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure as it cedes control on the ground to the increasingly organised democratic resistance. The Myanmar people have received little support from the international community in their efforts to resist the military’s attacks and establish a peaceful federal democracy. The military junta, meanwhile, continues to receive weapons and strategic supplies from UN member States, financial support from its network of business interests and crony companies, and has control over when, where and how desperately needed international humanitarian relief can enter the country.
“Any genuine initiative on the part of the international community to facilitate the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, and, indeed, all refugees and internally displaced persons that have fled the military’s decades of violence, will require a far greater effort to support the democratic movement inside the country,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “That means expediting accountability through the International Criminal Court, strengthening sanctions regimes and arms embargoes, and providing humanitarian, diplomatic, financial and technical support to the people through the National Unity Government, National Unity Consultative Council, Ethnic Resistance Organisations and civil society.”..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Mukesh Kapila
I clung atop a palm tree praying furiously while cyclonic winds threatened to whip me away. It was the early 1970s and I was a humanitarian volunteer on Moudubi island in the Bay of Bengal. I was teaching and living in the island’s ramshackle school. That first visit to Bangladesh was in the dark shadow of its 1971 Liberation War which saw three million killed in genocidal atrocities. It was soon after Supercyclone Bhola had already cost 0.5 million lives in 1970. Fully expecting that by now the island would have disappeared under rising seas, I am heartened to see just the opposite. A google-maps flyover reveals a bustling Moudubi and a lively Facebook page extols my former school’s many achievements.
The plucky survival of this tiny speck is a metaphor for a nation once described as a “basket case” meriting just a two-hour stop-over by US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. Today Bangladesh is a lower-middle-income country. It’s 169 million people have seen poverty headcount halve and income jump to US$2500 per capita (in current dollars) from US$400 at the Millennium.
Many more Bangladeshi children survive birth, grow up healthy and educated to live longer and productively. The nation has got better at coping with frequent disasters and its population will stabilise by mid-century as growth rate falls below 1% annually. But it still ranks modestly at 129th (out of 191 ) on the Human Development Index and its resilience is under test. It is the sixth most climate-vulnerable country, even as it confronts many social, economic, and political challenges, in common with other developing countries.
I returned many times to see how Bangladesh navigates an increasingly perilous world. This was in different official capacities in the British government, International Red Cross Red Crescent, and United Nations I learnt that key was the grim determination and natural resourcefulness of its people. Also the supportive partnerships its government has built with many nations and international organisations to attract aid, trade, and financial investment.
My latest visit took me to Cox’s Bazar. Recalling the darkest days of the 1970s when 10 million Bangladeshis found safety in India, it is Bangladesh’s turn now to provide a safe haven for one million Rohingya fleeing Myanmar. Cox’s Bazar is the world’s largest refugee settlement and the Rohingya live in some 33 heavily-congested camps that are frequently devastated by fires, cyclones flooding, and disease outbreaks. Nevertheless, it is an enterprising and energising place.
Bangladeshis are naturally generous and the authorities have diverted significant national resources to help the Rohingya while facilitating some 100 countries, international organizations, philanthropies and NGOs to come and bolster Bangladesh’s own humanitarian endeavors. I saw that despite the challenging and fragile physical environment, commendable efforts addressed critical refugee needs starting with infrastructure for shelter, sanitation, and clean water. Healthcare facilities provide clinical services, immunizations, maternal and childcare. Tackling malnutrition and preventing communicable diseases get special attention.
In an echo of Bangladesh’s own development journey, fostering hope, empowering communities, and rebuilding productive lives are recognised as important to enhance future prospects for the refugees. Learning centres provide basic education, vocational training and skills development to thousands of refugee children and youth. Bangladesh has also established legal aid services to guide refugees seeking justice and protection in collaboration with international partners. That includes registering and documenting all refugees to further safeguard their rights.
The Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar for at least 50 years, with big purges in 1978, 1992, 2012, and the biggestever exodus in 2016. No one becomes a refugee out of choice, and none want to stay exiled longer than necessary. Neither do they wish to depend on the charity of others. “We don’t want to be confined in camps. We want to get back our land, and we will build our own houses there,” said Oli Hossain. Another refugee, Abu Sufian, added that “We want nothing but a safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable repatriation.” Rohingya prospects were discussed recently in Geneva between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. Long-term solutions require most refugees to eventually return home with a minority settling permanently in Bangladesh or third countries.
The Muslim Rohingya fled their Buddhist-dominated homeland in Rakhine state where they had lived for centuries because the Myanmar state and military denied their ethnic identity, cancelled their citizenship and inflicted terrible violence and atrocities that are alleged as genocide in a case working its way through the International Court of Justice. There are no prospects of meaningful Rohingya returns while Myanmar’s repressive regime continues and the nation remains embroiled in other internal conflicts. Overall, these have forcibly displaced around 3 million Myanmar people, mostly minorities living at the periphery of this vast nation.
Re-settlement in other countries is relatively modest. Malaysia hosts around 150,000 Rohingya, Thailand nearly 100,000, and small numbers live precariously in India, Nepal, and Indonesia. Hundreds of fleeing Rohingya have lost their lives in perilous sea crossings. Safer migration and re-settlement in Asia-Pacific or in the West should be possible if nations act in solidarity according to their Refugee Convention obligations. The energy and enterprise of the Rohingya make them an asset to any country that admits them.
The global refugee system is heavily-stretched, and a refugee may, on average, spend twenty years in limbo before finding a durable solution. That is both inhumane and a waste of human resources. Recognising that most of the Rohingya are likely to stay in Bangladesh for some time before returning home means helping the Bangladesh authorities and international agencies to care for them in a more sustained manner. Also, enabling the refugees to depend less on humanitarian aid and contribute more to their host country’s economy and development. Fairness also requires helping the approximately 538,000 local Bangladeshi population to benefit equitably from hosting their Rohingya guests. De-congesting Cox’s Bazar by voluntarily relocating some of the Rohingya to safe parts of the country can ease and distribute the burden.
But the challenges are considerable. The Rohingya Humanitarian Response Plan of the United Nations and partners seeks US$875.9 million for 2023 of which only 28% had been received at mid-year. Recently, Rohingya food rations have had to be cut… again and again. Discontent and insecurity are to be feared in a geopolitically sensitive part of the world. Of course, there is also much pain and suffering in other parts of the world. But there are still enough resources to go around even under current difficult global scenarios. The world’s dispossessed should not be put into undignified competition with each other.
Neither Bangladesh nor the Rohingya should be left alone and the international community must be more generous in playing its part. This can be a collective win-win and breathe genuine meaning into this year’s World Refugee Day slogan to bring “hope away from home”..."
Source/publisher:
E-International Relations
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"On June 19, 2023, a Rohingya youth, identified as Iman Hossain, was killed and another was injured in a gunfight between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) at Balukhali Rohingya Camp-8 in the Ukhiya Upazila (Sub-District) of Cox’s Bazar District.
On June 13, 2023, one person, Bashir Ullah, was killed in a gunfight between ARSA and RSO at the H/32 block of Camp-10 in Ukhiya.
On June 5, 2023, a group of eight to ten ARSA operatives shot dead a madrassa (seminary) student, Mohammad Bashir, at Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhiya.
According to partial data compiled by the by the Institute for Conflict Management (ICM), at least nine persons have been killed in ARSA-linked violence in 2023 (data till July 2), including four ARSA cadres. There were four such fatalities in 2022 (including one ARSA cadre) and one (ARSA cadre) in 2021.
Meanwhile, SFs have arrested at least 31 ARSA operatives in Bangladesh in 2023, four in 2022 and 10 in 2021. Some of the recent arrests included:
June 12, 2023: An ARSA operative and also an accused in six murders, Sabbir Ahmed aka Lalu, was arrested by the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) from Balukhali camp in Ukhiya.
May 21, 2023: A suspected ARSA operative, Rahmat Kabir, was arrested with a firearm by the APBn from Camp-9 in Ukhiya.
May 10, 2023: A top ARSA ‘commander’, Mohammad Zubair, was arrested by the APBn in Ukhiya.
ARSA was formed following the riots in the Rakhine State of Myanmar in 2012, in which ethnic Rohingya Muslims were targeted by ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. It, however, first came into prominence in October 2016 when it attacked three police outposts in the Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships in Myanmar, killing nine Police officers, provoking massive retaliatory violence by state Forces and fuelling a wave of distress migration of Rohingyas into Bangladesh.
Reports in 2018 indicated ARSA was responsible for two 2017 massacres in which up to 99 Hindu residents in the northern Rakhine state of Myanmar were murdered, including children. Further, reports of ARSA targeting the small Christian Rohingya community living in the Bangladeshi refugee camps as well as Rohingya civilians working with international humanitarian organisations surfaced throughout 2019 and 2020. ARSA has also come under fire for its claimed role in the 2016–2017 killings of moderate Rohingya community leaders in Rakhine State, a trend that continues in the camps in Bangladesh. ARSA was widely implicated in the high-profile September 2021 murder of Mohib Ullah, a moderate Rohingya leader who was shot dead outside the office of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, the organisation he led. However, ARSA denied any involvement in the killing.
During 2016 and 2017, ARSA leaders had started visiting certain Rohingya areas in Myanmar to recruit locals. They would then ask each community to ‘contribute’ five to ten individuals for ‘basic training’. After completing their initial training, new ARSA members went back to their communities to carry out ‘security responsibilities’, promote active religious observance, and allegedly use violence to silence Rohingyas who opposed their actions or were seen as being too close to the authorities.
For internal communications and recruiting, ARSA used text messages from mobile phones and shortly, the encrypted WhatsApp, while it used Facebook and Twitter to spread its message more publicly. In 2017, Facebook classified ARSA as a “dangerous organisation,” which basically put an end to the group’s Facebook activity. ARSA maintained a consistent posting schedule on its @ARSA_Official Twitter account, which is still active on the social media site.
Myanmar’s Anti-Terrorism Central Committee, meanwhile, declared ARSA a terrorist group on August 25, 2017, in accordance with the country’s counter-terrorism law. ARSA is also considered a terrorist group in Malaysia.
ARSA is led by Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi aka Hafiz Tohar, a Rohingya born in Karachi, Pakistan, who grew up in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Bertin Linter in the report “ARSA linked to foreign extremist groups”, mentions ARSA’s second-ranking leader, as a person known only as ‘Sharif’, who comes from Chittagong in Bangladesh and does not appear in any of the group’s propaganda videos. Sharif reportedly speaks with an Urdu accent, the official language of Pakistan. Other members of the ARSA leadership include a committee of Rohingya émigrés in Saudi Arabia.
ARSA claims it is fighting on behalf of more than a million Rohingya, who have been denied the most basic rights, including citizenship, in Myanmar; as well as against the ‘inhuman’ condition of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. In a statement on May 10, 2023, Ataullah declared,
ARSA’s ultimate objective is to repatriate the entire Rohingya community to their Ancestral land. Yet the current repatriation plan of the Genocidal Burmese Territory Military Regime is nothing but a scheme to mislead both the Rohingya and the International Community. The proposed establishment of temporary camps for a limited number of people only serves to relieve them from international pressures and avoid accountability for the Genocide committed against the Rohingya people.
The statement maintains that the only viable option for the safe repatriation of the Rohingya people is the establishment of a ‘Safe Zone’ under the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P).
ARSA operates in the Rakhine State and inside Bangladesh refugee camps.
A February 15, 2023, report placed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Defence Ministry of Bangladesh, stated that ARSA was among 10 terrorist and dacoit gangs active in the Rohingya camps. The report added that Tambru’s Konapara Camp, on the ‘zero line’ (Bangladesh-Myanmar border), had become the centre point for ARSA’s organisational operations, training, and control of drug smuggling and terrorist activities, due to a lack of regular patrolling and surveillance. The report stated that ARSA is active in Ukhia, Balukhali, Palangkhali (Ukhiya Sub-District) and Whykong (Teknaf Sub-District) of Bangladesh. Noting that ARSA controlled most of the camps, the report stated that ARSA and the Nabi Hussain dacoit gang often engaged in clashes over dominance and control, resulting in a series of murders.
In a February 24, 2022, interview, ARSA leader Ataullah claimed that his group had a cadre strength of 14,000 in Bangladesh and 2,000 in Myanmar.
Little is known about the financial backers of ARSA, but the International Crisis Group believes funding originates from an unnamed group of supporters in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Four banks, including the Islami Bank, Al Arafa Islami Bank, Western Union, and Pubali Bank, which are located in the Rohingya refugee camps in the Cox’s Bazar District, have been used by ARSA to receive international funding.
According to a recent report, Rohingya Camps Near the Border — a New Source of Insecurity? released on May 26, 2022, the Bangladesh Police described ARSA as the ‘kingpins’ of the illegal trade across the Bangladesh–Myanmar border. The report added that, though ARSA was a Burmese terrorist organization, the group uses Bangladesh for their arms and Yaba trade (drugs trafficking), to raise revenues.
Interestingly, ARSA has revealed that it had received training from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). ARSA and the Bangladesh-based Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) are also linked and videos of joint undergoing arms training have surfaced on social media. Indeed, a statement by Ambassador Hau Do Suan, Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations, on Agenda Item 109 “Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism”, at the Sixth Committee of the 74rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, read:
We are concerned about the link between ARSA and international terrorist groups, including FTFs (Foreign Terrorist Fighters). Since its inception, ARSA has been reportedly guided and supported by foreign terrorists such as Al-Qaeda, ISIL, and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The threat to security from ARSA in Bangladesh, principally in the Rohingya refugee camps and surrounding area in Cox’s Bazar District, has increased manifold in the recent past, as this group has intensified its efforts to establish its dominance in these areas. The resultant clashes with Rohingya camp leaders as well as other insurgent/criminal groups, have enormously vitiated the security environment, and it is likely that this sort of violence will continue..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"In August 2017, a violent military crackdown against the Rohingya population in Myanmar led many to flee the country in search of safety. In Myanmar, the Rohingya – an ethnic, religious, and linguistic minority – have faced discrimination for over 40 years. In 2017, the violence escalated into genocide, with security forces killing thousands and burning down over 400 villages. The majority, nearly 1 million Rohingya, found refuge in Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar district and on the island of Bhasan Char.
While the Rohingya refugees have escaped persecution from the Myanmar forces, life is difficult in the refugee camps in Cox Bazar and Bhasan Char. With 773,000 Rohingya located in Cox Bazar, and more than 30,000 in Bhasan Char, the scale of the influx of refugees has put a serious strain on services. The situation is getting more dire by the year due to the protracted nature of the humanitarian crisis and decreasing funding.
Rohingya’s refugees are currently the world’s largest stateless population in the world, and most of them are still without formal refugee status. In Bangladesh, many are unable to access education or are able to earn an income, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and serious protection risks. Living in refugee camps, they depend entirely on humanitarian aid.
Tensions have increased within the camps but also with host communities to such an extent that, since 2019, Bangladesh has erected fences around the camps. Now the Rohingya are no longer allowed to own cell phones or access the internet. At the end of December 2021, many refugees were relocated to a submersible island, the island of Bhasan Char. To date, international NGOs have little information on the real living conditions of the Rohingyas in this location.
BGD-WAR-ROHINGYAS
Bangladesh is recognized as one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world: the climate crisis has further exacerbated the risk of natural hazards like cyclones, floods, landslides and earthquakes. Bangladesh has done a lot to mitigate the risk of climate disaster through the development of emergency preparedness mechanisms that have already saved countless lives during major disasters. Nonetheless, the frequency, severity and unpredictability of these disasters will only continue to increase as global warming, environmental degradation and population growth continue to escalate. This leaves the Rohingya population in the country at extreme risk and humanitarian needs are only going to continue to grow.
DOCTORS OF THE WORLD ACTION FOR ROHINGYA REFUGEES
Shortly after the massive influx of Rohingya into Bangladesh in September 2017, Doctors of the World (DotW) began medical treatment in camps. Our efforts have focused on strengthening the capacities of local associations with the aim of improving access to mental health and psychosocial care services and to better support victims of gender-based violence. We have provided training to the staff of numerous associations working in Cox’s Bazar.
Since 2018, when the emergency response took hold, our support has shifted to outreach to people who need medical care but cannot get to clinics to help them access healthcare. We have also been working on awareness raising activities for disease prevention and health maintenance / promotion in the community, and nurturing community support mechanisms. DotW works with Rohingya volunteers so that they educate and empower their peers themselves.
With many Rohingya struggling with trauma from their experience in Myanmar and many struggling with gender-based violence, our humanitarian mission has focused heavily on creating safe spaces that can provide healthcare as well as psychosocial support. Currently, four Community Resource Centers (in the camps and for the host populations) have been built: they constitute spaces of confidentiality and work to build trust and support people with specialized healthcare and mental health support.
Furthermore, during Covid-19 epidemic, DotW and its partners put in place responses to the humanitarian emergency in Bangladesh, by organizing massive information and awareness campaigns for host populations.
Through our work at Doctors of the World we have:
Supported 56 community groups in terms of access to health and management of gender-based violence and people requiring mental health and psychosocial support,
Accompanied 202 victims of gender-based violence with mental health and psychosocial support,
Informed and educated 10,064 people about gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, and mental and psychosocial health.
Nonetheless, there are still larger, more complex issues that are preventing Rohingya people from settling. Many cannot see clear prospects in their future and are spending their days in limbo, still longing to return home. Without a clear documentation status the Rohingya population is unable to leave the camps, receives education or finds work..."
Source/publisher:
Médecins du Monde
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Human Rights and international relations, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh is home to the largest complex of camps hosting people displaced from neighbouring Myanmar. Many struggle to cope with lives within these scattered fenced-off areas where it can be hard to stay in contact and even reunite with lost family members.
Sazida is cooking food for the extended family, while her husband, Mohammed Rafik, is busy with routine chit-chat with neighbours. Sazida’s in-laws are out to pick up their share of regular relief aid from the nearby distribution point within the fenced area. This is a stark reminder of the reality and why this late afternoon, that may seem to be a day like many others in Cox’s Bazar, is also a place where nothing is as usual, being home to the world’s largest refugee camp complex.
Shaded from the burning sun, Sazida’s daughters Rashni (8) and Saika (4) are playing with their infant sister Joynab (8 months). They are still adjusting to their new shelter and home in Camp 8 West in Cox’s Bazar. This time, however, the change is for the better and has allowed them to improve their lives despite being displaced from their home country, Myanmar, visible in the distant horizon where the mountain peaks are seen.
Sazida’s family fled from Myanmar in August 2017, when there was a crackdown with violence and persecution targeting the Rohingya – a Muslim minority from Myanmar. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to seek protection and safety in Bangladesh where they were received and have been hosted since then.
Rashni was the only child that Sazida and her husband had at the time. It took them four days to reach Cox’s Bazar from Maungdaw from where they fled with other relatives and neighbours.
The chaos and panic in the crowds fleeing for their lives and separated the small family from their relatives. At Camp 26 in Cox’s Bazar, Sazida, Rafik, and Rashni were allocated a basic shelter made from bamboo sticks and tarpaulin. They soon heard news of their relatives who had sought refuge at Camp 8 West. In the years that followed, Sazida gave birth in Cox’s Bazar to two more girl children.
In January 2021, their world changed, Sazida tells, as this was when her husband had an accident: ‘It felt as if the entire sky dropped on my head.’
It happened when Rafik was at the market in the camp. He was inside a tomtom (small van for transport) when a minibus struck it. It caused him severe injuries and a fractured leg: ‘We were allowed to leave them camp for emergency medical help. Sazida took me to nearby Chittagong district for treatment with the doctor’s referral. I was unable to move for a long time and thought I would never be able to walk again. After six months, an NGO gave me a wheelchair, and I gradually started to move with it,’ tells Rafik.
This accident not only affected Rafik, but also Sazida and the children.
‘Our main challenge was that it was too hard for us to collect relief aid goods from the centre. It was far from our shelter and with nobody to take care of the children, cook or bring water, and manage daily chores while we continue my husband’s treatment. He required care and medication. I was on my own in this and felt that I was surviving all alone,’ says Sazida.
Change was needed to support her husband’s healing and recovery. Sazida needed help from the family, but they too were living in a camp that is also a fenced-off area, but she decided to discuss the matter with her father-in-law in Camp 8 West.
‘In July 2022, we decided that we would try to be relocated to Camp 8 West where my in-law's family was. And so, I went to a Camp-in-Charge and applied for permission to visit my in-laws. When this was granted, I went to apply for relocation. That was when I met DRC’s Protection Office at Camp 8 West and asked for help to guide the process,’ tells Sazida.
DRC accompanied her to the authorities in Camp 8 West and after hearing her story, they requested DRC to investigate the situation and prepare a report. Her circumstances were described in the evaluation report and convinced local authorities of the need to start the process of relocation.
‘We tried our best to assist the family to relocate. With the instructions from Camp-in-Charge, we worked with colleagues from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) to complete the application and permission procedure,’ says DRC Protection Officer Rawnakul Alam.
Shortly after, Sazida and her family moved to Camp 8 West and joined their in-laws there in July 2022.
‘When I first learned of Rafik's accident two years ago, I cried and worried about his wife and kids. I prayed to Allah. Now that they are close by, I can see my grandchildren playing and my son is improving,’ tells Salamot, the father of Rafik.
Rafik no longer requires a wheelchair. Instead, he walks cautiously while using a stick and is more at ease than previously. Sazida does not need to go for water or to pick up their aid rations since her brother-in-law is now there to assist her with the heavy lifting. The daughters play with their grandfather as new friends.
‘It's important to make the right decision, but it's also important to ask for the right assistance. I tried, and together we succeeded. Here, my husband receives the right care, and I no longer have stress and the same worries. I am grateful for my family's support as well as for DRC and other NGOs who helped with our relocation. My daughters are smiling, and it brings me the most joy right now,’ says Sazida..."
Source/publisher:
Danish Refugee Council
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-20
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Individual Documents
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"London, UK/ Sittwe, Burma – Burma Human Rights Network is marking the solemn anniversary of the confinement of Rohingya to IDP camps in Rakhine state following the anti-Rohingya pogroms in Burma that occurred in 2012. This day serves as a reminder of the urgent need for justice, accountability, and a steadfast commitment to upholding the rights of all individuals, regardless of their ethnicity or religious background.
The anti-Rohingya pogroms in Burma resulted in the loss of countless lives, widespread displacement, and unimaginable suffering for the Rohingya community. Over 100,000 Rohingya displaced in the 2012 riots remain in squalid camps for internally displaced people.
BHRN Executive Director, Kyaw Win, stated, "The anniversary of the anti-Rohingya pogroms in Burma is a stark reminder of the urgent need for action. We cannot ignore the ongoing human rights violations against the Rohingya and all of Burma’s people. The international community must come together to demand justice, accountability, and lasting solutions for the Rohingya community."
BHRN calls on the international community to renew its commitment to the Rohingya in Burma and Bangladesh and work towards a future where they can enjoy full human rights and citizenship. The Burmese military remains the greatest obstacle to peace and justice in the country, and change will not come as long as they retain their illegitimate power.
Organisation’s Background
BHRN is based in London and operates across Burma/Myanmar working for human rights, minority rights and religious freedom in the country. BHRN has played a crucial role in advocating for human rights and religious freedom with politicians and world leaders..."
Source/publisher:
Burma Human Rights Network
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Description:
"UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said there were reports that Bangladeshi authorities were using deceptive and coercive measures to compel Rohingya refugees to return to Myanmar.
“Conditions in Myanmar are anything but conducive for the safe, dignified, sustainable, and voluntary return of Rohingya refugees,” Andrews said. “Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who commanded the forces that launched the genocidal attacks against the Rohingya, now leads a brutal military junta that is attacking civilian populations while denying the Rohingya citizenship and other basic rights,” he said.
Bangladesh officials have stated that an initial group of 1140 Rohingya refugees will be repatriated to Myanmar at an unspecified date and 6000 will be returned by the end of the year. Actions by Bangladesh authorities suggest that the first return could be imminent.
Bangladesh authorities have reportedly threatened arrest, confiscation of documents, and other forms of retaliation for those who resist the government’s plans.
“There are also reports of refugees being promised large sums of money, if they agree to return. These promises are allegedly being made even as food rations are being cut to $.27 per person per day for those in the Bangladesh camps. It remains unclear where the funds for repatriated families will come from,” Andrews said.
Under the pilot project, Rohingya refugees will not be allowed to return to their own villages, many of which were razed to the ground during the genocidal attacks of 2017. The refugees would pass through “reception” and “transit” centers in Maungdaw Township, after which they would be moved to a designated area of 15 newly constructed “villages” – places they will not be allowed to leave freely.
In March, Bangladesh authorities facilitated two visits by Myanmar junta authorities (SAC) to the Bangladesh camps. According to reports, at least some of the refugees were coerced into participating in ‘verification’ interviews with SAC officials. Bangladesh and SAC officials also coordinated a ‘go and see’ visit to Rakhine State for some Rohingya refugees. Bangladeshi officials said the refugees had expressed “general satisfaction” with arrangements made for their return, but these assurances were contradicted by reports that those who participated in the trip had unequivocally rejected the repatriation plans.
“The return of Rohingya refugees under these conditions would likely violate Bangladesh’s obligations under international law and expose Rohingya to gross human rights violations and, potentially, future atrocity crimes,” the Special Rapporteur said.
“I implore Bangladesh to immediately suspend the repatriation pilot programme,” Andrews said.
“I also urge the international community to stand with Rohingya refugees in both word and deed. This must include reversing the failure to provide a humane level of support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who are unable to pursue livelihoods, continue to face hunger and malnutrition, and whose children have very limited educational opportunities,” the expert said..."
Source/publisher:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations
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Sub-title:
UN, Donors Should Urge Protection, Freedom of Movement on Bhasan Char
Description:
"(New York) – The Bangladesh government has relocated nearly 20,000 Rohingya refugees to a remote island without adequate health care, livelihoods, or protection, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The United Nations and donor governments should urgently call for an independent assessment of the safety, disaster preparedness, and habitability at Bhasan Char during the impending monsoon season and beyond.
The 58-page report, “‘An Island Jail in the Middle of the Sea’: Bangladesh’s Relocation of Rohingya Refugees to Bhasan Char,” finds that Bangladesh authorities transferred many refugees to the island without full, informed consent and have prevented them from returning to the mainland. While the government says it wants to move at least 100,000 people to the silt island in the Bay of Bengal to ease overcrowding in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps, humanitarian experts have raised concerns that insufficient measures are in place to protect against severe cyclones and tidal surges. Refugees on the island reported inadequate health care and education, onerous movement restrictions, food shortages, a lack of livelihood opportunities, and abuses by security forces.
“The Bangladesh government is finding it hard to cope with over a million Rohingya refugees, but forcing people to a remote island just creates new problems,” said Bill Frelick, refugee and migrant rights director. “International donors should assist the Rohingya, but also insist that Bangladesh return refugees who want to return to the mainland or if experts say island conditions are too dangerous or unsustainable.”
Human Rights Watch interviewed 167 Rohingya refugees between May 2020 and May 2021, including 117 on Bhasan Char and 50 in Cox’s Bazar, 30 of whom were later relocated to Bhasan Char.
Primary responsibility for the Rohingya’s situation lies with Myanmar. On August 25, 2017, the military began a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims involving mass killing, rape, and arson that forced over 740,000 to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, which was already hosting an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 unregistered Rohingya refugees who had fled previous persecution. Myanmar has failed to end widespread abuses against the Rohingya and has refused to create conditions for their safe, dignified, and voluntary return.
While Bangladesh commendably opened its borders to the Rohingya, the authorities have not made camp conditions truly hospitable, increasing pressure to relocate to Bhasan Char. The authorities shut down internet access for almost a year in the refugee camps, denied formal education to children, and built barbed wire fencing restricting movement and access to emergency services. Security forces face allegations of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.
In May 2020, Bangladesh first brought over 300 Rohingya refugees rescued at sea to Bhasan Char. Although the government initially said they were being quarantined on the island to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the camps, they have yet to be reunited with their families. In December, Bangladesh authorities started relocating thousands of refugees from the camps to the island, reneging on promises to allow an independent technical assessment of the protection needs, safety, and habitability on the island.
Now, after an 18-member United Nations team was taken to see the island from March 17 to 20, the authorities are pressuring the UN to start delivering humanitarian assistance. Refugees said that during the UN visit they were only allowed to speak in the presence of Bangladesh government officials and were compelled to make it appear there were no problems on the island.
On May 31, 2021, thousands of refugees gathered to try and meet with a delegation of UN officials that were visiting Bhasan Char and to protest conditions, many saying that they do not want to remain on the island. Bangladesh authorities had earlier warned the Rohingya against complaining, some refugees told Human Rights Watch. There were clashes with security forces after the refugees disregarded those instructions, eyewitnesses said, and several Rohingya, including women and children, were injured.
The Bangladesh government should urgently begin consultations with UN officials to discuss any future humanitarian operational engagement on Bhasan Char, Human Rights Watch said. The authorities should also act on recommendations by the UN after their visit to improve the wellbeing, safety, and protection of Rohingya refugees already on the island.
The Bangladesh government has informed Human Rights Watch in a letter that it had “ensured adequate supply of food along with proper sanitation and medical facilities for Rohingyas on Bhasan Char” and that all relocations were based on informed consent. However, refugees widely refuted these claims. A 53-year-old man said he went into hiding to avoid being transported after the camp administrator threatened him: “He said, even if I die, they will take my body there. I don’t want to go to that island.” Others said they volunteered based on false promises.
Refugees also described the inadequate health facilities on the island. Human Rights Watch interviewed 14 people who said they had sought treatment for a range of conditions, including asthma, pain, fever, arthritis, diabetes, ulcers, and malaria, but most were handed paracetamol (acetaminophen) tablets and sent away. Four of the fourteen later died, as a result of inadequate emergency health care, their family members believe.
The island has no emergency medical care services. If referred by a doctor and permitted by the island authorities, refugees have to travel three hours by boat and then two hours by road to the nearest mainland hospital for emergency care. This includes pregnant women needing lifesaving medical intervention. A refugee who lost his wife during childbirth said that after complications, when doctors recommended moving her to a mainland hospital, getting permission took two hours, by which time she had died.
Refugees said that they were promised teachers, schools, and formal accredited education for their children on the island. However, an aid worker said that although an estimated 8,495 children are on Bhasan Char “at best four NGOs are providing education to no more than 1,500 children.”
Mizan, 35, said the education her 7- and 9-year-old daughters were receiving was actually less than in the camps: “We have been here now for six months and my daughters brought all their belongings, bags, and books, to continue studying, but there aren’t even learning centers here.”
With monsoon season due to start in June, the island is at risk from high winds and flooding. Embankments around the island are still likely inadequate to withstand a category three storm or worse. Although the government says that there are adequate storm shelters, there is the risk that refugees, Bangladeshi security personnel, and humanitarian workers, could end up marooned on the island with limited supplies as sea or air transport are restricted in inclement weather. The authorities stopped a recent relocation to Bhasan Char due to the bad weather.
“Putting unwilling refugees on a remote, low-lying island where cyclones are common is a bad idea,” Frelick said. “Rohingya refugees who have lost and suffered so much need to be treated with dignity and respect for their safety and well-being and be allowed to make informed, voluntary choices about their living conditions until long-term solutions can be found.”
Accounts by Refugees
All refugees quoted are identified by a pseudonym given the high risk of retribution by Bangladesh authorities for speaking out about the conditions on Bhasan Char.
Informed Consent, Freedom of Movement, Livelihoods
Taslima, who is living in Cox’s Bazar but whose 13-year-old son is on Bhasan Char after being rescued at sea in May 2020, said:
My son has been confined on Bhasan Char for one year. He is not even an adult. My son kept asking the navy officials to send him back to the camps, but every time he is given false promises. I also contacted the CiC [Camp-in-Charge, an administrator] here in the camp to get my son back but they said the only way I can meet my son is if I relocate to Bhasan Char. But my son keeps telling me not to go over there because it is like a jail.
Yusuf Ali, 43, who also lives in Cox’s Bazar and whose two daughters are being held on Bhasan Char, said, “the CiC told us that our daughters would never be returned to us here. They said ‘You still have time to choose to go there [to Bhasan Char], otherwise forget about your children.’”
Anjul, 40, a refugee on Bhasan Char, said:
They trapped us with promises of good food and plenty of livelihood opportunities, like tending livestock or fishing. Most important, when we boarded the bus they gave us 5,000 taka [US$60] each, promising that we would be given 5,000 taka each month. But after arriving, there are no such opportunities, and now we are facing a food shortage.
He said that when the refugees left for Bhasan Char, some officials falsely assured them that they would be able to travel freely between the island and mainland, but that was not happening. “My older parents are in the camps. I would at least want to attend their funeral,” he said. “But even that will not be possible as long as I am held here.”
Inadequate Health Care
Amdad’s 18-month-old daughter died of pneumonia less than a month after arriving on Bhasan Char. He said that the child had developed pneumonia while they were still in the camps in Cox’s Bazar, but there they were able to get oxygen at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital. He said that when they arrived on Bhasan Char, his daughter again began having trouble breathing, the doctors rebuffed his concerns:
[O]n March 11, [my daughter] was having the breathing problem again and I rushed her to the government healthcare facility here. The doctor prescribed a cough syrup and sent us back home, but she did not improve. The next morning, I took her to the healthcare facility again and requested that the doctor give her oxygen support since I could see the cylinder in his office, and she had received that cure back in the camps. I even tried to show him the prescription that the MSF doctors had provided for her, but he refused to look. He said to me, “Do you think we are sitting here with enough oxygen to support your daughter? I am giving her more medicines, she will be fine,” and asked us to leave the healthcare facility. Soon after I came back to my shelter, her situation deteriorated. After two hours my daughter died.
Amdad said that after his daughter died the authorities came to his shelter and took away all documentation of her medical history including documentation from MSF, and they refused to issue a death certificate.
The husband of Bibi, 58, died from complications after being denied respiratory support and asthma medication:
I took my husband to the healthcare facility here three to four times. They could not give proper treatment or medication. The last time I took him to the healthcare facility when his situation deteriorated again, I requested the medical staff to take us outside the island or take us back to Cox’s Bazar to go to the MSF hospital or Turkish hospital, but they did not allow it. Instead, they discharged my husband from the healthcare facility and said he would recover at home. He died the next morning.
Zubair, 62, who arrived on Bhasan Char in February, suffered from a stomach ulcer, digestive difficulties, and severe abdominal bloating. “While I was in the camp [in Cox’s Bazar], aid workers would come to my shelter to give health care because I am an older person and I cannot go to the healthcare facility on my own. Sometimes those volunteers helped take me to the MSF hospital or IOM hospital where I could get medicine or treatment, which would help most of the time.” But when Zubair went to the healthcare facility on Bhasan Char, the medicine they offered did not help. The health workers recommended that he be transferred to a hospital on the mainland, but that he would have to pay. He said:
I went to the healthcare facility here after 10 to 15 days of arrival with severe pain in the abdomen. The doctors here prescribed some medicines. When there was no progress and I was unable to move any more, family members and neighbors helped me to get to the healthcare facility twice. But the doctors gave me the same medicines. The last time I went to the healthcare facility, they told me to come up with the money to go to the hospital in Noakhali [on the mainland] as my situation had deteriorated very badly. I do not have my own money and I feel shy to ask for help from the neighbors. It’s better now I die here with my family..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-07
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Cyclones - regional, Natural Disasters - General, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Description:
"London, UK - Rohingya refugees will face increased food insecurity as the World Food Program (WFP) issued further cuts to food rations for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, said Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN). Refugees' food stipends were reduced significantly in March 2023, and further cuts were made starting 1 June. The cuts will reduce the value of rations provided to Rohingya refugees to US$8 per month, or 27 cents per day. An earlier reduction was implemented in March 2023 from US$12 per month to US$10 per month.
The food aid cuts are severely impacting refugees, many of whom are survivors of genocide in Burma and face hardships in Bangladesh,”said BHRN’s Executive Director, Kyaw Win. “Restrictions on refugees in Bangladesh and aid cuts may push Rohingya back to Burma. Repatriation at this time is dangerous, and there is still an ongoing genocide in Burma against the Rohingya. Donor governments must provide funding to meet the shortfalls in the humanitarian response in Bangladesh.
The Rohingya Humanitarian Joint Response Plan budget of US$876 million remains underfunded. BHRN calls on donor governments to fund and develop a plan to reinstate full rations for refugees.
While funding shortages impact refugees worldwide, more must be done to counteract and prepare for them. The international community must develop a plan for the Rohingya that will ensure humanitarian assistance is not cut, including food aid.
Organisation’s Background
BHRN is based in London and operates across Burma/Myanmar working for human rights, minority rights and religious freedom in the country. BHRN has played a crucial role in advocating for human rights and religious freedom with politicians and world leaders..."
Source/publisher:
Burma Human Rights Network
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Right to food: standards, mechanisms and resources, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Format :
pdf
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193.92 KB
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Description:
"Bangladesh and Myanmar are planning a pilot project to repatriate more than 1,000 Rohingya refugees. In May, Bangladesh camp officials led a group of 20 Rohingya refugees on a visit to Rakhine State in Myanmar. Refugees International Director for Africa, Asia, and the Middle East Daniel P. Sullivan released the following statement:
“Refugees International is extremely concerned about plans to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. The returns would come at a time when the Rohingya homeland is ruled by a military junta that continues to commit atrocities across the country and that is made up of the same people that led the genocide against the Rohingya in 2017.
More than 130,000 Rohingya in Myanmar remain confined to internal displacement camps, while others face serious constraints on their freedom of movement. The junta’s response to the recent cyclone that killed hundreds of Rohingya, including denial of much needed aid, only further highlights the vulnerability of Rohingya in the country. Two previous repatriation exercises resulted in no volunteers coming forward, but—as Refugees International has documented—did spread fear widely among the Rohingya refugees. That fear is being echoed in the latest talks of repatriation. While most Rohingya with whom Refugees International has spoken want to return home, they simply do not feel that the conditions are currently safe.
Not only is the safety of any returnees in serious question, but Rohingya are already reporting deception and coercion in the process. This includes camp officials allegedly veering from official public policy by promising payments for those who volunteer to repatriate while at the same time threatening to confiscate ration cards of those who do not. The reduction of aid, specifically cuts in daily rations by the World Food Program, from $12 a day a couple of months ago to just $8 a day as of June 1, is also worrisome as it may indirectly further incentivize Rohingya to make dangerous and uninformed decisions to return. Any return of Rohingya refugees must be safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable, in line with international standards.
UN leadership and donor countries must make clear that conducive conditions for legitimate returns do not currently exist and demand that Bangladesh and Myanmar refrain from further endangering this community of genocide survivors.”
Refugees International has been covering the conditions facing Rohingya for several years, including a report in December 2022, Hope Amid Despair: Finding Solutions for Rohingya in Bangladesh, highlighting the deteriorating conditions in the refugee camps, recommending solutions, and calling for Bangladesh to refrain from repatriation.
To schedule an interview, please contact Refugees International’s Vice President for Strategic Outreach Sarah Sheffer at [email protected]..."
Source/publisher:
Refugees International
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Sub-title:
Harsh Conditions Could Force Refugees Back to Danger in Myanmar
Description:
"On Thursday, the United Nations World Food Programme dealt Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh a new round of deep cuts in food rations, from US$12 per month several months ago to just $8 a month, building pressure to return to dangerous conditions in Myanmar.
UN special rapporteurs warned that the cuts will have the “devastatingly predictable” consequence of “spiking rates of acute malnutrition, infant mortality, violence, and even death.” Some refugees, they said, might be compelled to “risk their lives at sea, [rather] than to face hunger and even death in the camps.”
These food ration cuts, along with escalating restrictive measures imposed by Bangladesh authorities and violence in the squalid, overcrowded refugee camps, are increasing pressure on the refugees to repatriate.
This is not the first time slashes in food rations have accompanied other pressures on Rohingya refugees to leave.
In 1978, the Bangladesh government weaponized food to force starving Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar, which remained intent on persecuting them. Then, as now, the Rohingya refugees were confined to camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar area and were not allowed to work, so they depended on food rations to survive.
A 1979 report by Alan C. Lindquist, then-head of the UN Refugee Agency’s Sub-office in Cox’s Bazar quoted Bangladesh’s then-secretary of the Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation, Syed All Khasru, as saying, “It is all very well to have fat, well-fed refugees. But …we are not going to make the refugees so comfortable that they won’t go back to Burma [Myanmar].”
The Lindquist report said that by December 1978 between 80 and 85 people were dying daily in Bangladesh’s camps. “More and more showed themselves ready to go back to escape the terrible conditions in the Bangladesh camps,” Lindquist wrote. “From November 15th onwards, at least 2,000 were returning every three days, the maximum rate specified in the July [1978] agreement between the two countries.”
By the end of March 1979, more than 107,000 Rohingya had returned to Myanmar – and more than 11,900 had died.
This time around, the World Food Programme, facing donor shortfalls, is making the cuts. International donors, no less than Bangladesh, have a responsibility not to repeat history. Myanmar is far from safe for Rohingya.
But Bangladesh should also ease restrictions and allow refugees to earn money to buy food and help prevent another horrible death toll..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Special rapporteur Olivier De Shutter calls for action on neglected crisis after finding ‘absolutely terrible’ conditions on visit to Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh
Description:
"Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are at risk of becoming “the new Palestinians”, according to a UN head, who said they are trapped in a protracted and increasingly neglected crisis.
Olivier De Schutter, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said the almost 1 million people living in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar should be given the right to work in their host country of Bangladesh, and that forcing them to rely on dwindling international support was not sustainable.
De Schutter, who spoke to the Guardian after a recent visit to Cox’s Bazar, said conditions were “absolutely terrible”, and that he had rarely spoken to people in “such a state of desperation”.
The refugees – most of whom fled brutal crackdowns by the Myanmar military in 2017 – are fenced off from the local community and live in squalid and cramped shelters. The violence against Rohingya provoked international outrage more than five years ago and led to a genocide case at the UN’s top court, but international donors are now increasingly distracted by crises elsewhere, said De Shutter.
The World Food Programme recently announced it was forced to cut Rohingya refugees’ food allowance to just $8 (£6.50) a month per person, due to a lack of funding.
“If you combine this with the high food-price inflation in recent months, it means that in comparison to the start of the year, the calorie intake and the quality of nutrition for the refugees will degrade significantly. The rate of under-nutrition and malnutrition for children will grow significantly and stunting will continue,” De Schutter said.
“But worst of all is the fact that these people depend entirely on humanitarian support.… They are prohibited from working. They are completely stuck,” he said.
“People spend their days in complete idleness. As a result, gender-based violence is mounting. Security in the camps is very problematic, with armed gangs controlling drug trafficking across the border of Myanmar, leading to exchange of fire of gangs in the evening,” he said.
“It’s extremely worrying, and the state of desperation of the families should not be underestimated.”
People also face the continual threat of extreme weather events – a danger made worse by rules that ban them from building concrete structures, leaving them in bamboo and tarpaulin shelters. “These camps are in a very vulnerable situation,” said De Schutter.
De Schutter said the Bangladesh government’s fear that allowing people to work will encourage Rohingya to stay longer in the country, burdening public services and reducing job opportunities for others, was misplaced. “If they can work, they can pay taxes, they can start small businesses that can create employment opportunities for others,” he said, adding that people had a right to livelihoods.
The Bangladesh government has criticised the international community for failing to press the Myanmar junta to let Rohingya return safely to their homeland, and has pointed to the lack of international funding to support refugees it has hosted.
Earlier this month, a Rohingya delegation visited Myanmar as part of long-stalled efforts to repatriate people. Hopes of returning have dwindled even further after the Myanmar military coup in 2021.
“Myanmar should be held accountable for creating the conditions that will allow safe repatriation under the right conditions. For the moment, no one believes that these conditions are met,” said De Schutter.
The crisis had fallen below the radar, he said, adding that greater international attention was needed. “Otherwise, these people, in 10 years’ time, they will be the new Palestinians.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-30
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese and other stateless people in Burma, Bangladesh and India, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Ahead of Meta’s Annual Shareholder Meeting on Wednesday (31 May 2023), Pat de Brún, Head of Big Tech Accountability and Deputy Director of Amnesty Tech, said:
“It is way beyond time that Meta fulfilled its responsibilities and provided an effective remedy to the Rohingya people of Myanmar. It is reprehensible that Meta still refuses to repair the harms it contributed to despite the overwhelming evidence that the company played a key role in 2017’s ethnic cleansing.
“The Rohingya people were killed, tortured, raped, and displaced in their thousands as part of the Myanmar security forces’ campaign of ethnic cleansing. In the months and years leading up to the atrocities, Facebook’s algorithms were intensifying a storm of hatred against the Rohingya, which contributed to mass offline violence.
“Today, the vast majority of Rohingya survivors remain stranded in squalid refugee camps and internment camps under conditions of severe deprivation.
Pat de Brún, Amnesty Tech
“Today, the vast majority of Rohingya survivors remain stranded in squalid refugee camps and internment camps under conditions of severe deprivation. Meanwhile, Meta continues to reap enormous profits from the same toxic business model that contributed to so much destruction for the Rohingya.
“Meta shareholders should utilise this shareholder meeting to demand that Meta’s leadership fulfils its responsibility under international human rights standards to provide reparations to the Rohingya.
“Meta shareholders should also insist that the company overhauls its overall approach to human rights, lest the company yet again be implicated in the recurrence of violence and atrocities elsewhere. As a first step, it should undertake a comprehensive review of human rights due diligence, including by mainstreaming human rights considerations throughout all its platforms’ operations, especially in relation to the development and deployment of its algorithmic systems.
“It is shameful that Meta’s board has recommended that shareholders reject proposals to improve human rights oversight and transparency in the company. We are calling on Meta shareholders to defy these recommendations and do their part to ensure the protection of individuals and communities across the world who remain at risk from Meta’s reckless business practices.”
Amnesty International is handing in a petition demanding Meta pays the Rohingya community reparations. The petition has been signed by thousands of Amnesty International members and supporters.
Background
Meta’s annual shareholder meeting will take place on 31 May 2023. A number of shareholder resolutions have been filed, which challenge Meta’s business practices, including several seeking to enhance the company’s human rights oversight practices. One resolution calls for an independent human rights impact assessment on Meta’s use of targeted advertising and another resolution cites Meta’s failure to publish its human rights impact assessment on India.
In September 2022, Amnesty International found that Meta’s dangerous algorithms and reckless pursuit of profit substantially contributed to the atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya people in 2017.
In November 2019, Amnesty International released a report outlining how the surveillance-based business model of Big Tech companies such as Meta is inherently incompatible with the right to privacy and poses a systemic threat to a range of rights including freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of thought, and the right to equality and non-discrimination..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Amnesty International reports on Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Local URL:
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"DHAKA – Just weeks after thousands of Rohingya refugees lost their homes to Cyclone Mocha, they face another blow as funding shortages force the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to cut food vouchers in Cox’s Bazar to just US$ 8, or less than 9 cents per meal.
Funding shortfalls already forced WFP to cut its food vouchers from US$ 12 to US$ 10 per person per month, in March this year.
“We are appealing for urgent support so that we can restore rations to the full amount as soon as possible. Anything less than US$ 12 has dire consequences not only on nutrition for women and children, but also protection, safety and security for everyone in the camps,” said Dom Scalpelli, WFP Resident Representative and Country Director in Bangladesh.
Six years into the refugee crisis, nearly one million Rohingya remain stranded in the camps in Bangladesh without livelihood opportunities and relying entirely on humanitarian assistance to survive. Even with WFP’s food assistance, four in 10 families were not consuming enough food and 12 percent of children were acutely malnourished. This was before the ration cut.
With less food to get by, refugees have little choice but to resort to negative coping mechanisms. Children may be withdrawn from school or girls offered in child marriage. If refugees seek illegal employment, they face heightened risks of exploitation and abuse, and may fuel tensions between the refugees and the host community. Those desperate enough to take to the high seas face dangerous journeys and uncertain fates.
The Rohingya continue to live under the constant threat of extreme climate. While Cox’s Bazar was spared a direct hit when Cyclone Mocha made landfall on 14 May, considerable destruction to shelters and infrastructure occurred in the camps.
“WFP food assistance is the only reliable source of food for the Rohingya. We are extremely grateful for all contributions received so far, but we still need US$ 56 million to restore the full ration and keep this lifeline intact until the end of the year,” said Scalpelli.
# # #
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
On January 18, prominent advocate Dil Mohammed was abducted from a Rohingya camp in No Man’s Land. He has not been heard from since.
Description:
"A steadfast Rohingya advocate emerged amid the chaos in the volatile borderlands between Myanmar and Bangladesh. Dil Mohammed, a Rohingya refugee who became the de facto spokesperson for the No Man’s Land Rohingya encampment, navigated a complex web of political and military forces to champion the cause of his people. But on January 18, as the encampment burned to the ground in a harrowing attack, Dil Mohammed was apprehended by the long-dormant Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), which had recently re-emerged. No news of his fate has emerged since.
Dil Mohammed’s life was not always marked by strife. Born on January 2, 1966, in Mae Dee Village, Qunthi Bin Village Track, Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, Myanmar, to parents Nazumiya and Hazara Khatun, his early years were filled with education and – despite the difficult context for Rohingya in Myanmar – opportunity. Dil Mohammed matriculated at the University of Yangon in 1987 and graduated with a degree in psychology. He then worked as an interpreter and field manager for the World Food Program for five years, later starting his own shrimp and agricultural businesses.
His linguistic skills caught the attention of officials, and he began working as an interpreter at “flag meetings” between the Myanmar and Bangladesh border guards. In 2014, he played a pivotal role in the high-profile retrieval of a Bangladeshi border guard’s body.
However, his life took a drastic turn in 2017 when he became a refugee for the second time amid a harrowing military crackdown on the Rohingya population. Instead of entering Bangladesh, Dil Mohammed chose to stay in the No Man’s Land (NML) between the two countries.
The NML was a precarious place, where Rohingya refugees like Dil Mohammed found themselves caught between the forces of Myanmar and Bangladesh, facing harassment, flooding, ration reductions, and the infiltration of armed groups. Despite the dangers, Dil Mohammed emerged as a prominent spokesperson for the NML residents, frequently speaking to the press and meeting with international delegations, including U.N. Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee and Nobel peace laureates Tawakkol Karman and Mairead Maguire.
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Dil Mohammed’s second son, Shuiab, described his father as “a kind and easygoing man, both as a parent and as a community leader.” He emphasized that Dil Mohammed was “always approachable and understanding,” but when confronting Myanmar authorities like the Border Guard Police (BGP), Tatmadaw, and NASAKA (Myanmar’s much-maligned former border security force), he was “firm and resolute.” Shuiab added that many Rohingya knew his father never hesitated to stand up to these forces for the rights and dignity of their people.
And there was much to threaten the Rohingya. Dil Mohammed and the NML population found themselves caught in the midst of intense fighting between the Arakan Army (AA), the Myanmar military, and the presence of armed organizations like the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in the borderlands, especially in 2022.
The AA’s ambition to establish autonomy has driven their strategy to seize control of Myanmar’s borders with Bangladesh and India. Dominating these border areas would enable the AA to play a crucial role in trade with the neighboring countries and potentially open a new overland arms supply route from areas in Bangladesh where insurgent groups, including ARSA, have long operated.
As a result of these strategic objectives, the borderlands became a battleground, with the AA and the Myanmar military as the dominant forces, while ARSA strived to retain its foothold. According to Myanmar government documents, ARSA engaged in skirmishes with the Myanmar military in 2022 and became a target for both Bangladesh’s and Myanmar’s border forces. This intense fighting led to casualties, injuries, and unexploded ordnance that threatened the safety and stability of the NML population.
Despite being overstretched by conflicts in other regions, the Myanmar military showed no signs of conceding the lost border territories to the AA. Troop movements in the area indicated that the military had not abandoned its efforts to regain control of the border areas. Consequently, the specter of renewed fighting in the region continued to loom over the NML population, forcing them to navigate a dangerous and uncertain existence. This context made Dil Mohammed’s advocacy efforts even more crucial for his community.
But the very same prominence that made Dil Mohammed a lifeline for his community also put him in the crosshairs of powerful factions. Rumors circulated that he was a member of ARSA, casting a shadow over his reputation. Dil Mohammed’s family and close associates vehemently denied these claims, arguing that while he had to engage with ARSA, he was never a supporter. They also pointed out that if his interactions with ARSA were enough to consider him a member, then he could be seen as working for Bangladesh as well, given his equal contact with their authorities.
In January 2023, the Rohingya Solidarity Organization targeted the NML encampment. The attack left the settlement in ashes, and Dil Mohammed was taken into custody. Since then, his whereabouts and fate have remained a mystery. For more than three months, his family and former residents of No Man’s Land have waited in mournful anticipation for news of the man who once bravely championed the cause of his people.
In an ironic twist, Dil Mohammed’s friendship with Ko Ko Linn, the leader of RSO, put him at risk. The two men had been classmates and maintained a close relationship. Ko Ko Linn had urged Dil Mohammed to leave NML and join him in Bangladesh as recently as 2022, warning him of the dangers in the border zone. However, unbeknownst to Dil Mohammed, it would be Ko Ko Linn’s own forces that would ultimately pose the greatest threat to his safety.
Strangely, diaspora Rohingya organizations have remained reticent about his capture and the devastating attack on the NML camp. Their silence has been particularly conspicuous given the deaths of a Rohingya woman and a Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) officer during the November 14, 2022, attack on the NML and the deaths of several Rohingya in the attack of January 18.
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The Arakan Rohingya National Alliance, a recently established Rohingya organization seeking to become the sole representative of the Rohingya people, expressed condolences for the Bangladeshi DGFI officer but remained silent about the Rohingya woman, the destruction of the camp that displaced 4,500 people, and the multiple fatalities that occurred during the January attack. This reticence has been taken by NML residents as evidence of the organization’s lack of validity in the lives of the Rohingya. This silence can also be seen in the context of a shifting political landscape in the region.
In recent years, significant changes have occurred in the political climate and power dynamics involving the RSO, ARSA, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Two key moments that triggered these changes were the coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, and the murder of Mohibullah, a prominent Rohingya leader, in September of that same year. Consequently, ARSA fell out of favor, prompting Bangladesh to search for a cohesive strategy to cultivate a Rohingya force capable of advancing its interests in both the refugee camps and Myanmar. It is within this shifting landscape that the RSO resurfaced to prominence after a period of dormancy.
Meanwhile, despite the Bangladeshi authorities frequently dismissing the existence of ARSA within Bangladesh, the organization progressively found itself implicated in various criminal activities, as indicated by police charge sheets. These charges ranged across a wide spectrum of crimes, ultimately leading to the erosion of ARSA’s influence and standing in the region.
Today, Dil Mohammed’s tireless advocacy for his people is remembered by his former NML community members, now dispersed in the camps inside Bangladesh. They lament the tragic silencing of a champion for the Rohingya. As they search for answers, they are left with several questions.
First, is Dil Mohammed in the custody of the RSO or Bangladeshi authorities? Leaked documents suggest that Bangladesh undertook a joint operation with Myanmar’s military to raid the NML back in November 2022. Eyewitness accounts of the raid on January 18, when Dil Mohammed was abducted, suggest that the RSO forces had powerful backing, as the duration and intensity of the attack surpassed anything seen before.
Second, why has Dil Mohammed been held for four months with no communication with his family? They are uncertain about his well-being and whether he is even alive.
One possible reason for his continued detention could be his prior key role in the borderlands of the Maungdaw region of Myanmar, both before and after 2017, which may have made him privy to sensitive information. Dil Mohammed’s unique position in the borderlands might make him a liability for some factions, who fear the consequences of his release. Meanwhile, his former community members are left to grapple with the silence of the very organizations meant to support them..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"May 19 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military-controlled media said on Friday 145 people were killed when Cyclone Mocha hit the country this week, in stark contrast to reports from rights groups and residents who fear hundreds may have died.
The impoverished western state of Rakhine bore the brunt of the storm that on Sunday tore down houses, communication towers and bridges with winds of up to 210 kph (130 mph), and triggered a storm surge that inundated the state capital Sittwe.
The junta said in a statement that as of May 18 a total of 145 people had been found dead, including 91 in camps for internally displaced people. Earlier this week it had said three people were killed by the storm.
Reuters could not independently verify the number of casualties.
Some residents contacted by Reuters said earlier this week that more than 400 people had been killed and many more were missing, adding that the survivors were struggling with a lack of food and medical supplies.
Rakhine has a large population of Rohingya Muslims - around 600,000, a persecuted minority that successive governments in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar have refused to recognise.
"Relief groups of respective states...are working on rescues and rehabilitation work along with charity civil society groups," the junta said in the statement shared on its Telegram channels and on Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV).
However, the United Nations and other non-governmental organisations said relief efforts were stalled as they awaited permission from the junta to deploy personnel and much-needed food, water and medical supplies to the affected regions.
Storm-damaged bridges and roads blocks uprooted trees were also holding up aid, the international agencies said.
Some 400,000 people were evacuated in Myanmar and Bangladesh ahead of the cyclone making landfall, as authorities scrambled to avert heavy casualties from one of the strongest storms to hit the region in recent years..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Cyclones - regional, Natural Disasters - General
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Returnees to Myanmar Would Face Junta’s Crimes of Apartheid, Persecution
Description:
"(Bangkok) – Bangladesh and Myanmar are organizing returns of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar’s Rakhine State without consulting the community or addressing the grave risks to their lives and liberty, Human Rights Watch said today.
On May 5, 2023, Bangladesh officials, in coordination with Myanmar junta authorities, took 20 Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State to visit resettlement camps as part of renewed efforts to repatriate about 1,100 Rohingya in a pilot project. Donor governments and United Nations experts should call for a halt to any Rohingya repatriation until conditions are in place for safe and sustainable returns.
“Bangladesh authorities shouldn’t forget the reasons why Rohingya became refugees in the first place, and recognize that none of those factors have changed,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Bangladesh is frustrated with its burden as host, but sending refugees back to the control of a ruthless Myanmar junta will just be setting the stage for the next devastating exodus.”
About 600,000 Rohingya remain in Rakhine State, confined to squalid camps and villages that leave them exceptionally vulnerable to extreme weather events such as Cyclone Mocha, compounded by the junta’s severe restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Human Rights Watch spoke with five Rohingya refugees who were part of the go-and-see visit. They said that the detention-like conditions and lack of full citizenship rights were not conducive to a safe return. “We aren’t at all satisfied seeing the Rakhine situation,” a Rohingya refugee said. “It’s another trap by Myanmar to take us back and then continue the abuses like they have been doing to us for decades.”
Rohingya refugees have consistently said they want to go home, but only when their security, access to land and livelihoods, freedom of movement, and citizenship rights can be ensured.
The Rohingya delegation visited the Hla Poe Kaung transit camp and Kyein Chaung resettlement camp in Rakhine State’s Maungdaw township. The camps were built by Myanmar authorities on Rohingya land that Myanmar security forces burned and bulldozed in 2017 and 2018. The transit camp is surrounded by barbed-wire perimeter fencing and security outposts, similar to the confinement in the Rohingya detention camps in Sittwe and other townships in central Rakhine State.
“I could see my village,” a Rohingya refugee said of the visit. “The Hla Poe Kaung transit camp land used to be my home. My house was destroyed, my school is now a health center. Three whole Rohingya villages used to be where the transit camp is now. Myanmar authorities are trying to confine us in camps like in Sittwe.”
Myanmar authorities have held about 140,000 Rohingya arbitrarily and indefinitely in camps for more than 10 years. Recent measures to ostensibly close the camps appear designed to make the Rohingya’s segregation and confinement permanent. The camps, which have been in constant disrepair due to Myanmar authorities’ restrictions, were severely damaged by Cyclone Mocha on May 14.
“We asked the Myanmar authorities why our villages were turned into displacement camps,” one Rohingya refugee said. “They said they didn’t have any other options. They didn’t answer our questions about whether we would ever be given back our land. If these camps are temporary, then why haven’t the Rohingya living in the central Rakhine camps been able to return to their original villages?”
Conditions in Rakhine State have not been conducive to voluntary, safe, or dignified returns of Rohingya refugees since 2017, when more than 730,000 Rohingya fled the Myanmar military’s crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. The prospect of safe returns has decreased since the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, carried out by the same generals who orchestrated the 2017 mass atrocities.
Myanmar junta officials provided the visiting Rohingya with booklets titled, “Facts on the Arrangement of the Myanmar Government for Reception and Resettlement of Displaced Persons on their Return under the Pilot Project,” dated April 2023. The booklet, written in Burmese, English, and Bangla, states that returnees will be housed at the Hla Poe Kaung transit camp for up to two months, then relocated to one of two resettlement camps with prefabricated houses or a land plot in one of 15 “designated villages,” where they can build a home through a cash-for-work program.
The booklet states that security personnel will be deployed “to ensure the rule of law and security in the areas where the returnees reside or pass through.” Myanmar authorities have long invoked “security concerns” as the rationale for violating the rights of Rohingya to travel outside of their camps and villages in Rakhine State.
The junta claims in the booklet that the UN Development Programme, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be involved in the pilot project. The UNHCR said in a recent statement that “visits are an important part of voluntary refugee returns, providing a chance for people to observe conditions in their home country first-hand ahead of return and contributing to the making of an informed decision on return.” However, the agency reported in March that it is not involved in the pilot repatriation discussions and that “conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are currently not conducive to the sustainable return of Rohingya refugees.”
The junta’s systematic abuses against the Rohingya amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty. Since the 2021 coup, security forces have arrested thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children for “unauthorized travel.” The junta has imposed new movement restrictions and aid blockages on Rohingya camps and villages, increasing water scarcity and food shortages.
A major concern among Rohingya on the trip was the booklet’s reference to National Verification Cards (NVCs), documentation that does not grant Myanmar citizenship. Rohingya have widely rejected the NVC process, seeing it as marking them as foreigners in their own country. NVC-holders have not been granted meaningful freedom of movement, while threats and coercion to force Rohingya to accept the card have been hallmarks of the process.
“Why do we have to apply for NVCs when we’re born there and have proof of being from Myanmar,” a Rohingya refugee on the visit said. “Rohingya who have NVCs are still not granted freedoms like the other ethnicities. They are linking every right like freedom of movement, access to livelihoods, education, health care, with accepting the NVC. But that would make us aliens in our own land. They should grant us full citizenship and accept us as Rohingya.”
Rohingya are effectively denied citizenship under Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law, leaving them stateless.
In March, a delegation of Myanmar junta officials visited the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh, which house about one million Rohingya refugees, to interview Rohingya for “verification” for the “pilot repatriation” process. Rohingya told Human Rights Watch that they were deceived or coerced by Bangladesh administrators into meeting with the delegation. Another visit by junta officials reportedly scheduled for mid-May was postponed due to Cyclone Mocha.
In April, China held tripartite talks in Kunming with Bangladesh government and Myanmar junta officials on restarting repatriation ahead of the monsoon season.
Some refugees said Bangladesh authorities coerced them to join the go-and-see visit and told them to speak positively to the media about the conditions in Rakhine State. Bangladesh intelligence officers have harassed at least two refugees who publicly criticized the Maungdaw camps. Security forces have increased surveillance of Rohingya on the pilot repatriation list, with officers informing them to prepare for returns.
Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and repatriation commissioner in Cox’s Bazar, told BenarNews that they plan to start repatriations in May, but will not force any refugees to return.
Junta officials have also been visiting Rakhine State in preparation for their submission to the International Court of Justice in the Genocide Convention case brought by Gambia, initially due April 24. In March, the junta requested a 10-month extension, claiming, among other reasons, that it “needed more time in order to take statements from witnesses who were presently living in camps in Bangladesh or would soon be repatriated to Myanmar.” The court extended the deadline only one month, to May 24. The timing of the pilot repatriation project appears to be part of the junta’s broader efforts to feign progress in its treatment of the Rohingya to the court, Human Rights Watch said.
Since 2017, the Bangladesh government has respected the international principle of nonrefoulement, the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened. But Bangladesh authorities have also been intensifying restrictions on livelihoods, movement, and education, creating a coercive environment designed to force people to consider premature returns.
“Bangladesh should continue to uphold its policy of not forcing Rohingya refugees to return to Myanmar under current conditions,” Bauchner said. “Donor governments should help ease this difficult situation by supporting Bangladesh to create opportunities for Rohingya to learn and work so that they’re better prepared to go home when that day comes.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations, Crimes Against Humanity
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Sub-title:
‘Apartheid’ Camps Left Tens of Thousands Trapped, Exposed
Description:
"Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Myanmar’s Rakhine State on Sunday, its 250 kilometer per hour winds tearing through low-lying shelters along the Bay of Bengal. One of the strongest cyclones to ever hit the region, Mocha brought flooding and damage to millions of people in its path.
The state capital, Sittwe, bore the worst of the destruction, with almost no home left intact. Verifying tallies of the dead and missing, currently estimated in the hundreds, has been hindered by lingering communication blackouts. Humanitarian workers are reporting extensive cyclone damage across central Rakhine, where about 140,000 of Myanmar’s 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have been confined to camps for more than 10 years, with some camps near fully destroyed.
What we know about these camps tells us that the damage and loss of life incurred was both foreseeable and avoidable.
For decades, Myanmar authorities have deprived the Rohingya of their rights and freedoms and eroded their capacity to survive. The camps in Rakhine State were set up in 2012, ostensibly for those displaced by communal violence, but in effect serving the government’s oppressive regime of apartheid, persecution, and imprisonment. Families were confined to bamboo longhouses, designed to last just two years. The authorities denied aid agencies’ requests for adequate land and resources to make safer the flood-prone former paddy fields and low-lying coastal areas where the camps sit.
The resulting living conditions are, by design, squalid, contributing to a growing tally of preventable deaths and annual threats from extreme weather. With new blockages on aid imposed since the 2021 military coup, fewer than half of camp shelters had received any repair over the past two years.
Initial reports say that Myanmar’s military junta has impeded the disaster response to all affected areas this week, with bureaucratic constraints hindering aid agencies’ travel authorizations and customs clearances.
“No government, no organization has come to our village,” a Rohingya man told AFP. “We haven’t eaten for two days.… No one has even come to ask.”
Brad Hazlett of the relief organization Partners reported that they were witnessing “a large-scale loss of life in the camps.”
In the critical days ahead, as Rohingya and others clear debris and search for missing relatives, foreign governments should demand the junta lift all blocks on lifesaving aid delivery. In the longer term, they should be charting a path toward holding Myanmar’s military to account for the oppressive conditions that left Rohingya trapped and exposed in the eye of the storm..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Cyclones - regional, Natural Disasters - General, Human Rights and international relations, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
About 1,000 people trapped by seawater rescued amid damage to homes, electricity infrastructure and mobile phone masts
Description:
"Rescuers have evacuated about 1,000 people trapped by seawater 3.6 metres (12ft) deep along western Myanmar’s coast after a powerful cyclone injured hundreds and cut off communications in one of Asia’s least developed countries.
Strong winds injured more than 700 of about 20,000 people who were sheltering in sturdier buildings on the highlands of Sittwe township such as monasteries, pagodas and schools, according to a leader of the Rakhine Youths Philanthropic Association in Sittwe.
Seawater raced into more than 10 low-lying wards near the shore as Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Rakhine state on Sunday afternoon, said the rescue group leader, who asked not to be named due to fear of reprisals from the authorities in the military-run country. Residents moved to roofs and higher floors, while the wind and storm surge prevented immediate rescue.
“After 4pm yesterday the storm weakened a bit but the water did not fall back,” the leader said. “Most of them sat on the roof and at the high places of their houses the whole night. The wind blew all night.”
Water was still about 1.5m (5ft) high in flooded areas on Monday morning but rescues were being made as the wind calmed. The leader asked civil society organisations and authorities to send aid and help evacuate residents.
At least three deaths had been reported earlier in Myanmar, and several injuries were reported in neighbouring Bangladesh, which was spared the predicted direct hit.
Mocha made landfall near Sittwe township with winds blowing up to 209km/h (130mph), Myanmar’s Meteorological Department said. By Monday morning it was downgraded from its severe status and was steadily weakening over land, according to the India Meteorological Department.
High winds crumpled cell phone towers during the day, cutting off communications. In videos collected by local media before communications were lost, deep water raced through streets and wind blew off roofs.
Myanmar’s military information office said the storm had damaged homes, electricity infrastructure, mobile phone masts, boats and lampposts in Sittwe, Kyaukpyu, and Gwa townships. It said the storm also tore roofs off sports facilities on the Coco Islands, about 260 miles (418km) south-west of the country’s largest city, Yangon.
Volunteers previously said shelters in Sittwe did not have enough food after more people arrived there seeking help.
Rakhine-based media reported that streets and the basements of houses in Sittwe’s low-lying areas had been flooded. Rakhine-based media reported that streets were flooded, trapping people in low-lying areas in their homes as worried relatives outside the township appealed for rescue.
More than 4,000 of Sittwe’s 300,000 residents were evacuated to other cities, and more than 20,000 people were sheltering in monasteries, pagodas and schools on higher ground in the city, said Tin Nyein Oo, who is volunteering in Sittwe’s shelters.
Mocha largely spared the Bangladeshi city of Cox’s Bazar, which initially had been in the storm’s predicted path. Authorities had said they evacuated about 1.27 million people before the cyclone veered east.
“The level of risk has reduced to a great extent in Bangladesh,” said Azizur Rahman, director of the country’s meteorological department.
Several deaths were reported as a result of the storm. A rescue team from eastern Shan state announced on its Facebook page that it had recovered the bodies of a couple buried when a landslide hit their house in Tachileik township. Local media reported that a man was crushed to death when a tree fell on him in Pyin Oo Lwin township in central Mandalay region.
Myanmar state television reported that the military government was preparing to send food, medicine and medical personnel to the storm-hit area. After battering Rakhine, the cyclone weakened and was forecast to hit the north-western state of Chin and the central regions on Monday.
Strong winds with rains continued in Saint Martin’s Island in the Bay of Bengal, it was reported, with leading Bengali-language daily Prothom Alo saying about a dozen islanders were injured and around 300 homes destroyed or damaged. One woman was critically wounded, it said.
UN agencies and aid workers in Bangladesh had positioned tons of dry food and dozens of ambulances with mobile medical teams in refugee camps that house more than a million Rohingya people who fled persecution in Myanmar.
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar with a storm surge that devastated populated areas around the Irrawaddy River delta. At least 138,000 people died and tens of thousands of homes and other buildings were washed away..."
Source/publisher:
"Associated Press" (New York) via "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Cyclones - regional, Natural Disasters - General
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"There are grave concerns about the condition of around one million people living in Myanmar’s Rakhine state where the powerful cyclone Mocha made landfall today, Islamic Relief’s head of programmes for Myanmar and Bangladesh has said.
This includes around 150,000 Rohingya refugees living in camps in the Sittwe and Pauktaw townships of Myanmar, and over 600,000 Rohingya, alongside Rakhine people living in the countryside of Rakhine state.
The centre of the cyclone made landfall on coast of Myanmar’s Rakhine state near Sittwe township with wind speeds up to 209 kilometres per hour. The full extent of the damage in the country is still unclear but there are concerns the destruction in the nearby camps and rural areas will be severe.
Heavy rain and strong winds have already brought localised flooding across Rakhine, with communities fleeing to higher ground to try and find safety. Houses have been impacted, trees have been felled, power lines have gone down and the main mobile tower in Sittwe collapsed.
Islamic Relief believes the damage in the countryside could be worse than in the towns because the people tend to be poorer and live in buildings which are more vulnerable.
The state of Rakhine where the cyclone hit most severely is a conflict zone and already has around 6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance living within its borders.
Sharif Ahmed, Islamic Relief head of programmes for Myanmar and Bangladesh, said, “The needs in Myanmar are huge. Rakhine was already a poverty hit state before the powerful cyclone Mocha hit. The impact of this cyclone will be very high in Myanmar’s Rakhine state because of the existing conflict and the extremely poor socio economic condition of the people in Rakhine state. Poverty is very high and is the primary reason this storm will have such a destructive impact on these people and their lives.”
Islamic Relief is preparing to respond through local partners in Myanmar with food supplies and temporary shelter for those who need help and is planning efforts to clear the damage in refugee camps near Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
The cyclone struck Bangladesh less severely than expected with the world’s largest refugee camp which is near Cox’s Bazar in the south east of the country not as badly hit as expected. But there’s still danger rains from the storm could destabilise the mud foundations of the buildings in those camps..."
Source/publisher:
Islamic Relief (Birmingham) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Cyclones - regional, Natural Disasters - General, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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"Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, May 12, 2023 — The International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that Cyclone Mocha is set to strike Cox's Bazar refugee camp, home to over one million Rohingya refugees.
The cyclone's expected landfall this weekend could cause severe damage. Still reeling from a devastating fire in March that destroyed more than 2,600 shelters and critical infrastructure, over 850,000 refugees risk losing their homes and livelihoods. Strong wind, heavy rains, and subsequent flash floods and mudslides could destroy shelters, community centers, and health clinics, depriving thousands of essential services and humanitarian aid. Host communities, including Teknaf, Kutubdia, Saint Martin's Island, and nearby areas, may also be heavily affected.
In preparation, more than 3,000 Rohingya refugees have been trained to respond to flooding and mudslides. Meanwhile, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is scaling up its emergency response in Cox's Bazar. Three mobile medical teams will be deployed to remote areas in the camps and communities to provide emergency medical treatment. Additionally, a Mobile Protection Unit designed for emergency settings will offer protection services to vulnerable groups such as women, girls, the elderly, and those with disabilities.
Hasina Rahman, IRC Bangladesh Director, said,
“Time and again, we have seen the devastating impact of extreme weather events in Cox’s Bazar. Since 2017, countless shelters, schools, health clinics and safe spaces for survivors of Gender-Based Violence have been decimated as a result of floods and mudslides, as well as preventable tragedies such as the fire in March this year.
“As a low-lying country with major cities in coastal areas, Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to climate change, which makes annual weather events - such as cyclones - more intense and frequent. The impacts - loss of life, destroyed crops, challenges to livelihoods, damage to homes and infrastructure - are often borne by the people and communities who have contributed least to the climate crisis: Bangladesh, for example, emits less than 1% of global CO2 emissions. They are unable to cope with continued weather shocks without support that addresses the effects of climate change, such as early warning systems, anticipatory action, improving infrastructure to protect against flooding, and investment into climate adaptation.
“It is crucial to fortify shelters and critical infrastructure against natural disasters. This involves using durable construction materials to strengthen community facilities like child-friendly spaces, learning facilities, and mosques, which serve as safe points during emergencies. Additionally, the Government of Bangladesh needs to develop an inclusive evacuation plan in collaboration with UN agencies, humanitarian organisations, and the refugee and host communities. The plan should prioritise access to emergency shelters, ensuring family unity, and the protection of vulnerable groups, including women, children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities.”
The IRC began responding to the Rohingya crisis in August 2017 and launched its response officially in March 2018. With over 400 staff in Bangladesh and operating across 27 camps across the district, our teams provide essential healthcare to the host community as well as Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar, as well as reproductive and maternal healthcare, child protection, education, prevention and response to Gender-Based Violence, and Emergency Disaster Risk Reduction (EDRR)..."
Source/publisher:
International Rescue Committee
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-12
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Cyclones - regional, Natural Disasters - General, Climate Change - Burma/Myanmar: general, Public Health, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Title: Bangladesh: Rising violence, insecurity, and protection concerns in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps
Description:
"CRISIS IMPACT OVERVIEW
There are about 931,000 registered Rohingya refugees living in the refugee camps of Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement (UNHCR 11/04/2023 and 08/04/2021). The Kutupalong Balukhali refugee campsite in Ukhia is the largest and most dense refugee camp in the world, housing more than 630,000 Rohingya refugees (UNHCR 11/04/2023; Better Shelter 18/04/2022). Nearly 30,000 registered Rohingya refugees have been relocated and are living in houses in Bhasan Char, an island off the Bangladeshi coast (UNHCR 11/04/2023; TBS 30/12/2019). All Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar camps and in Bhasan Char rely on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs (ISCG et al. 07/03/2023).
Violence and security incidents inside the Cox’s Bazar Rohingya refugee camps have risen since the beginning of 2022 (ACLED accessed 31/04/2023; The Daily Star 13/12/2022). This has raised protection concerns for Rohingya refugees, including exposure to general and physical insecurity, child-related protection concerns, and gender-based violence. A lack of livelihood and educational opportunities compound these protection issues, as do funding cuts that drive concerns over food insecurity, making the situation for the Rohingya refugees dire. This has led many refugees to undertake dangerous maritime journeys to reach Malaysia or Indonesia. As at early May 2023, Bhasan Char did not report armed group or gang activity or a rise in crime.
Around 60% of the violence and security incidents since 2017 had taken place from 2022 until 20 April 2023. Since 2021, the number of clashes between armed groups and gangs and between armed groups or gangs and Bangladeshi security forces have increased, peaking within less than four months in 2023. ACLED data also revealed a similar but still increasing trend for violence against civilians (ACLED accessed 31/04/2023). Crimes such as murder, kidnapping, rape, robbery, human trafficking, arson, and illicit drug trade have soared in the Rohingya refugee camps in recent years (Reuters 24/01/2023; The Daily Star 13/12/2022)..."
Source/publisher:
ACAPS via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-12
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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731.49 KB
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"Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – Nearly a million Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar camps are bracing for Cyclone Mocha, which is expected to hit the region by Sunday (May 14). Last year, the camps escaped devastation from the Bay of Bengal cyclone Sitrang, which killed 35 people, displaced over 20,000, and caused over USD 35 million in damages in other parts of the country.
To help the refugees and local host communities, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is strengthening camp infrastructure, preparing for medical emergencies, and supporting volunteers in cyclone preparedness.
“We have IOM teams and equipment ready to assist government and other humanitarian organizations in clearing the debris to keep key access routes accessible,” said Abdusattor Esoev, IOM Chief of Mission in Bangladesh.
Cox’s Bazar is one of the most disaster-prone districts in Bangladesh, vulnerable to cyclones, floods, landslides, and other natural hazards that can cause loss of life and damage vital infrastructure in the camps. The latest cyclone also comes as the camps are still recovering from recent devastating fires that left around 20,000 refugees displaced.
IOM and its partners have trained volunteers and equipped health centres with mass casualty kits, mobile medical teams, and ambulances to handle medical emergencies during natural disasters. Over 2,000 volunteers have been trained to respond to cyclones, and 45 multi-purpose cyclone shelters have been made available for emergency evacuation.
“We have trained 100 refugee volunteers in each camp on cyclone preparedness and the flag warning system in 17 IOM-managed camps,” said Nihan Erdogan, IOM Deputy Chief of Mission in Bangladesh, based in Cox’s Bazar. “Emergency shelter materials and hygiene kits are readily available, and personal protective gear has been provided to all volunteers in IOM-managed camps.”
Refugee volunteers also disseminate awareness-raising messages to the community and respond to community requests around the clock.
“We have to alert and assist our fellow community members so they are prepared to respond and protect themselves and others should the weather conditions worsen when the cyclone reaches our camps,” said one of the refugee volunteers.
Extreme weather hazards will occur more frequently due to climate change in the years ahead. The linkages between climate change, migration and displacement are increasingly pressing worldwide. To avert, mitigate and address displacement linked to climate disasters and strengthen people’s resilience, IOM calls on governments to implement sustainable climate adaptation, preparedness and disaster risk reduction measures..."
Source/publisher:
International Organization for Migration ( Switzerland)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-12
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
IOM Burma/Myanmar, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Natural Disasters - General, Cyclones - regional
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"When Myanmar’s Rakhine, Bangladesh edging closer day by day, trying to resolve Rohingya crisis through a ‘Rohingya return pilot project’, there is an another news of hope for the people of Myanmar and Bangladesh specially Rohingyas. The Bangladesh Consulate in Sitwest, Rakhine, Myanmar organized an exchange and prayer meeting with senior Buddhist monks and Buddhist religious leaders of various pagodas on Thursday (May 4). At that time, the students of Sittwe University’s Rakhine and Muslim Students’ Union along with members of the consulate and their families were present at the event. Along with discussions on Buddhist theology and Buddha’s words, prayers were offered for the country’s people and communal harmony and peace in the region.
Mission chief Zakir Ahmed gave chivara to senior Buddhist monks. All present were entertained with lunch. According to the Bangladesh Consulate, the Bangladesh Consulate is in close contact with important religious leaders in order to maintain peace and communal harmony in Rakhine. In continuation of this, this discussion and prayer meeting was organized with very influential Buddhist monks and Buddhist religious leaders.
However, discriminatory policies of Myanmar’s government since the late 1970s have compelled hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya to flee their homes in the predominantly Buddhist country. Most have crossed by land into Bangladesh, while others have taken to the sea to reach Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Beginning in 2017, renewed violence, including reported rape, murder, and arson, triggered an exodus of Rohingya, as Myanmar’s security forces claimed they were carrying out a campaign to reinstate stability in the country’s western region. We saw the mass Rohingya exodus to Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine in 2017. The prolonged refugee crisis was started then. The reason for Rohingya’s exclusion is the so-called political Buddhism in Myanmar. Political Buddhism is when excluding Buddhism, the Burmese ethnicity and aggressive nationalism are used to exclude and persecute minority groups perceived as non-Burman. political Buddhism was an important element to Rohingya’s exclusion in Myanmar. But Rohingya’s persecution can somewhat be explained by the influence of political Buddhism, however that was not the complete story.
For many, popular images of Buddhism have often included those of monks in saffron-colored robes, meditating peacefully on windswept mountains, revering all forms of life while seeking higher states of enlightenment.
Often spurred on by Buddhist monks, local mobs and government forces have reportedly burned hundreds of Rohingya villages to the ground in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, slaughtering many of their Muslim inhabitants as hundreds of thousands have fled to neighboring Bangladesh.
Many of the country’s Buddhists are afraid their own faith is in jeopardy, viewing the Rohingya Muslims as a threat. The military, as well as many monks, have used this fear to stoke a “Buddhist nationalism” that combines religious and civic identities.
In the context of such clichés, it has been jarring, many say, to see very different images coming out of Myanmar. Many monks, barefoot and clothed in the traditional robes of Burmese Buddhist monasteries, have been at the forefront of the violent repression of the Rohingya Muslim minority, which the United Nations has characterized as ethnic cleansing.
However, it is a very good initiative taken by Bangladesh and Myanmar in a sense that it is a trust building measurements between Bangladesh and Myanmar utilizing public diplomacy. The religious element will be crucial in resolving the conflict in Myanmar. We don’t have to get into the political issues but focus on bringing back peace. The influential Buddhist community in Myanmar can take the initiative to settle political issues and restore democracy, solve Rohingya refugee crisis. They can help dispel hatred of Burmese people towards Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar through social media activities, religious ceremony, public ceremony etc. When the Rohingyas could enter Rakhine state under the recently taken Rohingya return pilot project, a glimpse of hope that the precarious situation for Rohingya could be resolved emerged. Obviously, a tremendous amount of work remains integrating Rohingya into the Burmese society. Clearly, the infected conflict between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar will not end if the divisive climate of political Buddhism persists. The Buddhist community must play role in this regard.
It is true that even Myanmar Junta has deep and stable respect for the Buddhist monks in Myanmar. Using this opportunity, Buddhist monks must play role in promoting communal peace in Myanmar for ensuring greater interreligious peace and harmony. Rakhine’s Buddhist society can play an effective role in this regard. The relations of Buddhists between Myanmar and Bangladesh are well established. Burmese Buddhist can do it very easily. Buddhism is more related to establishment of Peace and non-violence. Buddhists can play a significant role in this regard. They can exercise the path shown by the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha. Buddhist will be recognized as the Avatar of human rights if the Buddhist community plays a role in solving the Rohingya crisis. It will ensure the regional, to some extent world, peace and communal harmony.
The jarring images coming out of Myanmar, too, seem ironic, since Buddhist monks have been one of the primary forces of democratic change. In 2007, many helped lead what is now known as the “Saffron Revolution,” a movement of mostly nonviolent protests against Myanmar’s long-standing military dictatorship.
Nearly a decade later, their efforts helped Aung San Suu Kyi, the dissident who spent years under house arrest and who won the Nobel Prize in 1991, to become the country’s first democratically-elected leader in 2016.
The Rohingya crisis is a complex issue involving a range of political, economic, and social factors. While Buddhism is the dominant religion in Myanmar, it is important to note that the Rohingya crisis is not a religious conflict, but rather a humanitarian crisis.
But it is true that Buddhists form a majority in Myanmar and that they are supposed to practice self-restraint against killing any lives if they truly follow the philosophy of Buddhism.
However, Buddhism can play a significant role in finding a solution to the crisis by promoting peace, compassion, and understanding. One of the core teachings of Buddhism is the concept of non-harm and compassion towards all sentient beings, including those who may be perceived as enemies or different.
Buddhist leaders and organizations can use their influence to promote dialogue and reconciliation between different communities, and to advocate for the rights of the Rohingya people. Buddhist teachings can also be used to promote mindfulness and awareness of the suffering of others, which can help to foster a more empathetic and compassionate response to the crisis.
In addition, Buddhist organizations can provide support to Rohingya refugees, including food, shelter, and healthcare. They can also work to promote education and economic opportunities for refugees and displaced persons, which can help to build resilience and self-sufficiency.
Overall, while Buddhism alone cannot solve the Rohingya crisis, it can play a positive role in promoting peace, compassion, and understanding, and in providing support and aid to those who have been affected by the crisis. If the Rohingyas is repatriated finally in Rakhine under the pilot project, the Buddhist monks must play their responsible due role..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"The Rohingya are the most persecuted minority group in the world. Such persecution has forced Rohingyas into Bangladesh for many years, with significant spikes following violent attacks in 1978, 1992, and again in 2016. More than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee from Myanmar following a brutal military crackdown in 2017. Currently, Bangladesh has been hosting nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees for six years. At this point, there are more Rohingyas in Bangladesh than in Myanmar.
Due to this massive refugee crisis, the socio-economic and security situation of Bangladesh is worsening and there seems to be no other way except a repatriation, which has been a hanging case for the last six years. The issue remained at a deadlock and to bring momentum, Bangladesh needed an initiative from Myanmar. A breakthrough finally happened on May 05, when a team of 20 Rohingya accompanied by seven Bangladesh government officials visited two of 15 villages in Rakhine State, at the invitation of the Myanmar government.
Bangladesh welcomes the pilot project
The Rohingya team left for Myanmar on Friday via the transboundary Naf River to visit a settlement in Rakhine State. The visit was considered a part of a “confidence-building measure” for repatriation to encourage Rohingyas for a self-willing return. This is the first time any Rohingya delegation visited Rakhine to assess the situation there as the Rohingyas have not volunteered to return home despite two attempts, arguing that the situation was not conducive.
Earlier, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement to repatriate this huge number of Rohingyas to Myanmar in 2017 and 2019. These attempts failed to repatriate the Rohingyas because the Rohingya refused to return to their homeland for fear of fresh persecution and lack of a congenial environment for repatriation. Bangladesh has raised the issue at every international forum, with the support of many countries. But Myanmar had been indifferent to international laws and norms. Finally, it is taking this symbolic step, most possibly to “lighten the responsibility” in its next submission to the International Court of Justice in May regarding the Rohingya genocide.
The foreign ministry of Bangladesh welcomed this effort and appreciated Myanmar’s willingness. The development comes amid a series of events that took place for Rohingya justice and repatriation. The UN refugee agency said it was aware of Friday’s trip, which was taking place “under a bilateral arrangement between Bangladesh and Myanmar”. Some experts and rights activists have observed that the UN’s involvement in the visit would be more conducive for the parties involved in the pilot project to initiate the repatriation. However, Refugee returns must be voluntary, in safety and dignity and no refugee should be forced to do so. And this pilot project is following those steps sincerely.
Facilities offered by Myanmar
Upon their arrival, Myanmar authorities briefed the team about the possible benefits they would likely get in the villages. After the Rohingyas return, each family will be given a house in the model village, land for agriculture, fertilizer, and seeds. The government will provide Rohingyas ‘with national verification cards (NVC)’ and within half a year would be able to travel outside Maungdaw Township. Hospitals, mosques, and playgrounds are being housed in the model villages, which were not present in Rohingya settlements in the past. The model village of Mangdu is much better than the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh in every possible way.
For those who will stay in the model village, each family will be allocated one acre of land for cultivation. Those families who wish to build their own homes can do so and the regime will pay for them. There will be no barbed wire fence around the villages. A Maungdaw official informed the team that Rohingya children will be allowed to study and go to Sittwe University. Most Rohingyas who are now living in Maungdaw, are working, and moving freely in Maungdaw city, the returnee will enjoy the same.
Response from the Rohingya
It is undeniable that this visit by the Rohingya team marks a new beginning of the Rohingya repatriation. Rohingya repatriation will largely depend on the voluntariness of the Rohingyas, and their confidence in security and equal rights as citizens of Myanmar. The purpose of the visit was to inspect infrastructure built in Rakhine’s Maungdaw Township with grants from the governments of Japan, India, and China for the “repatriation and resettlement of refugees”. Regarding that, no member of the delegation team had any complaints.
Rohingya refugees, who have spent nearly six years living in overcrowded and squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar, have been hopeful of the scheme since it became public knowledge in March. Though their queries about security or recognition of their right to citizenship in Myanmar has not been answered. But the bilateral talks have just begun, so there is always room for bargaining as Rohingyas have international support. Soon a team from Myanmar would visit the Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar to try and convince them to be repatriated.
Bangladesh and international concerned communities are optimistic about Rohingya repatriation this time. There was a need for a ‘pilot repatriation project’ to send back refugees where both countries have historical experience and references to repatriate Rohingyas. Through this initiative and China’s mediation, both countries can resolve the long-pending Rohingya crisis. As every refugee has an inalienable right to return to their place of origin and such returns must also be voluntary, this confidence-building measure will play a crucial role to encourage Rohingyas to return their home..."
Source/publisher:
Eurasia Review
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Local URL:
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Description:
"On 5 May, 20 Rohingya refugees, accompanied by Bangladesh officials, travelled from camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, to Maungdaw township in Myanmar, to view facilities built by Myanmar authorities and assess preparations ahead of a pilot repatriation reportedly planned for later this month.
After the visit, Bangladesh officials shared overall positive impressions, while refugees expressed unwillingness to return to camp-like conditions in Myanmar and reiterated their demand to be granted citizenship rights ahead of any return. Myanmar continues to deny the Rohingya people citizenship, rendering them stateless and curtailing access to basic rights such as freedom of movement and education.
Almost 1 million Rohingya refugees live in camps in Cox’s Bazar, the majority of whom fled Rakhine State following a brutal campaign by Myanmar’s security forces in 2017..."
Source/publisher:
European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
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Description:
"Executive Summary:
Since the 1 February 2021 coup, Rohingya communities in Rakhine State have endured tightening movement restrictions, a lack of job opportunities, rising living costs, and even greater precariousness in terms of their legal status. The nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have not fared much better, facing such a sharp deterioration in conditions that some told this analytical unit they suspect authorities to be deliberately destroying any prospect for a dignified life in order to force Rohingya to leave Bangladesh by whatever means possible. Rohingya people in both countries — especially youth — resort to high risk, illegal travel to third countries like Malaysia, where they reportedly believe that increased access to education and opportunities will result in a more secure and fulfilling future. Respondents in Bangladesh and northern Rakhine State still report significant numbers of individuals in their communities undertaking dangerous journeys abroad; however, it is difficult to verify whether the number of Rohingya doing so has increased, because exhaustive data on successful arrivals at intended destinations is not available.
While large-scale Rohingya movement away from Myanmar and Bangladesh and on to Malaysia and elsewhere has been ongoing for at least the last 10 years, several significant shifts have taken place recently. Checkpoints have proliferated across Myanmar as the State Administration Council (SAC) struggles to secure control over the country, increasing the risk that Rohingya people will be caught if they violate movement restrictions by travelling beyond their state or township boundaries. Indeed, there are regularly 20–30 arrests per week.[1] Despite this, crackdowns on maritime trafficking and disastrous, high-profile pushback incidents involving boats carrying desperate Rohingya people[2] have led overland routes to become more prevalent relative to the sea routes favoured in the past. Those facilitating these journeys are reported to include, at a minimum, members of the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military–affiliated Border Guard Police (BGP). Women and girls are the most likely members of the Rohingya community to undertake the journey abroad by any route, and they are also at the highest risk of experiencing a range of abuses en route and upon arrival, including rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Moreover, research by this analytical unit has found that, due to their dire circumstances in Bangladesh and Myanmar, many — if not most — Rohingya people likely lack the agency, options, and information to make a fully volitional, informed choice with respect to high-risk migration to Malaysia or beyond. With conditions likely to deteriorate further in the near term across Rohingya communities in both Bangladesh and Myanmar, the pressure and push factors that render Rohingya individuals prime targets for exploitative migration schemes will only continue to intensify over time. Acutely vulnerable on both sides of the border, Rohingya people will be at critical risk of further victimisation by transnational criminal networks for the foreseeable future.
Upon examination of the facts and circumstances pertaining to Rohingya movement as conveyed to this analytical unit in over 160 interviews in 2022, it appears that the experience of many — perhaps most — Rohingya individuals seeking to reach Malaysia and other countries fits one basic fact pattern. First, these individuals are coerced or otherwise deceived into making the journey; second, they are clandestinely harboured and transported along perilous routes over a period of several months; third, they are subjected to exploitation upon arrival to their destination, in line with the apparent intentions of those facilitating their movement.[3] These steps appear to fulfil each of the three elements of the crime of trafficking in persons as defined and proscribed under international law.[4] In instances where various actors facilitate Rohingya persons’ unlawful crossing of one or more international borders simply in exchange for financial or material benefit — in other words, where movement is facilitated for purposes other than exploitation — the fact pattern would fulfil the criteria of migrant smuggling, rather than trafficking.[5]
In prosecuting any crime that is defined, in part, by a specific intent on the part of the perpetrator, that intent element is often the most difficult to establish. Trafficking is no different; as regards ongoing Rohingya movement, establishing the intent of the actors facilitating that movement — in order to determine whether it is facilitated for the purpose of exploitation — is a challenge.[6] A definitive account of the facts and circumstances surrounding each journey is unavailable; although this analytical unit has conducted over 160 interviews with Rohingya community members with varying degrees of knowledge and direct experience of exploitative migration schemes, this analytical unit has not undertaken a broader investigation to identify the specific intent of those facilitating Rohingya movement or to establish their potential criminal liability. Such an investigation lies beyond the scope of this research and beyond the expertise of this analytical unit. However, consistent statements shared with this analytical unit by Rohingya community members suggest intention to exploit travellers is, in many if not most cases, contributing to the trend in Rohingya outflows from Myanmar and Bangladesh. Based on these statements, it would seem the movement of Rohingya individuals from these countries to Malaysia and elsewhere is best generally categorised as ‘trafficking’ rather than ‘smuggling.’[7]
Wherever trafficking is suspected to occur, identifying the criminal activity as ‘trafficking’ rather than ‘smuggling’ can help enable the recognition and protection of the rights of victims. In part, this is because the most widely ratified international protocol that defines and prohibits human trafficking outlines a broad range of support to be provided to victims,[8] while the protocol outlawing migrant smuggling merely affords victims protection from prosecution.[9] Regardless of which criminal definition is most pertinent in the case of those facilitating Rohingya people’s movement, interviews indicate that Rohingya individuals transferred to Malaysia and elsewhere experience a range of serious abuse over the course of their journeys. International human rights law stipulates that all victims of such abuse be provided with appropriate assistance, protection, and remedies.[10] Rohingya individuals who have been subjected to abusive migration schemes should thus be afforded a far higher level of support than they are now receiving.
This paper aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of the experiences of Rohingya individuals who have attempted perilous international journeys, as well as the pressures facing Rohingya individuals remaining in Myanmar and Bangladesh, in order to help to inform a stronger, better coordinated, and more comprehensive response to the crisis of exploitative migration schemes targeting Rohingya people..."
Source/publisher:
Center for Operational Analysis and Research, Danish Refugee Council, Durable Solutions Platform
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
4.08 MB (26 pages - Original version)
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Description:
"In August 2017, several hundred thousand Rohingya fled violence and persecution in Myanmar, seeking refuge in Cox’s Bazar in neighboring Bangladesh. In the years since, the Bangladeshi government has provided a safe haven for the refugees. Yet there are signs of increasing discontent in the Bangladeshi host community over insecurity, economic costs, and other negative effects of the refugee camps. As this report explains, addressing this potentially combustible situation will be vital to ensuring a sustainable humanitarian effort in Cox’s Bazar.
Summary
More than 950,000 Rohingya refugees currently live in camps in the area of Cox’s Bazar, in southeastern Bangladesh, after fleeing religiously motivated violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar. This study expands on a small but growing body of research that documents increasing hostility among the Bangladeshi host community toward the Rohingya.
Host community members see the effects of Rohingya refugees on their lives and communities as mostly negative and are frustrated by continuing assistance to the refugees, whom they view as having received sufficient aid.
Host community members rarely interact with refugees, but interaction is often negative when it occurs. Host community members are also losing confidence in the ability of government to address their concerns, and many see violence as an acceptable response to their grievances.
Rohingya refugees view intercommunity relations with Bangladeshis as far less tense than do host community members.
A range of conflict mitigation approaches that involve citizens, the Bangladeshi state, and the international community is urgently needed to alleviate intercommunity tension and forestall potential conflict.
About the Report
This report examines the perceptions and experience of conflict, governance, and politics among Bangladeshis and Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The analysis utilizes survey and focus group research funded and published by the International Republican Institute, a democracy-assistance organization headquartered in Washington, DC. The report was commissioned by the South Asia program at the United States Institute of Peace.
About the Author
Geoffrey Macdonald is a senior adviser in the Asia Division at the International Republican Institute (IRI) and a visiting expert in the South Asia program at the United States Institute of Peace. From 2018 to 2022, he was IRI’s resident country manager in Bangladesh. Isabella Mekker is a senior program associate at IRI. Lauren Mooney is a senior manager for conflict prevention and stabilization at IRI..."
Source/publisher:
United States Institute of Peace
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-12
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Myanmar: Military targets civilians in Sagaing region and southern Shan state
Incidents of violence targeting civilians by state forces increased in March compared to the previous month. In Sagaing region, a column composed of Light Infantry Division 99 troops, which has come to be known as the ‘Ogre Column,’ carried out a number of civilian killings as it made its way across the region. Several civilians were reportedly killed following a raid on Tar Taing village in Sagaing township early in the month. A few weeks after the violence in Tar Taing, on 19 March, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing visited the Northwestern Regional Command base in Monywa.1 The military’s campaign of violence in the region falls under the Northwestern Regional Command.2 Meanwhile, as fighting between the military and resistance forces intensified in Kayah and southern Shan states, resistance groups reported that the military had killed dozens of people in Nan Neint village in southern Shan state.3
Afghanistan: Political violence involving the Islamic State increases
The Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan was reportedly involved in at least twelve political violence events in March, marking a fourfold increase compared to the previous month. Over the past months, IS has targeted Taliban officials amid ongoing Taliban operations against the group. On 27 March, a IS suicide bomber reportedly killed six employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This marked the second attack on the ministry in 2023. Earlier in the month, the Balkh governor was killed in an IS suicide bombing. In addition to IS targeting Taliban officials, on 11 March, IS also targeted journalists in a bomb attack on a ceremony honoring journalists in Mazar-e-Sharif city in Balkh province. IS claimed they carried out the attack against journalists for their involvement in the “war and instigation against IS.”4
Pakistan: PTI-led demonstrations spike as Imran Khan faces corruption case
Supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan took to the streets across Pakistan in March against attempts to arrest Khan over non-compliance with a court summons in a corruption case. Outside Khan’s residence in Lahore, hundreds of his supporters threw stones and petrol bombs at police to thwart his arrest.5 On 18 March, Khan arrived in Islamabad for a court hearing amid clashes between PTI activists and police outside the judicial complex. In his absence, police entered and searched his residence in Lahore, clashing with PTI activists present at the site.6 Pakistan police have arrested hundreds of PTI activists for violence during the demonstrations.7 Khan has dismissed the corruption allegations as being politically motivated and has reiterated concerns about his personal safety following an assassination attempt last year. The latest developments come amid ongoing demonstrations by the PTI demanding early national elections, which are currently scheduled for later this year.8
Bangladesh: Rohingya refugees subject to increasing violence
Rohingya refugees continue to be the target of increasing violence in Bangladesh. While this violence is underreported, several refugees were killed by unidentified assailants in at least eight distinct attacks in Cox’s Bazar in March. The attacks come amid ongoing tensions between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and the Rohingya Solidarity Organization, rival armed Rohingya groups active in the camps. Earlier in the month, the two groups clashed. A subsequent fire in one of the refugee camps, which left thousands homeless, was thought to stem from this conflict.9
Philippines: Negros Oriental governor killed amid ongoing targeting of local administrators
On 4 March, nine people were reportedly killed when unidentified assailants targeted Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, killing him along with a barangay chairman, barangay councilor, and six other civilians. The attack took place at the governor’s home in Barangay San Isidro in Pamplona, Negros Oriental. The killing came a month after the Supreme Court declared Degamo the winner of the governorship over his rival, Pryde Henry Teves, who was initially declared the winner.10 The Department of Justice is investigating Teves’s brother, a congressman, for allegedly orchestrating the attack. Following the governor’s killing, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for a crackdown on illegal firearms and private armies. Since the beginning of the year, ACLED has recorded dozens of attacks on local administrators in the Philippines..."
Source/publisher:
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Format :
pdf
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292.64 KB
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Description:
"SITUATION AT A GLANCE:
4.5 MILLION People Targeted for Humanitarian Assistance in Burma
UN – January 2023
1.4 MILLION IDPs in Burma Displaced Since February 2021
UNHCR – March 2023
1.7 MILLION People Displaced in Burma
UNHCR– March 2023
950,972 Estimated Number of Refugees in Bangladesh
UNHCR – November 2022
1.5 MILLION People Targeted by 2023 Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis Joint Response Plan
UN – March 2023
• Military authorities in Burma declare martial law in 47 townships across Burma, hindering the operations of relief actors and exacerbating protection risks faced by violence-affected populations.
• Fire in a Cox’s Bazar District Rohingya refugee camp on March 5 displaces over 5,200 individuals and damages or destroys more than 2,800 refugee shelters, as well as nearly 160 camp facilities.
• The UN 2023 Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis JRP targets approximately 1.5 million people in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char to receive life-saving assistance..."
Source/publisher:
US Agency for International Development (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
232.91 KB
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Sub-title:
Repatriation to Myanmar Under Military Junta Threatens Lives, Freedoms
Description:
"(Bangkok) – Bangladesh authorities should suspend plans to send Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar, where their lives and liberty would be at grave risk, Human Rights Watch said today.
Rohingya told Human Rights Watch that they were lied to, deceived, or otherwise coerced by Bangladesh administrators into meeting with a recent delegation of Myanmar junta officials as part of a “pilot repatriation” effort to return about 1,000 refugees. Some were told the meetings concerned possible resettlement to a third country.
“Voluntary, safe, and dignified returns of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar are not possible while the military junta is carrying out massacres around the country and apartheid in Rakhine State,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Bangladesh authorities should stop deceiving these refugees to get them to engage with junta officials when it’s clear that Rohingya will only be able to return safely when rights-respecting rule is established.”
Conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State have not been conducive to voluntary, safe, or dignified returns of Rohingya refugees since 2017, when more than 730,000 Rohingya fled the Myanmar military’s crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. The prospect of durable returns has grown ever more distant since the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, carried out by the same generals who orchestrated the 2017 mass atrocities.
Bangladesh has appropriately not compelled these refugees to return and should continue that policy with the support of international donors, Human Rights Watch said.
A delegation of 17 Myanmar junta officials visited the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh, which house about one million Rohingya refugees, from March 15-22, 2023. The officials interviewed 449 Rohingya from 149 families in the Teknaf camps for “verification” for the pilot repatriation process, media reported. A junta official told Agence France-Presse that the pilot program could start as early as mid-April.
Human Rights Watch spoke with 15 Rohingya about their verification interviews. Not one said that they had been informed in advance that they would be meeting with junta officials about being returned to Myanmar. All 15 said they had been interviewed several times by Bangladesh authorities over the past two years, but had never been told that their names were listed for possible return.
“I wasn’t informed that I would be interviewed by the Myanmar delegation,” said a Rohingya man interviewed by junta officials on March 15 along with 10 family members. “I was called beforehand by the camp-in-charge [CiC, a Bangladesh official], who told me to be present on the interview date at my shelter. When I asked why, he said I would be interviewed for the opportunity to go abroad for resettlement. I never realized it was a Myanmar delegation I was going to meet, or that it was about repatriation.”
He said that the CiC had threatened him: “He said that if we weren’t present for the interview, we’d be forced by the police to appear. So, I doubted that it was about resettlement options, and worried it was about repatriation instead.”
A majhi (Rohingya community leader) who was interviewed by the delegation on March 21 said that he was also not informed about the reason for the interview or those that preceded it, and was similarly threatened by Bangladeshi officials with police intervention when he resisted.
“Even as majhis, we were not told why we were being called several times by the CiC office to give family information,” he said. “They gave us false hope that a group was coming to meet us for an opportunity to resettle. From my block, my family and another family’s names appeared on the list. When we found out that it was the Myanmar delegation we had to meet, we tried to oppose it, but the authorities here threatened us. Some families from other camps fled their shelters fearing they’d be forced to return.”
Two prior repatriation attempts undertaken in November 2018 and August 2019 failed, with Rohingya refugees unwilling to return due to the ongoing persecution and abuse in Myanmar. In January 2022, the Bangladesh government and Myanmar junta renewed discussions around repatriation, announcing joint plans to “expeditiously complete the verification process.” While Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul has declared that “early repatriation” is a top priority, he told BenarNews in March 2023 that Bangladesh would not force refugees to return to Myanmar.
Bangladesh officials reported that the 449 Rohingya were interviewed to verify their identities and places of origin, joining a list of over 700 refugees already confirmed for the pilot repatriation.
A Rohingya woman interviewed on March 15 with her newborn baby and six other family members said, “They were asking for family information and where we lived when we were in Rakhine. They filled up about four to five pages of documents. We weren’t shown what was written on them. Then they took our thumbprints.” Rohingya interviewed on the first day were required to provide thumbprints, which was reportedly stopped after community leaders raised concerns with the Bangladesh authorities.
About 600,000 Rohingya remain in Rakhine State under the junta’s oppressive rule, facing systematic abuses that amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty. The junta has imposed new movement restrictions and aid blockages on Rohingya camps and villages, increasing water scarcity and food shortages, along with disease and malnutrition. Since the 2021 coup, security forces have arrested thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children for “unauthorized travel.”
The refugees said that the junta officials asked them about their relatives in Rakhine State. “My family members who are still in Rakhine live in fear of persecution by the military or insurgent groups,” a Rohingya man interviewed by the delegation on March 16 said. “Now, if they end up in trouble because of me, who will protect them?”
Rohingya refugees have consistently said that they want to go home, but only when their security, access to land and livelihoods, freedom of movement, and citizenship rights can be ensured.
The refugees said the delegation refused to answer any questions about whether their land would be returned or if they would be granted citizenship and other rights and freedoms. “If they really wanted to take us back, they wouldn’t hesitate to answer any of our questions and ensure our rights,” said another camp majhi interviewed by the delegation. “They only want to take us back to Rakhine because they’re under pressure. We know they won’t let us go back to our land, they’ll put us in that camp settlement forever. We’ll only go back when they publicly commit to giving us the same rights as citizens in Myanmar and getting our land and properties back.”
In early March, junta officials took several diplomats to Rakhine State’s Maungdaw township to visit the Nga Khu Ya reception center and Hla Poe Kaung transit camp. The camps, built on Rohingya land in 2018 to process and house returnees, are surrounded by barbed-wire perimeter fences and security outposts.
Junta officials have also been visiting Rakhine in preparation for their submission to the International Court of Justice, due by April 24, in the Genocide Convention case brought by Gambia. Activists and refugees allege that the pilot repatriation project is part of broader junta efforts to feign progress in its treatment of the Rohingya to the court.
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, provided unmarked UN boats to transport the junta delegation to Cox’s Bazar. In response to criticism, UNHCR said that while it is not involved in the pilot repatriation discussions, it “supports efforts that could lead to the verification of all refugees and pave the way for eventual return,” which in this case included “providing logistical support to members of the Myanmar delegation to cross into Bangladesh for the technical verification process.” UNHCR did assert that “conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are currently not conducive to the sustainable return of Rohingya refugees.”
Fully informed and voluntary returns depend, among other key factors, on providing refugees with objective and accurate information about conditions in areas of origin. UNHCR should not be providing logistical support to officials operating under the same military leaders who oversaw the grave crimes the Rohingya fled, in service of a repatriation plan that contravenes international standards, Human Rights Watch said.
Since 2017, the Bangladesh government has respected the international principle of nonrefoulement, the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened. But Bangladesh authorities have also been intensifying restrictions on livelihoods, movement, and education that compound refugees’ vulnerability and dependence on aid and appear designed to coerce refugees into considering returning to Myanmar. Bangladesh should formalize and expand education and employment opportunities to bolster Rohingya’s self-reliance for their eventual return or resettlement.
“For future returns to be truly voluntary, the Bangladesh authorities need to allow Rohingya to live freely, without enforcing pressures pushing them to go back,” Ganguly said. “Donors should increase support for a more sustainable life for Rohingya today, which will help them develop the skills and independence needed for the day when safe returns are possible.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-31
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
In 2018, Bob Rae, special envoy to Myanmar, recommended Canada welcome Rohingya refugees. Yet, Ukraine has become more of a priority.
Description:
"In 2017, an estimated 770,000 Rohingya were driven from their homeland, escaping from the Myanmar military campaign of mass killing, rape and systematic arson. People fled across the border to Bangladesh and now inhabit the world’s largest refugee camp, enduring militancy, poverty, and intolerable and dangerous conditions. While these refugees have been allowed to remain, their Bangladeshi hosts increasingly view them as “a big burden.”
Yet Rohingya genocide survivors have little chance of returning to Myanmar, where the military that slaughtered their people consolidated its power with a coup in February 2021. Almost six years after their exodus from their homeland, Rohingya refugees exist in a “suspended state” between global indifference and local hostility. In such dire circumstances, Canada should do more to assist one million Rohingya genocide survivors trapped in a cruel limbo.
This is not just geopolitics; this is my life. I remember vividly the day I was resettled from a camp in Bangladesh to Canada in August 2021. Landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport, I felt welcomed in a country for the first time. A woman at the immigration desk greeted me with a soothing smile and a genuine “Welcome to Canada.” In my country of birth, there were no such pleasantries. As a Rohingya, officials deemed me an “illegal immigrant” from the outset, despite the centuries of Rohingya existence in Myanmar.
Rohingya refugees are an untapped source for Canada’s workforce
A key moment to help the Rohingya for the long term
In Canada, I quickly connected with a community of around 1,000 Rohingya who have made this country their new home since 2016. I met men and women who are making valuable contributions to Canada by working in factories and volunteering for civic organizations. Their children are attending local schools and universities.
These people, and now my family and I, are living the dream of one million Rohingya still confined against their will either in the ongoing genocide in Myanmar or who have escaped to the harsh life in Bangladesh’s refugee camps. Perhaps the phrase “breathing the air of freedom” may sound like a cliché, but it rings true for a genocide survivor like me.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Canada opened the door for more than 132,000 Ukrainian nationals without hesitation, creating new pathways for those fleeing an uncertain future. While this humanitarian act is laudable, it’s difficult to not worry about those genocide survivors in Bangladesh who are still suffering. Canada needs to embrace a similar open-door policy for them.
I cannot shake what I endured and witnessed during the four years I was a refugee in Bangladesh. There are Rohingya families living in cramped tarpaulin shelters trying to survive on World Food Program rations, which a funding shortfall has recently reduced further.
Human Rights Watch has documented extortion, detention and other human rights violations against Rohingya refugees by Bangladeshi police in those camps, and the Bangladeshi government coercively relocated tens of thousands of them to a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal. A massive fire on March 5, 2023, burnt thousands of Rohingya shelters, making thousands of them homeless within a refugee camp in Bangladesh.
The camps are simply not safe, leading thousands to escape Bangladesh by boat. Hundreds have now died or are missing at the Andaman Sea. Given such a situation, the refugees’ best hope lies in resettlement in countries where brute force, exploitation and hopelessness are not the norm.
Canada has acknowledged Myanmar’s genocide of Rohingya people. In April 2018, Bob Rae, who served as special envoy to Myanmar, recommended in his final report that “a fundamental principle of Canada’s approach to the Rohingya crisis should be that we listen to the voice of the Rohingya themselves. This principle should guide our actions and inform our advocacy.”
The Rohingya community in Canada is hoping that the federal government will open the country’s arms and doors to the survivors of genocide, both those living in Myanmar and those currently enduring deplorable conditions in refugee camps elsewhere.
Canada’s response to Rohingya crisis falls short
Canada can help with the Rohingyas’ legal needs
The incredible response to the war in Ukraine shows how wide Canada can open its doors to refugees. But it is hard not to think of the Rohingya genocide survivors who have not received the same human rights protections. This is not to take away from the generosity shown to Ukrainians, but rather to assert the importance of those who continue to face harrowing conditions elsewhere.
There are concrete steps that Canada can take for those one million Rohingya genocide survivors including establishing a Rohingya Working Group within the Government of Canada as recommended in Rae’s final report and immediately extending a commitment to resettle up to 10,000 of them from Bangladesh. Adversity is indiscriminate; it does not distinguish between Ukrainians or Rohingya. Neither should Canada..."
Source/publisher:
Policy Options
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-31
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"One year ago, the United States made a historic determination: the atrocities committed against the Rohingya by the Burmese military constitute genocide and crimes against humanity. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made this announcement in front of Rohingya and Holocaust survivors at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This statement was a long-awaited recognition of the brutal persecution and violence suffered by this predominantly Muslim community from Burma's Rakhine State. Recognition was an important step. Now we must focus on protecting the Rohingya who have been displaced and those who remain in Burma. The Rohingya suffered decades of violence, discrimination, marginalization and persecution—including a crescendo of violence that spurred the genocide determination. Their plight continues to this day. The very military that committed genocide against them staged a coup in February 2021. Since then, the military has cracked down on civilians across the country. All of the structures that led to the persecution of the Rohingya remain in place. And since the coup the military has introduced even more repressive measures, including growing restrictions on the remaining 600,000 Rohingya’s freedom of movement with increasing security checkpoints, arrest, detentions, and extortion while keeping the apartheid-like conditions in most of Rakhine state, where many live, largely inaccessible to independent monitors.
At the same time, the situation of the approximately one million Rohingya in refugee camps in Bangladesh drastically deteriorated. With practically no educational or economic opportunities and surrounded by rampant crime, refugees become prey to human traffickers. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 2022 saw a massive increase in the number of people fleeing by boat over the previous year, and it was the deadliest year for these attempts to flee over sea since 2014. Rohingya refugees today are forced to choose between an array of dangerous options: they could embark on a perilous journey by boat to other southeast or south Asian countries; they could return to Burma, where they would face a risk of genocide; or they could remain in Bangladesh where they face growing insecurity and hopelessness.
For decades, the world focused on supporting Burma’s pro-democracy movement, perhaps with the hope that building democracy would naturally benefit all groups in the country. Yet even as Burma was making steps toward democracy, the violence against the Rohingya was culminating in genocide. The world cannot repeat the mistakes of the past. As policymakers in the US and elsewhere try to push back the brutality of Burma’s military and support a future democracy, we cannot lose sight of the vulnerable communities who may be targeted along the way.
The Rohingya crisis must be addressed as part of a larger problem in Burma—the absence of human rights and democracy. The military dictatorship that ruled Burma for years has systematically oppressed ethnic and religious minorities, including the Rohingya. To tackle the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya and the fight for democracy in Burma, both issues must be addressed together. As the world has learned through the experience of the Rohingya people—genocide was committed when it appeared the country was becoming more democratic—no genuine democratic change can be built on the backs of the persecuted.
One year ago, Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the US "commitment to accompany Rohingya on this path out of genocide—toward truth, toward accountability, toward a home that will welcome them as equal members, that will respect their human rights and dignity, alongside that of all people in Burma."
The US has provided significant humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya, but needs are growing among Rohingya who have been plunged into a state of perpetual hopelessness. The US can do more, and other countries, and regional organizations, notably the Association of Southeast Asian States (ASEAN) must step up too to provide humanitarian assistance, promote accountability, and press the Burmese military to cease its violent campaigns.
First and foremost, the US and the international community should continue to advance efforts to hold accountable those responsible for genocide and crimes against humanity. This includes sanctions on MOGE—a state-owned oil and gas company—and other relevant military-owned businesses, which would reduce the funds available to Burma’s military to pursue its brutal acts. The US and others could continue support for the ongoing justice processes including the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and cases in international and domestic courts.
Protecting the Rohingya from further violence and persecution is another critical priority. The international community must work proactively with Burma’s civilian leadership and civil society actors to ensure support for an effective transitional justice process to prevent future atrocities and persecution, ensuring that Rohingya have a prominent—and equal—place in a future Burma. This would require a restoration of full citizenship for Rohingya, restoration of equal rights as an ethnic group of Burma and genuine inclusion of Rohingya in decisions that will shape the country’s future.
The US and other countries should also bolster humanitarian support for those who have suffered mass atrocities and ensure the protection and well-being of refugees in the region. Countries in south and southeast Asia should protect Rohingya refugees, including rescuing those stranded at sea and protecting refugee populations within their territory.
Lastly, the United States and the international community must support Rohingya by listening to the voices of Rohingya and enabling Rohingya participation in all fora related to their and Burma’s future, improving access to resources and formal education for Rohingya women and youth, and supporting Rohingya civil society.
The Rohingya have suffered for too long and have endured unimaginable violence and persecution. It is time for the world to stand with them and support their journey toward justice, equality, and freedom.
Wai Wai Nu is founder and executive director of Women's Peace Network in Burma, and a former Genocide Prevention fellow with the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide.
Naomi Kikoler is the director of the Museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide..."
Source/publisher:
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against specific groups, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
253.27 KB
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Sub-title:
More than five years after hundreds of thousands fled Myanmar, conditions in Bangladesh are deteriorating
Description:
"The hungry and desperate are now much more so. Last month, the rations to Rohingya living in the world’s largest refugee camp – Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – were slashed. Another drastic cut is due next month. This is, as a UN expert warned, a matter of life and death. The Rohingya have lived on a knife edge for too long.
Their suffering made global headlines in 2017, when the Myanmar military, supported by militias, launched a murderous campaign that took thousands of lives, forced 700,000 to flee Rakhine state for Bangladesh and was described by a UN human rights expert as genocide. In the last two years, what little attention has been paid to Myanmar has focused on the military’s coup and attempts to crush civilian resistance. But the suffering of the Rohingya began decades ago and continues to this day, even outside Rakhine state. Many had fled before, returning (not always by choice) when they were assured it was safe. It was not. They experienced discrimination and repression, military operations, pogroms and the stripping of their citizenship. The 600,000 or so who remain in Myanmar are confined to camps, subject to government violence and denied essential services.
“There was no peace … wherever they went,” the Guardian journalist Kaamil Ahmed writes in his new book, I Feel No Peace: Rohingya Fleeing Over Seas and Rivers. “The Rohingya have run from the Burmese troops who kill them to their Bangladeshi counterparts, who have policed their lives in a different way, looming over them in their exile then turning the screw when governments decide they need to return to Myanmar.”
Conditions in Bangladesh have become so poor that the number attempting dangerous sea crossings to Malaysia or Indonesia increased fivefold last year, to more than 3,500, at the cost of around a tenth of those lives. Earlier this month, a huge blaze tore through one of the camps at Cox’s Bazar, leaving an estimated 12,000 people without shelter – the latest in a series of fires endangering lives and destroying the meagre possessions that the refugees can still muster. It has been blamed on the armed gangs that menace, rob and murder inhabitants in the camps. Rohingya complain that Bangladeshi police have failed to root out the violence, and instead harass and extort from them.
Dhaka wants UN help to move more Rohingya to Bhasan Char, an island highly vulnerable to cyclones. Officials portray it as an opportunity for a fresh start; refugees have described dangerous and prison-like conditions. The Rohingya have reason to be cynical about the UN, given the refugee agency’s previous treatment of them.
Bangladesh is an impoverished nation grappling with a major humanitarian crisis, and it needs help to do better. The support offered in 2017 rapidly dwindled, even before Covid, the Ukraine war and soaring food prices. The World Food Programme says it needs $125m (£103m) just to avoid further ration cuts in a community where malnutrition is already rife. The US has pledged $26m (£21m), but overall the response has been lacklustre. The UK’s promise of a £5m package does not come close to compensating for the cuts it imposed when it slashed the aid budget in 2021. What the Rohingya ultimately need is citizenship in Myanmar to safely return when they wish to, but failing that, resettlement would allow them to establish new lives and flourish instead of dwelling in perpetual insecurity. They need not only food now, but a future..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is aware of the visit of a Myanmar delegation to Bangladesh to meet with a group of refugees on a bilateral pilot project between the two countries on possible returns. UNHCR is not involved in these discussions.
UNHCR’s position on returns of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar remains unchanged. In UNHCR’s assessment, conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are currently not conducive to the sustainable return of Rohingya refugees. At the same time, we reiterate that every refugee has a right to return to their home country based on an informed choice, but that no refugee should be forced to do so. Bangladesh has consistently reaffirmed its commitment to voluntary and sustainable repatriation since the onset of the current crisis.
In support of efforts to preserve the right to return, UNHCR considers consultation of and dialogue with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh by all parties in relation to the conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State as important to enable refugees to make an informed choice about return and build confidence amongst the community. This is particularly important as many refugees have reiterated that they do hope to go home to Myanmar as soon as conditions allow.
Following the events of August 2017, UNHCR has also consistently encouraged Myanmar to expeditiously verify the previous residence in Myanmar of refugees in Bangladesh, as part of efforts to lift any administrative obstacles to return when the refugees decide to do so.
UNHCR therefore supports efforts that could lead to the verification of all refugees and pave the way for eventual return. This most recently included providing logistical support to members of the Myanmar delegation to cross into Bangladesh for the technical verification process.
UNHCR will continue to work with Bangladesh and Myanmar to ensure that Rohingya refugees maintain the right to return when they choose to do so, based on a fully informed and voluntary decision. UNHCR will also support efforts to create conditions that would be conducive to the sustainable return of Rohingya refugees in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
In Bangladesh UNHCR will continue to support building the skills and capacities of refugees to facilitate their eventual return and sustainable reintegration in Myanmar. The 2023 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis in Bangladesh was recently launched and UNHCR calls upon the international community’s continued robust support for this appeal which is currently 10 per cent funded..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva)
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Newly released figures have revealed that the British government has cut aid to around one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh by a staggering 82%. The majority of these refugees are children.
Burma Campaign UK is calling on Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to urgently reverse the cuts and provide life-saving aid to Rohingya children.
British aid to Rohingya refugees has been reduced from £112.36 million in 2019-2020 to just £20.26 million in 2022-2023.
The UK government has not pledged any funding for the 2023 Rohingya Joint Response Plan. The US, Japan, Germany, the EU and Luxembourg has.
The World Food Program announced in February that they were cutting the food provisions to all refugees in the camps by 17%. More cuts are expected to follow if cuts in aid are not reversed.
According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tom Andrews, 45% of all Rohingya families in the camps are living with insufficient diets, 51% of Rohingya children and 41% of pregnant and breastfeeding women are anemic, and 40% of children are suffering from stunted growth because of lack of nutrition.
“To make such deep cuts in support to hundreds of thousands of children who are completely dependent on aid is indefensible”, said Karin Valtersson, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “Once children are stunted from malnutrition it is irreversible, they will suffer from health problems the rest of their lives. James Cleverly has done the right thing in imposing sanctions to cut off revenue to the military but now he is cutting off life-saving aid to the victims of the Burmese military as well.”
The decreased funding for Rohingya refugees was set out in an answer to a written Parliamentary Question by Preet Kaur Gill MP. The government also announced £5.26 million in additional funding during Foreign Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan’s visit to Cox’s Bazar in March 2023.
In another answer to a Written Parliamentary Question, asked by the Bishop of Southwark, Lord Ahmad, Foreign Office Minister, confirmed that only £8,8 million had been spent on food aid during 2022.
Around one million people live in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the vast majority of whom arrived during the genocidal military offensives by the Burmese military in 2016 and 2017. The attempted military coup in Burma on 1 February 2021 has made the return of Rohingya refugees to Burma an even more distant prospect.
Because of the increasingly desperate situation for Rohingya, both in Bangladesh and Burma, thousands tried to flee by boat last year. At least 348 died or went missing at sea. Further aid cuts will push more Rohingya to risk these dangerous journeys.
The new UN appeal for funding for the coming year, known as the 2023 Rohingya Joint Response Plan, requires $876 million. In previous years, the British government has announced levels of funding during their statement to the Joint Response Plan, but this year’s statement, on 7 March, included no financial pledges.
“The British government ignored warnings about the impending genocide of the Rohingya and took no action to try to prevent it. Now they are failing the Rohingya again by making savages cuts in the aid they receive,” said Karin Valtersson.
Burma Campaign UK is asking supporters to write to the Foreign Secretary, calling on him to reverse cuts to aid and not to abandon Rohingya refugees..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"The National Unity Government (NUG) extends its deepest sympathy and solidarity to the Rohingya families affected by the massive fire on Sunday, March 6, 2023, at Camp 11 in Cox's Bazar. We will be coordinating with UNHCR, international partners, and local Rohingya organizations to extend assistance to the affected families.
While we respond to short-term needs in times of the Rohingya refugees, the NUG recognized the need for a long-term solution to end their suffering and facilitate their safe and sustainable return to their homeland in Myanmar. However, the only way to realize a long-term political solution is to eliminate military dictatorship, restore stability and democratic civilian rule in Myanmar. The NUG reiterates its commitment to implementing its Policy Position on the Rohingya in Rakhine State, published on June 3, 2021, as an integral part of our roadmap to building an inclusive and people-centered federal democratic union..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Myanmar - NUG
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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National Unity Government (NUG), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် ၂၀၂၃ ခုနှစ် မတ်လ ၆ ရက်၊ တနင်္ဂနွေနေ့က Cox’s Bazar တွင် ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့သော မီးလောင်ကျွမ်းမှုကြောင့် ထိခိုက်ခံစားခဲ့ကြရသည့် ရိုဟင်ဂျာအိမ်ထောင်စုများအတွက် အနက်ရှိုင်းဆုံးစာနာမှုနှင့် စည်းလုံးညီညွတ်မှုတို့ကို ဖော်ပြအပ်ပါသည်။ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့အနေဖြင့် UNHCR၊ နိုင်ငံတကာမိတ်ဖက်များ၊ ဒေသခံရိုဟင်ဂျာအဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့်အတူ ထိခိုက်ခံစားခဲ့ရသော အိမ်ထောင်စုများအတွက် အကူအညီများပေးနိုင်ရေး ညှိနှိုင်းဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဖြစ်သည်။
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရအနေဖြင့် ရိုဟင်ဂျာဒုက္ခသည်များအတွက် ရေတိုလိုအပ်ချက်များကို ဖြည့်ဆည်းနိုင်ရေးကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်နေစဉ်တွင် ၎င်းတို့၏ ဆင်းရဲဒုက္ခများကို အဆုံးသတ်နိုင်ရန်နှင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ ၎င်းတို့၏ နေရပ်များသို့ ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံ၍ ရေရှည်တည်တံ့သောနည်းလမ်းဖြင့် ပြန်လည်နေထိုင်နိုင်ရေးအား ကူညီဆောင်ရွက်ပေးနိုင်ရန်တို့အတွက် ရေရှည်ဖြေရှင်းနည်းတစ်ခုကို လိုအပ်ကြောင်း အသိအမှတ်ပြု လက်ခံပါသည်။ သို့သော်လည်း ရေရှည်နိုင်ငံရေးအဖြေရရှိနိုင်မည့် တစ်ခုတည်းသောနည်းလမ်းမှာ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် စစ်အာဏာရှင်ချုပ်ငြိမ်းပပျောက်ရေး၊ တည်ငြိမ် အေးချမ်းမှုနှင့် ဒီမိုကရေစီအရပ်ဘက်အုပ်ချုပ်မှု ပြန်လည်ရရှိရေးပင် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရအနေဖြင့် အားလုံးပါဝင်သည့် ပြည်သူကိုဗဟိုပြုသော ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီ ပြည်ထောင်စု တည်ဆောက်ရေးလမ်းပြမြေပုံ၏ အဓိကအစိတ်အပိုင်းတစ်ရပ်အဖြစ် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဇွန်လ ၃ ရက်နေ့တွင် ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့သည့် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများနှင့်ပတ်သက်သည့် မူဝါဒ ရပ်တည်ချက်ကို အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ဆောင်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း ထပ်လောင်း၍ ကတိပြုအပ် ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Myanmar - NUG
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-06
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"COX'S BAZAR, 5 March – Responding to the news that a massive fire swept across three Rohingya refugee camps Sunday afternoon in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, destroying several Save the Children facilities, Onno van Manen, Save the Children's Country Director in Bangladesh, said:
"Just days after the World Food Programme announced it has been forced to cut food aid due to funding shortages, this devastating blaze is another tragedy to hit the Rohingya people who have endured unspeakable hardship for years.
"Today's massive fire will have robbed many families of their safety and what little belongings they have left. This tragedy stands as another ghastly reminder that children stuck in the camps in Cox's Bazar face a bleak future. After nearly six years, they continue to grapple with inadequate education, concerning levels of malnutrition, stunting, child marriage and child labour. Despite relentless efforts of the humanitarian community, a refugee camp is no place for a child to grow up.
"As the international community gathers in Geneva this week, they must not shirk their responsibility to do more to protect Rohingya refugees. They must fully fund the humanitarian response to the Rohingya crisis, which is woefully underfunded. Food has already been reduced, maintenance and repairs have been neglected and without adequate funding, it is likely a catastrophe will unfold impacting refugees, the host community, Bangladesh and the region."
Note to editors: Save the Children's teams are currently assessing the situation and ready to respond with emergency shelter, education, health and other essential services in coordination with other humanitarian organisations..."
Source/publisher:
Save the Children (London)
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Children's rights: resources and organisations
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"On February 1st marked two years since the Military Junta known as Tatmadaw took over the power in Myanmar orchestrating a coup which removed the incumbent National League for Democracy ( NLD) government. Ever since the coup, massive protest erupted in parts of the country. The economy shrank by nearly 20 percent wiping out modest poverty reduction made over the past decade. In addition, millions of people are facing hunger and thousands of people feeling the nation to bordering countries, rendering the country on the verge of becoming a failed state. Amidst the chaos, the chances of finding a peaceful resolution to Rohingya Crisis is alarmingly getting slimmer.
The exiled lawmakers and activists of NLD government toppled by the State Administration Council- the Junta officially called as, established a parallel government known as the National Unity Government (NUG). In September of that year, the NUG declared war on the junta and formed an armed division known as the People’s Defence Force. This ushered a brutal struggle between the army and civilian sect. The Junta has put up resistance at multiple fronts rendering it anguished to uphold its power.
Military Regime and streams of hostilities
If we examine the trail of Myanmar’s political history, it has always been ruled by a military junta ever since its independence from the British colonial rule in 1948. Asia analyst Ayesha Siddiqa, a senior fellow in the Department of Military Studies at King’s College London, says that shortly after independence, the country began a civil war between ethnic groups with a Burmese majority. At that time, the military entered politics in the name of security and in the absence of strong political institutions.
“From the beginning, the Burmese army got involved in politics because there were divisions in the society. Disputes over the distribution of resources and the lack of strong political institutions. That’s how they became increasingly powerful in politics, and began to control it,” she said.
General Ne Win led a military coup in 1962 and in 1974 instituted a new constitution based on an isolationist foreign policy and a socialist economic program that nationalized Burma’s major enterprises. This led to a deteriorating economic situation, black-market economy and wide spread corruption. This led to a massive protest in 1988 which ended in brutal military crackdown. In addition to economic turmoil, Myanmar’s government faced admonishments for lack of inclusion and representation of ethnic minorities. Namely the confrontation between the majority Bamar and non-Bamar population is behind the root of Rohingya Crisis.
Stripping the Rohingya’s of their rights
The formulation of the 1974 constitution stripped the rights of minorities and favoured the majority Bamar population. The first large scale Rohingya displacement began in 1978 when 200,000 people fled to Bangladesh, however, Myanmar later took them back in the face of western pressure. Finally, the 1982 citizenship law put the last nail in the coffin of Rohingya community’s any hope of gaining rights. The citizenship law proclaimed that people who were settled before the Anglo-Burmese War of 1824 were legally Burmese citizens. Although, there is strong evidence which supports that Rohingyas have been living in Mynmar prior to the war. The significant point about the present-day Rakhine is that Arakan had once been an independent state that had been taken over by the Konbaung rulers in 1785.
Attempts have been taken to change the demographic of the Arakan population with that of the Bamar populace, and subsequent settlement have been successful. Presently, the Arakan Army consisting of Bamar and local ethnic groups are embroiled in an armed conflict with the Junta demanding autonomy.
The politics of Arakan
Since the advent of the coup, the Junta had shot live ammunition and massacred villages believed to be supporters of the opposition. At least 1,500 people have been killed by the military, estimated by the Thailand-based nonprofit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). By late 2021, the junta has arrested more than eight thousand people, including journalists, medical workers, and NLD politicians. By January 2022, clashes between the People’s Defence Force and the military spread across the country, reported by analysts.
The Junta is increasingly getting wedged from having to put up with multiple fronts of resistance. This has been evident as the Junta agreed on a ceasefire with the Arakan Army. Founded in Kachin State in 2009, Arakan Army has witnessed a rapid rise. It has currently 30,000 active fighters, the largest among other militia groups.
Previously, AA was against the rights of the Rohingya’s, in recent times its mother organization United League for Arakan (ULA) and its spokespeople have called for a peaceful repatriation of Rohingya Crisis. AA can benefit from incorporating the armed militia sect of Rohingya and increase its members.
Future of Rohingya repatriation
Bangladesh government has had to face tough times diplomatically in the face of Junta’s unhinged tactics to preserving its power. However, close association with the rebel groups can also backfire as it is still the Tatmadaw which holds the last say in foreign policy. Between the politics of Arakan and non-cooperation from the military regime, major international players must intervene to ensure a conducive environment for Rohingya repatriation.
The presence of major geopolitical actors in the region play a significant role in peaceful solution of Rohingya Crisis. From a realist perspective, China and India have their own self-interest in relation with Mynmar, hence, Bangladesh must carefully juggle with the major powers’ interest as well as maintain cooperative relations with Mynmar in order to assure conducive environment for Rohingya repatriation. Recently the BURMA Act adopted by the United States has put sanctions and restrictions to the Junta regime. If Rohingya repatriation is to be realized, Bangladesh must work in multiple fronts with the regime and shadow government as well as the great powers to ensure it ensures a smooth sailing to the burning crisis..."
Source/publisher:
Modern Diplomacy
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"A settlement of around 3,000 Rohingya refugees on the zero-line of the Myanmar-Bangladesh border was burnt last month amid the firing between the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). Members of about 558 families lost their temporary shelters and fled inside Bangladesh. Bangladesh government has taken initiative to relocate these stranded people, of whom two-thirds are already registered under different camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf, while the rest are unregistered. As a part of the relocation process, at least 180 Rohingyas from 35 families were taken to a transit camp in Ukhiya’s Kutupalong.
Tension continued to escalate in the Rohingya camps. Various armed organizations are involved in building reigns of terror around the Rohingya camps. Clashes between different groups, killings, rapes and abductions are regular incidents, which have created fear among the people throughout the camp. Amid rising tensions across the border, Myanmar has stepped up the repatriation of their nationals to their homeland in Arakan.
In the meantime, local media reported that on February 5, Junta leaders, including International Cooperation Minister U Ko Ko Hlaing, Border Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Tun Tun Naung, Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Minister Dr Thet Thet Khaing and Immigration and Population Minister U Myint Kyaing, visited Maungdaw on the Bangladesh border and instructed the authorities to prepare transit camps for repatriation. Since the military’s taking over power in 2020, this is the biggest step forward for Rohingya repatriation..."
Source/publisher:
"Daily Times"
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"DHAKA – Nearly six years into the Rohingya refugee crisis, for the first time WFP is forced to cut back its lifesaving assistance for all Rohingya living in the camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Starting 1 March, WFP will have to reduce its General Food Assistance voucher value from US$12 to US$10 per person per month, due to a US$125 million funding shortfall.
“This is a devastating blow to the Rohingya and an equally devastating blow to the humanitarian community,” said Domenico Scalpelli, WFP Country Director in Bangladesh. “With other critical services already dwindling, the repercussions of the ration cut – even if just two dollars – will be dire.”
Unlike other vulnerable groups, the Rohingya have limited employment opportunities in the camps, relying almost entirely on humanitarian assistance to meet their food and other essential needs.
With the support of donors and partners, WFP has been providing food, nutrition and other critical assistance to Rohingya men, women and children since their exodus from Myanmar in 2017.
Today all Rohingya – nearly 1 million of them – receive food assistance via vouchers currently valued at US$12 per person per month. Families can choose from over 40 dry and fresh food items at WFP outlets throughout the camps.
Despite concerted humanitarian efforts, 45 percent of Rohingya families are not eating a sufficient diet and malnutrition has been widespread in the camps. The Global Acute Malnutrition rate for children stands at 12 percent – just below the 15 percent WHO ‘Emergency’ threshold but still categorized as ‘Serious’. Some 40 percent of children have stunted growth and 40 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women are anaemic - all this is before the ration cut.
“With each ration cut, malnutrition will certainly rise. With each ration cut, families will increasingly resort to dangerous strategies to cope. Sadly, women, adolescent girls and children will be the worst affected. We must do everything possible to keep the vital humanitarian assistance they depend on intact,” said Scalpelli.
Without an immediate funding boost, further ration cuts to the blanket food assistance programme are also imminent into the year..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome)
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Human Rights and international relations, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"The largest refugee exodus from Rakhine occurred over five years ago, in August 2017. Ever since, international policies for the Rohingya have insisted on voluntary repatriation to Myanmar as the solution for what was then one million and is now 1.1 million refugees living in and around Cox’s Bazaar.
In 2017-2018, Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh became home to the biggest refugee camps in the world. Much ink was then spilled over how much blame should be apportioned to the Tatmadaw and how much to Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD government. Since then, there has been the COVID epidemic and the February 1, 2021 coup in Myanmar, and the issue has faded from the international press. And very quietly, at least 100,000 new refugees were added to the camp population due to a surging birth rate.
But in global terms, what was once the most important refugee crisis in the world was exceeded by the millions leaving Syria, Venezuela, and Ukraine, and who have been accepted albeit begrudgingly into societies of the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America. And still, the policy of the international community for the Rohingya is that all must repatriate to Myanmar as soon as possible.
A repatriation policy, even before the 2021 coup, was foolish. Mass repatriation would have further victimized the Rohingya and destabilized Rakhine, even before the Tatmadaw sent the NLD government into prison, exile, and revolt after February 1, 2021. The reaction to a mass repatriation would destabilize the border region in a way that risks direct confrontation between the Burmese and Bangladesh militaries. So it is a good thing that the refugees have not yet returned.
Nevertheless, the international community continues with its argument for mass voluntary repatriation to Myanmar, pointing out, accurately, that Myanmar’s military governments perpetrated the expulsions in the first place, so justice demands that they restore Rohingya rights. This is true in a legalistic sense, but given the political situation in Rakhine in particular, it is foolish. The Rohingya situation still contains the seeds for further humanitarian catastrophe.....Dangers in Cox’s Bazaar....To continue claiming that the Cox’s Bazaar refugee camps are the biggest in the world seems quaint in the context of refugee exoduses from Ukraine, Venezuela, and Syria. Oddly enough, these three crises, which involve vastly more refugees than the Rohingya situation, are dealt with better by the international community.
In large part this is because Europe accepts the Ukrainian refugees as a regional problem; Latin America accepts the Venezuelans as a regional problem; and the Middle East and Europe (especially Turkey) accept the Syrian exodus as a regional problem. This means that many refugees get relief supplies from the international community, labor markets support others, and integration programs where refugees seek work until they can return voluntarily to their home country are common. This strains the capacity of countries like Turkey, Germany, and Colombia to protect refugees.
In contrast, the Rohingya crisis is seen as a Bangladeshi and Myanmar problem, which permits other South Asian and ASEAN countries to look away and the UNHCR to maintain it is still “Working towards and preparing for the sustainable return of the Rohingya refugees… to Myanmar.”
But working toward such a goal is dangerous and ill-advised. Cox’s Bazaar remains vulnerable to typhoons, as well as the predictable dangers found in refugee camps everywhere. In Cox’s Bazaar, the dangers are of young men becoming radicalized in the isolated refugee camp environment by Islamicists who appeal to legitimate grievances.
For young women, there are babies, lots of them! As in most crises where refugees are from rural areas, babies are being born at a rate that means the 1 million camp population will become 2 million in about 2040, just 17 years from now. And finally is the fact that Cox’s Bazaar lies in the Bay of Bengal, where the world’s most destructive typhoons strike, as Bangladesh and Myanmar are well aware; massively destructive typhoons are central to the histories of both countries.....Refugee radicalization....Radicalization in refugee camp situations is common and predictable. The massive refugee camp that is the Gaza Strip of Palestine is an excellent example. This camp has been a source of political instability since it was established in 1948. Radicalized Rwandan refugee camps in central Africa triggered attacks on Congo by the Rwandan government in the 1990s, starting a regional war that has killed millions. In Thailand, refugee camps along the Cambodian border were used as bases by Cambodian factions from 1978 to the 1990s. The point is that young men coming of age in abject isolated refugee camps are vulnerable to militia recruiters feeding on injustices embedded in any refugee situation. That this is already happening in the Cox’s Bazaar camps should be of little surprise to the international community, Bangladesh, or Myanmar.
The reality is that the longer a refugee camp lasts, the more likely that groups of its aimless young boys will join militia movements and criminal gangs. This typically begins a year or two after arrival, as it has with the Rohingya. The process will accelerate when, 15-20 years after the camps are established, the many boys born during the period after resettlement come of age to carry guns.
The militaries of both Bangladesh and Myanmar are well aware of the security threat presented by the massive refugee camps near a sensitive border. The international community should be aware of the potential for escalation and conflict, including between the two nations, although the international community seems oblivious. Militia recruitment is less likely when refugee populations are away from borders, dispersed, and young men are offered the chances of schooling and jobs in a manufacturing or service economy.....Refugee baby booms and busts.....The reason the Rohingya will have a lot of soldiers in 15-20 years is that they are a rural farming population locked up in refugee camps, who still have high birth rates. What is more, the flight in 2017-2018 likely meant that the most vulnerable, including the elderly and the very young, died enroute or remained behind, and never arrived in Cox’s Bazaar. But the refugee mothers did arrive, and like most refugee populations, immediately began having more children. Bangladesh’s Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal reported there are now about 35,000 births in the camps per year. This rate is expected to accelerate, no matter how aggressive the birth control programs are. This was the experience with Rwandan refugees who were provided with aggressive birth control programs in 1994-1996 that did not work. It was also the case with refugees from Laos and Cambodia who left for Thailand and the United States in the 1980s and 1990s.
Refugee women who lose babies and pregnancies through the stresses of flight and resettlement deeply desire children. That situation, plus the fact that the weak, sick, and elderly died and remained behind, means that if nothing is done in Cox’s Bazaar, the population growth rate will likely reach 3% per year, as it has in other refugee populations. In the case of the Rohingya, this means births will exceed deaths by about 30,000 per year, and the population will double in size every 23 years or so.
Demography for a refugee population like the Rohingya can indeed be destiny. It is easy to project how many school places, how many factory laborers, and how many soldiers will be available for militia recruitment in the next 10, 20, or 30 years. Basic math also tells us that when the population growth rate reaches 3% per year, there will be another million refugees in Cox’s Bazaar in just 23 years, even if there is no further catastrophe.....The obvious solution.....There is an obvious short-term solution to the Rohingya situation and the threat from typhoons, military confrontation, baby booms, and dependency in the Cox’s Bazaar camps. That solution is for the global community, and particularly countries in Asia, to resettle the Rohingya from Cox’s Bazaar into the cities of the broader region.
Since the Rohingya exodus in 2017, two far larger refugee crises have been dealt with in this fashion. The 7 million “refugees and migrants” who left Venezuela are now in Colombia, and other Latin American countries. Eight million or more have fled mostly Ukraine to countries in Europe and Central Asia since 2021. And 6-7 million Syrian refugees have been absorbed by countries like Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Germany. Turkey is now unusually vulnerable since it has taken the greatest number; tragically, 1.7 million of them are in the 10 provinces affected by the massive earthquake that struck earlier this month.
The irony for Asia today is that baby booms like the Rohingya population explosion are becoming a phenomenon of the past. The Rohingya’s rural Asian counterparts are shrinking rapidly with mass urbanization. In Asia’s cities, birth rates are exceedingly low, and countries like Thailand, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea have high demand for unskilled labor. To compensate, they find ways for rural peoples from places like Myanmar to enter their country (legally and illegally), to fill labor shortages in the factory and service sectors. Somehow, though, the Rohingya refugee camps still exist, keeping a potential source of much-needed service and factory workers away from the workplace.....The problem of Myanmar politics.....Myanmar politics are of course what caused the Rohingya exodus, not Bangladesh politics, or the Rohingya themselves. Obviously, fairness dictates that the Rohingya have a right to return to Myanmar, and their land restored. This is true in a moral sense. But what is morally perfect does not always equate to responsible politics. Insisting on a perfect moral solution can lead to foreseeable problems, such as militia threatening regional peace, soaring birth rates, and annual risk from the Bay of Bengal’s typhoons.
The right of return is still there for people who wait out the chaos in their own country after resettling abroad, even for decades. Some Southeast Asians waited a generation before returning to Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia from the United States in recent years. Indeed, Bangladesh is among countries that know the refugee problem best – millions of Bangladeshis fled to India during and after the revolution in 1971. The current prime minister was herself a refugee in India for a few years in the 1980s. The refugees returned because the Bangladesh Revolution ended quickly. The Rohingya, Venezuelans, Ukrainians, and others may not be so lucky, though. The world should handle the Rohingya according to the situation they are in, not the morally perfect one wished for. For the Rohingya crisis, this means sharing the burden across the region, just as is now happening in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Tony Waters is the author of Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan (2001) and has written about refugee issues since the 1980s, and for The Irrawaddy since 2018. He taught sociology at California State University, Chico, and Peace Studies at Payap University in Thailand before moving to his current post at Leuphana University in Germany. His latest book is a translation from Thai, The Man from Bangkok: San Francisco Culture in the 1960s by Rong Wongsavun..."
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"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
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2023-02-16
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Abstract: Frequently called the most persecuted minority in the world, the Rohingyas have suffered systematic violence and oppression in Myanmar since the 1970s. Today, the vast majority of the nearly three million Rohingyas are in exile, escaping state-sponsored human rights violations and persecution in the Rakhine state of Myanmar—a place they call “home”. Neighbouring Bangladesh, which currently hosts over a million displaced Rohingya, has been a ‘sanctuary’ for at least the last four decades. A sizable community has also emerged successively in other South-East Asian countries and pockets of Australia, Europe and North America. In this context, bringing together issues at the crossroads of (im)mobilities, online connectivity and the quest for identity, this study examines the role of social media platforms in forming and shaping new types of diaspora activism among the exiled Rohingyas. Drawing on yearlong online ethnographic findings, it unpacks how digital platforms constitute a space for togetherness, where diasporic Rohingya identities are constructed, contested and mediated. Analysing recurring themes and patterns of engagement on these web-based platforms, the paper looks at how diasporic civic and political e-activisms are transforming the very contours of Rohingya identity formation and their pursuit of recognition. Finally, focusing on such a creative constellation of socio-cultural and political issues in virtual space, we demonstrate how Rohingyas practice a politics of resistance and recognition when confronting the policy pretensions of Myanmar’s government.
Introduction
“In the first place, we do not like to be called ‘refugees.’“—Hannah Arendt.
In her classic essay “We Refugees”, Hannah Arendt describes the endless cognitive anxiety amongst the Jews of Europe as they fled the continent and made a new life in exile (Arendt, 2017). She depicts how difficult it is to relate to the psychological effects of political non-existence unless one has traversed the liminal space of a refugee. The contemporaneous of forced displacement, statelessness and the relentless search for a ‘safe place’ and an ‘identity’ across the globe reminds us how recurring and prescient Hannah Arendt’s century-old observation remains. Set within such interconnected trajectories of violence, statelessness and an endless search for identity, this paper puts a spotlight on Myanmar’s displaced Rohingyas—a scattered community in the process of becoming a nascent diaspora as a result of their protracted displacement. Since 2017, after their mass exodus from the Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh, exiled Rohingya communities have started highlighting their plight while asserting a distinct ethnic identity (Ansar & Khaled, 2022; Abraham & Jaehn, 2020). Considering their increasing involvement in social, cultural and political issues on social media platforms, this article explores how the Rohingya diaspora has coalesced in digital spaces to build a transnational identity and how their digital activism has evolved to include a political dimension over time.
Frequently termed ‘the world’s most persecuted minority’, the Rohingyas have been subjected to persistent human rights violations, including ethnic cleansing, statelessness and possibly even genocide (Khaled, 2021; Ansar, 2020; Ibrahim, 2018; Alam, 2018). By introducing punitive policies, Rohingyas have been categorically denied a range of fundamental rights by the Myanmar government, including the freedom of movement, rights to education, primary health facilities, having family, marriage and employment (Ansar & Khaled, 2021; Uddin, 2020). Ethnic cleansing and persecution of Rohingyas in Myanmar and denial of their citizenship (therefore, effectively rendering them stateless) has been the political strategy of the successive military regimes. Today, the vast majority of the nearly three million Rohingyas is displaced, mostly in neighbouring Bangladesh, Malaysia, India and Thailand, as well as in in pockets across Europe, Australia and North America.
The predicament of the Rohingyas essentially remain unresolved in exile. The ambiguity around Rohingya’ s legal status pertaining to their perceived statelessness, irregular migration and lack of comprehensive protection policies in the host countries add to their struggle to survive and sustain. Most Rohingya-hosting Asian countries deny their rights as refugees stipulated in the 1951 Refugee Convention. Their confinement in makeshift settlements and sprawling camps, ambiguous and/or undocumented legal status and host countries’ arbitrary practices create certain mobility constraints, which Aziz (2022, p. 1) refers to as “immobility turn” or limited mobility within “situations of unequal power”. Furthermore, mobility is linked to legality and capacity in modern nation-states, which Rohingyas lack in Myanmar due to draconian military laws banning social gatherings and community mobilisation (Ansar & Khaled, 2022, p. 281). In exile, this “arrested refugee mobilities” (Hoffstaedter, 2019) that the Rohingya community continues to endure produces both horizontal (i.e., spatial/geographic) immobility and vertical (social) immobility, which cyclically compound each other (Jernigan, 2019). Nevertheless, amid such challenges, a diaspora network has grown, especially since 2017, with considerable online imprints. We define the growing digital footprint of the Rohingya community as the emergence of a ‘Rohingya Digital Diaspora’. Highlighting their increasing online participation, our findings reveal how such engagement reinvigorates a collective identity, mobilises civic resistance and builds a virtual ‘community of hope’ by providing material and emotional support.
Reflecting on these evolving Rohingya online engagements, this study makes a threefold contribution to digital diaspora studies. First, we examined how the (re)production of Rohingya identities on social media demonstrates their hybrid, multi-layered and fluid nature. Second, considering the constrained offline space and (im)mobility dynamics, we looked into how access to social media can yield an opportunity for ethnic and religious minorities such as Rohingyas for transnational lobbying, advocacy and agenda-framing towards building a strategic and positive consensus around their cause. Third, while celebrating “digital optimism”, a nuanced reflection on the offline inequalities, such as those manifested by age, gender, internet access, economic status and spatiality, needs to be adequately contextualised.
The debate on Rohingya identity: the unfolding of belonging, exclusion and exile
The nation-state centric identity has always been marked by a high degree of hybridity and ambiguity in post-colonial societies. In South and Southeast Asia, “questions surrounding nationality, citizenship, religion and identity are recurrent themes between the countries once united but separate nation-states now” (Sengupta, 2020, p. 114). Similarly, ethnic and religious identity and space are constantly being contested, refined and reorganised in the political landscape of Myanmar. This is particularly prominent in the bordering Rakhine state, where the formation of Rohingya identity has been heavily influenced by such fluidity (Ansar, 2020, p. 4).
Several issues appear to be decisive when we explore the documentation and broad historical analysis of how questions of Rohingya identity and conflict in the Rakhine state have arrived at this stage. These include: the stripping of the Rohingya citizenship and their statelessness (Uddin, 2020; Holliday, 2014); the role of Rohingyas during the colonial period (Alam, 2018; Ibrahim, 2018); military dictatorship and the emergence of Taing-Yin-tha meaning “national races” (Cheesman, 2017); and religion and the perceived threat from Islam (Ansar, 2020; Kyaw, 2015; Wade, 2017). These are just some of the profound issues to unpack in order to understand the making of the current crisis.
Broadly, three lines of arguments can be identified when exploring the Rohingya identity. First, some scholars claim a historic Rohingya presence in Myanmar (Uddin, 2020; Shafie, 2019; Ibrahim, 2018). Secondly, there are scholars who tend to discredit such narratives that argue Rohingya is a post-colonial political identity promoted by the Muslim political elites in Arakan as a tool to promote their fight for political autonomy after the Second World War (Leider, 2018; Tonkin, 2014). The third line of argument instead takes a critical approach between the two opposing narratives. Going beyond the polarising opinions, it argues that the fundamental question of the process of identity formation and the complex status of the ethnic and religious minorities in post-colonial nation-state formation should be in the spotlight (Ansar, 2020; Sengupta, 2020; Alam, 2018).
One of the watershed moments in modern-day Myanmar’s identity politics is the emergence of Taing-Yin-tha, or “the indigenous races”, under the 1982 citizenship law introduced by the military dictatorship in Myanmar. The concept of Taing-Yin-tha emerged as a decisive political language that provides the guideline of which facts are accepted and rejected in determining membership in Myanmar’s political community. In contemporary Myanmar, Taing-Yin-tha has become an exemplary term of state: a contrivance for political inclusion and exclusion, political eligibility and domination (Cheesman, 2017, p. 462). The Rohingya were not included among the 135 official indigenous races. Consequently, some 2.5 million Rohingyas are excluded from Taing-Yin-tha, making them one of the world’s largest stateless populations. They remain the only community in independent Myanmar whose citizenship is “still unresolved and contested by the government and people”(Kyaw, 2015, p. 50). Going further, Uddin (2020, p.4) argues that Myanmar’s dealing with the Rohingyas is not just a manifestation of their non-citizenship; it is precisely a practice meant to “reduce the Rohingyas to a status lesser than that of human beings”, and thereby push them into a ‘subhuman life’.
From diaspora to digital diaspora: revisiting a complex transformation
Diaspora is a concept subject to various definitions and interpretations (Ponzanesi, 2020). It is defined “as a set of relationships between the homeland, which functions as a centre of gravity, and a periphery of nodes—communities, groups and individuals—who relate to the territory of origin as a centre of gravity but live in different parts of the world” (Ben-David, 2012, p. 461). Earlier studies mainly considered the dispersed population as diaspora, i.e., the Jewish, Greek and Armenian communities in exile. Today, this term shares meanings “with a larger semantic domain that includes words like an immigrant, expatriate, refugee, guest worker, exile community, overseas community, ethnic community” (Tölölyan, 1991, p. 04). While a distinction between various forms of diasporas is plausible, community belongingness, a sense of loss, nostalgia and transnationality are universal features embedded in almost all diaspora communities.
The influence of information and communication technology in the past decade has not only transformed the ways and scales of interactions among diaspora members but also led to a substantial transformation in the modern understanding of diaspora (Marat, 2015; Lobbé, 2021; Bernal, 2020). From structured networks of migrant websites to more personalised WhatsApp and Facebook groups, the wide variety of digital layers is taking the notion of diasporic organisations to a new height (Dekker et al., 2018; Dumitriu, 2012). In this changing milieu, hybrid and multifaceted migrant identities are constructed and negotiated through various discursive means (Georgalou, 2021). The advancements and proliferation of such online communication technologies encouraged a new form of virtual diasporic connections and networks that is gaining prominence as the digital diaspora. This connection reminds the members of “where their roots are, their original home, their sense of belonging, their community” (Ponzanesi, 2020, p. 983).
Emerging scholarship has started to accentuate the evolving nexus between technological advancement, the proliferation of social media and the ability of diaspora populations to create networks and become part of transnational diaspora networks (Alonso & Oiarzabal, 2010; Kapur, 2010; Alunni, 2019). In digital migration studies, research has made a significant contribution to understanding refugees’ engagement with social media and other digital tools to stay in contact with transnational families during their migration, as well as during their process of settlement in the host countries (Alencar et al., 2018; Kaufmann, 2018; Leurs & Smets, 2018). Recent studies on digital diasporas also bring together complex intersections of technology, culture, political economy and agency (Bernal, 2020). For instance, in contrast to the earlier opinion of celebrating digital media as liberating and empowering for marginalised groups (Titifanue et al., 2018), more critical analysis now raises questions regarding the outcome of digital empowerment and whether such tools can bring about changes in the political and social discourse (Taylor & Meissner, 2020; Latonero & Kift, 2018; Papacharissi, 2015).
Scholars also attempted to reveal how big corporations and states use digital platforms to extend their centralised power and use it for surveillance purposes when necessary (Bircan & Korkmaz, 2021; Zuboff, 2019). Furthermore, social media posts and activities are being systematically monitored to validate or disprove the LGBTIQ identity of many refugees requesting asylum in European countries. Targeted social media campaigns and recruitment of paid agents to monitor the Facebook activities of migrants have also become one of the strategies for governments to control and counter immigration (Andreassen, 2021; Brekke & Thorbjørnsrud, 2020). Scholars have also started to highlight the potentially pernicious role of digital tools in stimulating ‘digital nationalism’ by dividing public debate through the establishment of filter ‘bubbles’ and ‘echo chambers’ in which individuals with homogenous political thinking promote ethnocentric ideas and content that align with their views and opinions. (Mihelj & Jiménez-Martínez, 2021; Cardenal et al., 2019; Dubois & Blank, 2017).
There is also growing criticism of the dominant strand of literature on digital migration studies that are heavily focused on the Global North, particularly Europe. Such criticism has become more widespread following the so-called refugee crisis in Europe in 2015, which demands a decentralised approach to diaspora and forced migration studies and input from the perspective of the Global South (Leurs & Smets, 2018). For instance, despite the scale and extent of the Rohingya crisis in Southeast Asia, literature that offers a nuanced understanding of their digital resistance and resilience remains inadequate. To date, we have come across only a few studies that partly address the digital engagement of Rohingya refugees (e.g., Aziz, 2022; Ansar & Khaled, 2022; Abraham & Jaehn, 2020). Taking a gender lens, Ansar & Khaled (2022) presents how social media has widened the scale and scope of Rohingya women activists’ civic participation in exile. In his latest work on Rohingya digital engagements, Aziz shows how digital platforms compensate for the community’s social and spatial immobility through “digitally mediated transnational care” (Aziz, 2022, p. 01). In another recent contribution, he also presents how “the affordances of social media platforms” have facilitated Rohingyas negotiating their protracted experiences of suffering (Aziz, 2022a, p. 4082). With a mix of online and offline platforms, Abraham and Jaehn’s study (2020) shows how “diasporic Rohingya actions go beyond readily understandable demands for justice, accountability, redress” and consciously, or otherwise, take steps to reaffirm collective Rohingya identity (p. 1056). Adding onto these unfolding dynamics, this article brings an organic reflection on this ‘digital diaspora in the making’ and their forms of engagement in online platforms and its manifold implications.
Theoretical and methodological framework
The paper’s theoretical foundations are based on the premise that scattered and oppressed ethnoreligious minorities or endangered groups, frequently organised in diasporas, use the internet to “re-create identities, share opportunities, spread their culture, influence homeland and host-land policy, or create debate about common-interest issues using electronic devices” (Alonso & Oiarzabal, 2010, p. 11). In an “unevenly interconnected world”, digital platforms provide spaces and offer alternatives to tap resources and capacity building, creating links and connectivity for dispersed communities (Ponzanesi, 2020, p. 978). This virtual space acts as “crucial protagonists” (Marino, 2015, p. 01) to manifest “diasporic identity, political activism and sentiment towards homeland” (Marat, 2015, p. 01). Besides, the “low barriers to entry and exit, and non-hierarchical and non-coercive” nature of the internet provides diasporas with a complete package of ‘benefits’ to pursue their socio-political and cultural endeavour on digital platforms (Brinkerhoff, 2009, pp. 47–48). Apart from creating a transnational network of solidarity, it allows the “expression of diverse and contested views” of the community members (Titifanue et al., 2018, p. 02).
Given the access to digital platforms by the exiled Rohingyas and the scale and extent of their virtual engagement, we have employed digital ethnography (Pink, 2013) as a method for observing their activities in virtual space. It is argued that such internet-based observations “can creatively deploy forms of engagement to look at how these sites are socially constructed and, at the same time, are social conduits” with ‘online traces’ such as retweets, hyperlinks and hashtags (Hine, 2009, p. 11). The rapidity with which people across several platforms keep up to date and their willingness to argue and voice opposing perspectives when appropriate via these interconnected networks is even more remarkable (Postill & Pink, 2012). These diverse and fast-changing characteristics have also led to more nuanced and innovative methods of using online ethnography (Pink et al., 2016). We use a ‘discourse-centred’ (Androutsopoulos, 2009) online ethnography and employ a ‘screen-based’ discourse analysis that concentrates on “systemic longitudinal and repeated observations of online-discourse” (Georgalou, 2021, p. 4).
In doing online ethnography, it is also pertinent to acknowledge the limitations of virtual platforms on the findings. For instance, Dicks et al. (2005, p.128) caution that the internet should never be read as a ‘neutral’ observation space, as it always remains a fieldwork setting and, as such, a researcher’s data selection and analyses are always biased by agendas, personal histories and social norms. Besides, the drawback of these research options is that membership of these communities is inherently restricted to the digital ‘haves’ (or at least those with digital social capital) rather than the ‘have nots’, and ethnic/gender digital divides strongly persist (Murthy, 2008). Therefore, like any other data source, social networking websites should be treated in a nuanced or layered fashion and contextualised properly (Murthy, 2008, p. 846).
Informed consent appears to be a crucial aspect of researching online communities. Whether and to what extent informed consent is required remains a contested topic (Willis, 2017, p. 3). According to Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) ethical guidelines, public forums can be considered more public than conversations in a closed chatroom (Ess and AoIR, 2002: pp. 5, 7). Hence, ‘the greater the acknowledged publicity of the venue, the less obligation there may be to protect individual privacy, confidentiality, right to informed consent, etc.’ (Ess and AoIR, 2002, p. 5). Whiteman (2012, p. 9) also suggests it is preferable to take a contextualised approach to each online situation instead of adhering to generalised, context-free principles. Considering the above observations, the researchers sought ethical guidance from their respective institutions and received prior ethical approval before conducting their research. Furthermore, given the sensitivities of the topic, individual posts, images and tweets shared in this article are blurred to maintain confidentiality and any information that discloses the individual identity has been carefully revisited and avoided when referring to the data and images.
For data collection, we followed two major social media platforms: Facebook and Twitter. We analysed relevant Facebook and Twitter accounts and determined the top ten accounts based on the number of followers, the frequency of postings and the volume of comments. The Facebook pages and Twitter accounts were identified using eight search terms: ‘Rohingya refugee’, ‘Rohingya genocide’, ‘Rohingya women’, ‘exiled Rohingya’, ‘Rohingya activist’, ‘Arakan Rohingya’, ‘United Nations and Rohingya’ and ‘Rohingya in Bangladesh’. The qualitative corpus comprised posts and tweets that were open to the public. The study covers the period from August 2019 to August 2021. One of the authors has near-native fluency in the Rohingya language and initially attempted to explore Facebook pages and Twitter accounts on the Rohingya language despite the absence of Rohingya script, which remains an oral dialect (Aziz, 2022a, p. 4073). It did not yield significant success, prompting searching for relevant online platforms and social media tools using English.Footnote1 For instance, UNHCR in Malaysia has a dedicated website on “The Rohingya language”, which is written in Latin alphabets.Footnote2 Therefore, language and its digital representation bring another important dimension when exploring the Rohingya community’s social media engagement. The use of English in contemporary diaspora presents an ‘interesting cleavage’, as a native language is often considered a salient marker of collective identity (Kumar, 2018). We avoid the discussion at length here as it goes beyond the scope of our study; nonetheless, it is a crucial aspect to shed light on in future research on the Rohingyas. Nevertheless, we do acknowledge there are other platforms, including more private platforms like WhatsApp (Aziz, 2022a). We did not pursue these, as our purpose was to retrieve online and easily accessible data to any random visitor to those webpages.
For analysis, the transcripts of Facebook discussions and tweets were manually inserted into a dataset. This dataset was then transferred and analysed using Max Q.D.A. software to categorise the thematic contents, frequency of words, hashtags and recurring themes. Through this categorisation and coding, key themes emerged. These themes were then merged and clustered thematically, as detailed in the following section.
From exile to online: emergence of a digital Rohingya diaspora
Multiple trajectories, including the construction of a collective Rohingya identity, political and social mobilisation and solidarity with fellow Rohingyas through providing information and long-distance emotional and material support, have emerged as the recurring features of their digital engagements. The internet has effectively bridged geographical barriers amongst Rohingyas with similar concerns by functioning as a ‘mobilising structure’ (Kumar, 2018, p. 11). The proliferation of virtual engagements creates conditions where individuals come together on shared hopes, purposes and objectives, which Tsagarousianou (2007) defined as ‘co-presence’ and Marino (2015) refers to as ‘space making’.
To detail out these manifold engagements, we conduct a two-pronged analysis of the Rohingya diaspora’s digital participation. First, we begin with a focus on the scale of engagement, bringing attention to their growing participation in digital space. Second, we take a more in-depth look at the domains of engagement, highlighting the key aspects that predominate in the interaction that takes place online.
Scale of engagement
Owing to rapid development and relatively easier access to technologies, more Rohingyas are embracing digital platforms to interact with one another and the greater international communities. For example, only three of the ten most followed Facebook pages were created before 2017. Table 1 presents an overview of the ten most popular (in terms of membership) Rohingya Facebook groups active in different parts of the world, where membership reaches as high as 223,000 as of August 2021 (see Table 1).Footnote3..."
Source/publisher:
Nature.com
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-15
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Individual Documents
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations
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A recent Sinophone Borderlands public opinion survey sheds light on Bangladeshi views of the Rohingya, roughly a million of whom have been forced to seek refuge in Bangladesh.
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"February 15, 2023, marks the 2000th day since the start of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya.
Although the historical background of the Rohingya crisis is much longer and more complicated, going back to World War II and including previous massacres/exoduses in 1978, 1991-92, 2012, and 2016, it was only in August 2017 that the news hit the global headlines and the story became well-known.
In August 2017, the Kofi Annan Commission (established by Myanmar’s civilian National League of Democracy government to settle the Rohingya problem) prepared its report, a failed compromise. One day later, Myanmar military posts were attacked by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a guerrilla group operating in the Rakhine region. In their collective response, the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s army, resorted to the worst retaliation possible.
The Tatmadaw started a brutal campaign against the Rohingya. In the months that followed, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh as the Tatmadaw committed ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, with “genocidal intent.”
For Bangladesh, the crisis meant a new and unprecedented strain. The country has received Rohingya refugees since 1978, but the scale in 2017 was incomparable to previous exoduses. The official Bangladeshi position toward the Rohingya crisis has combined the acceptance of the refugees with the hope that the influx of people would only be temporary.
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On the one hand, Bangladesh openly welcomed the repressed group, presenting itself as a “good global citizen.” On the other hand, Dhaka later declared that the Rohingya must return to their origin country as soon as possible, and that it is Myanmar’s obligation to repatriate them while the international community and the United Nations must persuade Naypyidaw to do so. Since this never happened, Bangladesh and its citizens have to live with the consequences of the prolonged stay.
As the religious, cultural, and humanitarian imperative to help oppressed brethren meets the socioeconomic tensions produced by forced immigration on such a scale, it is of vital importance to hear the voices of the Bangladeshi people. As part of the Sinophone Borderlands public opinion survey in Bangladesh in June-August 2022, more than 1,300 Bangladeshi respondents were asked an open-ended question about their perception of the Rohingya people. Respondents were drawn from all regions of Bangladesh and included a representative sample of age groups and genders. The timing of the survey coincided with the fifth anniversary of the brutal Tatmadaw offensive that sent Rohingya refugees fleeing across the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh.
The survey question asked what first came to people’s minds when thinking of the Rohingya. The most common answers, as the word cloud above reveals, were “Muslim,” “tortured,” “helpless,” and “Myanmar.” This gives us a good idea of how Bangladeshis perceive the Rohingya people: as persecuted, helpless, Muslim people originally from Myanmar.
The reason for the Rohingya being in Bangladesh is very clear to Bangladeshis, who provided responses such as “came from Myanmar,” ”tortured by Myanmar army,” or “brutality of Myanmar.” Also, the fact that the Rohingya people are predominantly Muslims is well-known and often highlighted in the responses (“tortured Muslims” or “persecuted Muslims,” for example).
While the Rohingya are seen by many Bangladeshis as persecuted and expelled victims of the Myanmar army and people feel they should help them (see responses such as “expelled,” “victims,” “homeless,” “persecuted,” “neglected,” and “we should help”), there are also voices that see the Rohingya people as a threat (“destroying the Bangladeshi economy” or “harming Bangladesh”) and advocate for sending them back to Myanmar (“go back to Myanmar”). Issues such as drug dealing and a food crisis came up several times. Also, some label the Rohingya as foreigners who don’t belong to Bangladesh.
That said, most Bangladeshis highlight the struggle for survival of the Rohingya people and express sadness over their situation and sympathy toward them.
To conclude, the results of the survey show that among Bangladeshis, empathy toward the Rohingya, the repressed Muslim brothers and sisters, so far trumps tensions and challenges produced by their enforced, prolonged stay. Yet, the longer the Rohingya crisis is unresolved, the more probable a shift toward negative perceptions becomes..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-15
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Ethnic Cleansing, International Criminal Court (Myanmar)
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"Despite having some ongoing crises worldwide, a piece of good news for the world is that Myanmar expresses its interest in taking back/repatriating some Rohingyas (estimated 700 Rohingya primarily) in Rakhine. Although the estimated number of refugees regarding Rohingya repatriation in Rakhine is very low, the significance of the issue seems to be very important. Myanmar military starts to understand that Rohingyas are the people of the Rakhine (Myanmar). It is appreciable that Myanmar understands the reality in the long run. But Myanmar should have goodwill and commitment to repatriate the Rohingyas. It would be pragmatic when Myanmar would ensure the implementation of its goodwill. Bangladesh is continuously emphasizing the efforts to facilitate early repatriation of the displaced people of Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
However, it is a matter of hope to note that there is a sign of progress in negotiations over the repatriation of the Rohingya ethnic minority of Myanmar from Bangladesh who were subjected to expulsions from Myanmar in 2017. Earlier, Bangladesh signed a bilateral agreement with Myanmar on 30 October 2017 and on 30 October 2018 respectively. But the world didn’t see the implementation of the agreement.
Although there are more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. 0.7 million new ones have come, 0.4 million from before. Bangladesh has shown its humanity by sheltering these huge numbers of Rohingyas. Neighboring Myanmar, on the other hand, has always played a controversial role at home and abroad. Which is beyond diplomatic etiquette. According to various reports published in Bangladeshi newspapers recently, the junta government of Myanmar has sent a letter expressing its interest in taking back the Rohingyas.
Myanmar’s junta says it is working to bring back Rohingya refugees who fled Rakhine State for Bangladesh following the military’s supposed counter-insurgency operations in 2017.
Junta leaders, including International Cooperation Minister U Ko Ko Hlaing, Border Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Tun Tun Naung, Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Minister Dr. Thet Thet Khaing and Immigration and Population Minister U Myint Kyaing, visited Maungdaw on the Bangladesh border on Sunday and instructed the authorities to prepare transit camps for repatriation.
One Maungdaw resident said: “I heard they asked departments to make transit camps ready, that they would take back refugees from Bangladesh, that they would make preparations whether [Rohingya] come back or not.”
Some Muslim and Hindu leaders from Maungdaw were summoned to Sittwe to meet junta ministers. Ko Khin Maung from a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh said whether the Rohingya will return to Maungdaw depends on the junta’s honesty and the refugees have little trust in the repatriation program.
“We do want to return. We are experiencing hardships, after staying for a long time in refugee camps. But the question is if we will be allowed to go back to our homes. It is not OK for us if we will just be held at the Hla Poe Kaung transit camp. The repatriation program will not be successful if the regime is dishonest,” he said.
Rohingya rights activist U Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Germany-based Free Rohingya Coalition, said the Rohingya would not return unless their rights are guaranteed.
“The news of junta ministers making inspection tours at the border to take back refugees is no longer news to us. We are used to hearing such news. And refugees are not excited anymore. The military moves slightly when there are growing pressures from the international community and China. Nothing more than that,” U Nay San Lwin said.
Recently, the regime sent back over 900 Rohingya detained in Yangon and elsewhere in Myanmar to Maungdaw. They will reportedly be accommodated at transit camps but The Irrawaddy could not independently verify this.
The regime’s repatriation moves, according to some Rohingya activists, are an attempt to salvage its international reputation and help its case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where Myanmar faces genocide charges.
A brutal military crackdown in the wake of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacks on police outposts in Rakhine in 2017 forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee across the Bangladesh border. In response The Gambia in November 2019 brought a case at the ICJ, accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya.
On November 23, 2017, Bangladesh and the now-ousted National League for Democracy government signed a repatriation agreement but there has been no progress.
Bangladesh hopes to repatriate 750000 Rohingyas in various phases. And this repatriation is supposed to be done voluntarily and by ensuring a safe environment. The United Nations will also be involved in this process. The process of Rohingya repatriation has been stalled for a long time due to elections, military coups, and the Covid-19 pandemic in Myanmar.
More than 700000 Rohingyas were forced to migrate to Bangladesh after the start of the military operation in Rakhine on August 25, 2017. Despite international pressure, the Myanmar government made an agreement with Bangladesh to take back the Rohingyas, but the repatriation has not started even today. On the contrary, Myanmar has repeatedly obstructed the repatriation process by resorting to various tactics. The international community has also not taken a strong stand on the Rohingya issue. On the contrary, they ended their ‘liability’ with boastful words. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has always shown humanity on the Rohingya issue. Myanmar’s current interest should not be manipulated in the end. In this case, Bangladesh must remain vigilant as always.
If we want fruitful and durable repatriation of Rohingyas in Rakhine, now the international community must compel Myanmar to abide by some international customary law regarding the repatriation of the Rohingya. Myanmar government must fulfill such criteria:
1) Rohingya repatriation must be safe, continual, dignified, and sustainable based that is something Myanmar must guarantee.
2) They should amend the ‘1982 citizenship law. They must consider Rohingyas as a legal ethnic group in Myanmar.
3) Safe zone for Rohingyas must be ensured.
4) They must fulfill the requirements or proposals of the Kofi Annan Commission (The Advisory Commission on Rakhine State), Bangladesh Prime Minister’s proposals at the 74th, 75th, 76th UN General Assembly.
5) However, analysts advise Bangladesh to be cautious if Myanmar now wants to take back 700 people. They must keep their words. Myanmar must confirm it will take back all stranded Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
6) They must be committed that the process would be a continual process. All Rohingya would be repatriated gradually.
7) Bangladesh needs to increase diplomatic contacts Bangladesh needs to take a holistic stance on the Rohingya issue in various forums regarding the proposed Rohingya repatriation. Third parties such as UNHCR, Aasen even third countries can be included in the process.
8) Myanmar must act as a friendly neighbour with Bangladesh. It isn’t possible for Myanmar and Bangladesh to interchange the neighbours. Basically, Myanmar and Bangladesh must engage with neighbourly spirit. Myanmar and Bangladesh must strengthen their ties to resolve the long-pending Rohingya crisis. Whole South Asia and Southeast Asia could benefit from resolving this regional humanitarian crisis.
9) Myanmar must have goodwill to engage positively with Bangladesh. The world wants to see a fruitful and sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis. Rohingya crisis solution would be essential for the safe and dignified repatriation of Rohingya people to Myanmar from Bangladesh.
However, Myanmar’s proposed Rohingya repatriation process must be smoothly implemented, continual, sustainable..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Myanmar’s junta says it is working to bring back Rohingya refugees who fled Rakhine State for Bangladesh following the military’s supposed counter-insurgency operations in 2017.
Junta leaders, including International Cooperation Minister U Ko Ko Hlaing, Border Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Tun Tun Naung, Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Minister Dr. Thet Thet Khaing and Immigration and Population Minister U Myint Kyaing, visited Maungdaw on the Bangladesh border on Sunday and instructed the authorities to prepare transit camps for repatriation.
One Maungdaw resident said: “I heard they asked departments to make transit camps ready, that they would take back refugees from Bangladesh, that they would make preparations whether [Rohingya] come back or not.”
Some Muslim and Hindu leaders from Maungdaw were summoned to Sittwe to meet junta ministers.
Ko Khin Maung from a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh said whether the Rohingya will return to Maungdaw depends on the junta’s honesty and the refugees have little trust in the repatriation program.
“We do want to return. We are experiencing hardships, after staying for a long time in refugee camps. But the question is if we will be allowed to go back to our homes. It is not OK for us if we will just be held at the Hla Poe Kaung transit camp. The repatriation program will not be successful if the regime is dishonest,” he said.
Rohingya rights activist U Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Germany-based Free Rohingya Coalition, said the Rohingya would not return unless their rights are guaranteed.
“The news of junta ministers making inspection tours at the border to take back refugees is no longer news to us. We are used to hearing such news. And refugees are not excited anymore. The military moves slightly when there are growing pressures from the international community and China. Nothing more than that,” U Nay San Lwin said.
Recently, the regime sent back over 900 Rohingya detained in Yangon and elsewhere in Myanmar to Maungdaw. They will reportedly be accommodated at transit camps but The Irrawaddy could not independently verify this.
The regime’s repatriation moves, according to some Rohingya activists, are an attempt to salvage its international reputation and help its case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where Myanmar faces genocide charges.
A brutal military crackdown in the wake of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacks on police outposts in Rakhine in 2017 forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee across the Bangladesh border. In response The Gambia in November 2019 brought a case at the ICJ, accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya.
On November 23, 2017, Bangladesh and the now-ousted National League for Democracy government signed a repatriation agreement but there has been no progress.
Rohingya refugees have been widely referred to as “Bengalis” by Myanmar’s authorities, implying they are interlopers from Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rakhine, Genocide, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Description:
"Women and girls have always been amongst the worst victims of all forms of violence. Their continuing plight in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh is highlighted in this stark blog by Kathy Win, based on her fieldwork in Cox’s Bazaar and Rakhine State.
Rohingya women and girls are amongst the most affected victims of the genocide in Myanmar, and face even greater hardship and vulnerabilities in refugee camps in Bangladesh. The Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh are home to around 943,529 refugees who fled genocidal violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017.
Most Rohingya women and girls in the camps are either survivors of, or witnesses to, gender-based violence in Myanmar. In Cox’s Bazaar, they face multiple challenges such as insecurity, violence, and extremely limited freedom of movement. Their lives and freedoms are heavily constrained by the control that their communities have over their social lives, especially regarding marriage and education. In such a scenario, and alongside the lack of decent work, poor living conditions, insecurity and inadequate education opportunities, child marriages and polygamy have increased markedly. Sadly, such vulnerable women and girls are targeted by human traffickers and smugglers to leave the camps for neighbouring countries, especially Malaysia and Thailand. Desperate to escape, they think that marrying a Rohingya man from a neighbouring country is the only option to escape their persecutions.
Drivers of Forced Migration
Women often experience threats and harassment if they are educated, or speak for women’s rights in the camps. Security issues and cultural obstacles (it is common for parents to stop adolescent daughters from going to school) mean that girls have very limited access to schooling, and women have low levels of literacy and Burmese language skills. In Bangladesh, authorities have restricted humanitarian agencies from the construction of a functioning education system at Cox’s Bazaar, instead providing irregular informal education with very limited resources. Authorities justify this stance by insisting that the Rohingya refugees will return home to Myanmar one day.
To fill the gap in the meantime, the Rohingya find alternative ways of providing their children with education — such as private tuition and Rohingya volunteers-led learning centres. But in December 2021, the Bangladesh authorities decided to shut down Rohingya-led learning centres and home-based schools in the camps, giving the excuse that such camp-based schools were illegal and did not have official permission to operate. Although women are seeking to mitigate restrictions on accessing education by operating small home-based classes at their shelters, most of them often face threats from criminal gangs who are against education for adolescent girls.
A 26-year-old Rohingya volunteer teacher experienced these issues first hand when she taught in Cox’s Bazaar:
We were really concerned about security and safety as they [ARSA — the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army] became more active in the camps. We heard violence and killings almost every day due to power competition between rival gangs. They threaten women who want to seek divorce and who are active in supporting women’s rights. In 2019 and 2020, I taught the Burmese curriculum to women aged between 10 and 40 who wanted to learn the Myanmar language. It is very important for us to understand, to read, speak and write for our repatriation and to integrate with the Rakhine and Burmese community. ARSA supporters threatened and threw stones while I was teaching. Later I had to shut down the class because women and girls who came to my evening classes were no longer safe.
Threats from the Militia
All the 34 extremely congested camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh have become hubs of organised crime of Rohingya militant groups like the ARSA and other criminal gangs. These groups control everything from drug trafficking to extortion, and ensure the lack of properly compliant mechanisms in camps. Since 2019, ARSA has been trying to strengthen its influence and control in the camps, and competition among rival gangs has resulted in deadly violence and killing that often targets women and girls or those who try to defend them. In September 2021, ARSA shockingly assassinated the prominent Rohingya leader Mohid Ullah who spoke out against the activities of ARSA including rape, torture, drug trafficking and kidnappings inside the camp.
Over the past five years, Rohingya refugees from Cox’s Bazaar have faced terrible conditions in overcrowded camps. Arson attacks, killings, and kidnapping have become commonplace. Women are intimidated into quitting jobs (mostly with NGOs) by groups saying women working outside homes is against Islamic principles. According to a refugee in Balukali camp, ARSA also issued a series of fatwas (religious decrees) to control and restrict women and girls from accessing work outside their homes, and demanding that they obey their husbands, and wear burqas. According to Human Rights Watch, in April 2019 ARSA forced 150 women to quit their teaching jobs in learning centres run by one NGO in the one of the camps.
Gender-based Violence
The majority of Rohingya women and girls have experienced Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and sexual abuse from their husbands, family members, neighbours as well as members of criminal gangs. The violence includes rape, forced marriage, physical/mental abuse and threats. Data collected by the International Rescue Committee in 19 camps across Cox’s Bazaar revealed that 81 per cent of GBV in the Rohingya camps is perpetrated by intimate partners, while 56 per cent of incidents are of physical violence. Rohingya women from Kutupalong refugee camp said that religious leaders who are close to ARSA leaders inside the camp often preach not to allow women to work outside, blame fathers who allowed their daughters to study or work with NGOs and threaten women who file for divorce. Conservative groups of youth and men now police women in their decision-making, enforcing the wearing of burqas at all times and questioning women’s presence in public and work spaces, further reducing the mobility of women and girls.
Rohingya women have also experienced sexual and physical violence outside their camps/shelters and or on the road to camp clinics if they went out alone. Although NGO-led protection centres are available to complain about such issues, women lack confidence to share their experiences at the centres, unable to leave their shelters alone and often face administrative delay at these protection centres. Due to lack of protection of women and girls, many Rohingya women suffer psychological problems like depression, anxiety, stress and fear. Local NGOs provide psycho-social counselling inside the camp but most women are afraid to access them because their husbands do not allow them or are concerned that they might face attacks by the criminal gangs on the way. The most affected are single women and widows.
I have been beaten two times by Rohingya men with umbrellas while I am going to my workplace. Most of the time I feel afraid to go outside alone. Domestic violence also not a new issue here. Rohingya men assume that they need to show themselves to be manly by controlling their wife and beating them if the wife fails to fulfil the domestic task or fails to fulfil their will. The protection mechanism is not functioning well.
A 25-year-old NGO volunteer also said:
Last year, ARSA members destroyed a counselling centre near my camp. They said women are going to the centre to meet with foreigners and it is breaking Islamic principles as women are not allowed to meet and talk to strangers.
Some Rohingya women-led groups provide awareness on GBV, domestic violence and trafficking but most of them have limited resources and often face threats from ARSA and other criminal gangs.
The Rohingya say that worsening security and lack of protection in Cox’s Bazaar are key reasons why thousands of refugees have decided to relocate to Bhasan Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal prone to natural weather disasters, or have fled to neighbouring countries (India, Thailand and Malaysia) by taking perilous sea journeys via a network of brokers.
Women especially do not want to live in camps as they face a lot of challenges to survive. They have no protection from family, community and host community. The majority of women have only two choices for survival: to marry for protection or to escape the camps.
The Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar under the 1982 Citizenship Law, and the government considers them ‘illegal’ immigrants from Bangladesh, leaving them unable to choose safe and regular migration routes. Since the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, tens of thousands of Rohingya, especially women, girls and children have been arrested by the Myanmar military not only in Rakhine state but also in other parts of Myanmar. Local authorities arrest Rohingya on charges of travelling without legal documents and sentence those arrestees to prison for up to 5 years. In addition, families often face extortion and threats from brokers, women face food and water shortages, ill-health, physical violence and rape by security forces, ethnic armed groups and brokers during the journeys, as well as injury and death.
Rohingya women and girls are the most affected victims of the genocide in Myanmar, and they face even greater hardship and vulnerabilities in refugees camps in Bangladesh.
To address the challenges of Rohingya women and girls, host governments and humanitarian agencies must:
Allocate funds for services and legal remedies such as sufficient and accessible psycho-social support and medical treatment and legal protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual harassment;
Raise awareness of domestic violence, sexual harassment, risks of human smuggling and trafficking to both Rohingya women and men;
Create safe environments for access to education, and create decent work opportunbities for Rohingya women;
Put pressure on Myanmar military junta to stop the arrests of Rohingya victims of human trafficking;
Provide technical support and capacities for Rohingya women’s rights activists to enhance refugees-led protection mechanisms.
*
The views expressed here are those of the author and not of the ‘South Asia @ LSE’ blog, the LSE South Asia Centre or the London School of Economics and Political Science.
This blogpost may not be reposted by anyone without prior written consent of LSE South Asia Centre; please e-mail [email protected] for permission..."
Source/publisher:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
What are the prospects of a dignified repatriation for the Rohingya?
Description:
"The year 2022 was a “year of confluence” for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, where many positive developments happened in favour of their repatriation. Alternatively, there were some negative developments as well where new impediments emerged to hinder the repatriation process.
Though Bangladesh has successfully included the Rohingya crisis in the international discussion and displayed significant developments to initiate repatriation, pathetically, more than five years have passed since the Rohingya influx in Bangladesh, but the repatriation of the 1.2 million Myanmar nationals has not seen light.
However, the year 2022 marked a significant progress in the repatriation process, as the Rohingya themselves tried to draw the attention of the international community to express their desire to return to their home. On June 19, 2022, the Rohingya staying in various camps in Bangladesh organized a “Go Home campaign” and put forward their demands and expressed their interest to return to their homeland. In August, during the 5th anniversary of their exodus into Bangladesh, they reiterated the urgency of repatriation to their homeland.
Moreover, the campaign is continued under the banner “Go Home Campaign 2023” demanding safe repatriation to their country on December 31 on the eve of the New Year. At this time, the Rohingya demonstrated with posters and placards saying “Enough is enough, let's go home, 2023 should be Rohingya home year.”
Bangladesh government's decision to relocate Rohingya to Bhasan Char, to reduce the pressure on the overpopulated Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, was a discreet and timely move in 2022. After reaching a batch of 963 Rohingya in the 14th phase on October 17, so far around 30,079 Rohingya reached Bhashan Char.
Despite initial hesitations, the US and Japan, the UN, and Canada joined the Bhasan Char project in August 2022. A ray of hope for the Rohingya refugees was lit, when the hearing of Gambia's case at the ICJ ended on February 28 last year. Significantly, on July 22, the court dismissed Myanmar's objections to jurisdiction over the case, and ordered Myanmar to respond to the complaint by April 24 of this year.
The NUG, led by Aung Sung Su Kyi's NLD, responded positively that it would cooperate with the trial, and the pro-democratic party aims to establish relations with the local population in the Rakhine region to ensure the safe repatriation of the Rohingya.
The year is also significant for many remarkable bilateral and multilateral initiatives, which are instrumental to propel the process of repatriation a step further. Bilaterally, on June 14, the 5th joint working group meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar on the repatriation of the Rohingya was held, where the speedy return of the Rohingya to Myanmar was discussed. In her address to the 27th International Nikkei Conference, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged Asian countries to work closely for the safe repatriation of the Rohingya.
Among the global powers, no other country than the US has made significant strides to solicit the crisis. On March 21, The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar as genocide and crimes against humanity. In September, the US announced more than $170 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Rohingya inside and outside Burma, as well as for host communities in Bangladesh.
In November, the US initiated a rehabilitation program for the Rohingya living in Bangladesh and introduced a historic “BURMA ACT.” From December 3 to 7, the US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Julieta Valls Noyes visited Rohingya Camps and discussed relocation programs. On December 8, 24 Rohingya left for the US from a group of 62 Rohingya, identified for resettlement.
The role of China is also an important factor in facilitating Rohingya repatriation. Despite Beijing's controversial axis with Myanmar, during his visit to Bangladesh on August 6, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China is working sincerely to find a solution to the Rohingya crisis. Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhon, ASEAN Chair's Special Envoy to Myanmar, also assured Bangladesh of making all-out efforts for a sustainable solution to the Rohingya issue.
On the multilateral level, the Rohingya quagmire was discussed as a serious concern at numerous UN forums throughout the year. The UNGA unanimously adopted the resolution entitled "The situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar" for the first time on November 16, 2022. A Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Myanmar, UNHCR, and UNDP to create an enabling environment for the repatriation of Rohingya in Rakhine State according to the resolution. This will play a significant role in strengthening the collective efforts of the UN member states for a sustainable solution to the Rohingya problem.
Meanwhile, UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi has called on regional countries to come forward to repatriate the Rohingya, stressing the continuation of humanitarian assistance to the refugees.
Since December 21, the Rohingya problem has become part of the regular activities of the UN Security Council, as the UNSC adopted a historic resolution on Myanmar for the first time, calling for an immediate end of ongoing violence. The proposal emphasized on solving the Rohingya problem with a particular emphasis. It also emphasized the speedy and full implementation of the five-point consensus adopted by ASEAN member states in 2021.
Though the year was overwhelmed with many positive events, the Rohingya crisis witnessed several challenges throughout the year. Since August, fierce clashes and heavy gun fights broke out between the Arakan army and the Myanmar army along the Bangladesh border in North Maungdu and lasted for about three months. To reduce border tension, the 8th border conference between BGB and BGP was held from November 23 to 27. Meanwhile, in a meeting between BGB and BGP officials, Bangladesh's concerns regarding the quick repatriation of Rohingya were informed.
From the security perspective, the failure to create an environment conducive to safe and sustainable voluntary return has exacerbated the Rohingya's frustration, leading to a variety of security concerns and instability. Till October 2022, 125 people have been killed in the Rohingya camps. Human trafficking and illegal trafficking of methamphetamine “Yaba” tablets from Myanmar to other neighbouring countries have increased alarmingly.
In the last five years, 2,441 cases have been filed in Rohingya camps for various crimes including posession of weapons, drugs, rape, kidnapping, robbery, assault on police, murder, and human trafficking. Rohingya leaders and volunteers were the targets of these killings within the camps. The ongoing instability may spread organized crimes to other parts of the country, which will pose a regional and global security threat in the upcoming days.
From the economic perspective, dwindling funds for the Rohingya camps also deteriorated the humanitarian crisis. In 2022, only 43% of the required amount of $881m under the Joint Response Plan (JRP) has been disbursed, which leaves room for consideration. As around 35,000 children are born in the camps every year, this increased population is gradually putting pressure on humanitarian assistance.
From 2017 to 2023, the Rohingya problem remains unresolved and the crisis is becoming a “frozen and protracted” one over the years. A long-term plan must be developed to address a sustainable solution, which is nothing but dignified repatriation. In any situation, it is imperative to keep the flow of the relief and financial aid, and therefore, necessary measures should be taken on an urgent basis.
On the political front, ARNA and other organizations working with the Rohingya must work together to create an enabling environment for repatriation. The ongoing awareness activities undertaken to resolve the crisis should also be continued. In addition, more robust steps must be taken to ensure the progress of initiatives taken in 2022 in the international arena.
If these activities are implemented promptly, it is expected that the solution to the Rohingya problem will see the light of day in the forthcoming days..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
Dissecting Myanmar’s ‘Bengali-Burmese’ narrative and what it means for the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees
Description:
"The racial identity of the Rohingya is probably the most widely discussed topic regarding the repatriation issue. The Myanmar government considers the Rohingya as British colonial and post-colonial migrants from neighboring Bangladesh. It argues that a distinct pre-colonial Muslim population is recognized as "Kaman," and that the Rohingya conflate their history with the history of Arakan Muslims in general to advance a separatist agenda. In addition, Myanmar's government does not recognize the term "Rohingya" and prefers to refer to the community as "Bengali."
The term "Rohingya" emerged from colonial and pre-colonial terms Rooinga and Rwangya. The Rohingya refer to themselves as Ruáingga/ɾuájŋɡa. In Burmese they are known as "rui hang gya," while in Bengali they are called "Rohinga." The term Rohingya may come from Rakhanga or Roshanga, the words for the state of Arakan. The word Rohingya would then mean "inhabitant of Rohang," which was the early Muslim name for Arakan.
"A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire" by Francis Buchanan, which was found and republished by Michael Charney in the "SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research" in 2003 says, among the native groups of Arakan, there are the "Mohammedans, who have long settled in Arakan, and who call themselves Rooinga, or natives of Arakan. The Classical Journal of 1811 identified Rooinga as one of the languages spoken in the Burma Empire. In 1815, Johann Severin Vater listed Ruinga as an ethnic group with a distinct language in a compendium of languages published in German.
According to Jacques Leider, the Rohingya were referred to as "Chittagonians" during the British colonial period, and it was not controversial to refer to them as "Bengalis" until the 1990s. Leider also states that "there is no international consensus" on the use of the term Rohingya, as they are often called "Rohingya Muslims," "Muslim Arakanese," and "Burmese Muslims." He writes that even many Muslims in Rakhine prefer to call themselves "Muslim Arakanese" or "Muslims coming from Rakhine" instead of Rohingya.
Others, such as anthropologist Christina Fink, use Rohingya not as an ethnic identifier but as a political one. Fink believes the Rohingya is a political movement that started in the 1950s to create "an autonomous Muslim zone" in Rakhine. Nevertheless, the term Rohingya wasn't widely used until the 1990s.
Today the use of the name Rohingya is polarized. The government of Myanmar refuses to use the name. In the 2014 census, the Myanmar government forced the Rohingya to identify themselves as Bengali. Many Rohingya see the denial of their name as similar to denying their basic rights, and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has agreed.
The Rohingya could accept the term "Bengali-Burmese race" in their National Registration Card (NRC) and accelerate the repatriation process. In Myanmar, racial identities like, Indian-Burmese or Chinese-Burmese are common. The racial identity of citizens in Kolkata is also Bengali, but that doesn't mean they are Bangladeshi. They are Indian citizens.
The Rohingya should leave no stone unturned to return to their motherland. If this can open the door to repatriation, they should welcome it. The price they're paying is too high. Decades after decades they have been suffering. Killing, raping, burning their homes, ethnic cleansing etc. every crime has been committed against them.
Millions were forced to leave their homeland. Those still living in Rakhine, are facing restrictions on their freedom of movement, access to state education and civil service jobs -- it is as though they are living in imprisonment. Not only that, thousands of new-born children of the Rohingya in different refugee camps in different countries are moving towards an uncertain future and a state-less identity.
Their Bengali-Burmese ethnic identity does not mean that the Rohingya are not Myanmar nationals. Rather, it will eliminate one point of difference between the Myanmar government and the Rohingya community. The other demands of the Rohingya like nationality, freedom of movement, political participation etc, can be discussed and solved. But for that, the Rohingya must return to their country and fight for their rights. Taking refuge in another country renders any protest by them meaningless.
On the other hand, as it is historically proven that the Rohingya Muslims are an integral part of Myanmar, the Myanmar government should not deny their citizenship. They can repatriate the Rohingya and then talk with them regarding their other demands. This will help them gain some international support.
The decade-long suppression of the Rohingya must come to an end. It's our humanitarian duty to stand with them. An "ethnic cleansing" by the Burmese military must not be allowed to succeed. This is a test for the international community to give back the rights of Rohingya and repatriate them to their own homeland, Myanmar, with dignity and honor..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Local URL:
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Description:
"DHAKA – A Rohingya refugee was shot dead, two others injured and many displaced by shooting and fires at a camp in no man’s land between Bangladesh and Myanmar on Wednesday.
Gunshots were also reported on Thursday from the Konarpara camp where Squadron Leader Rizwan Rushdee of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and a young Rohingya woman were killed during an anti-smuggling operation on November 14.
Bangladeshi intelligence and police sources told The Irrawaddy that there was fighting between groups linked to the Rohingya Solidary Organisation (RSO) and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) broke at the Konarpara camp and sporadic firing carried on for several hours.
“We have nothing to do with the firing as it took place inside the camp and also inside Myanmar,” said Naikhyangchhari police chief Mohammad Shahjahan on Thursday.
Police said the border is mainly under Border Guard Bangladesh jurisdiction. The border force was unavailable for comment.
A law enforcement agency source in Bandarban said one man in RSO “combat uniform” was shot dead and many others were injured on the border and inside Myanmar.
Two intelligence agents said fighting between the RSO and “uncontrolled” ARSA was responsible for Rushdee’s death in November. ARSA denied involvement.
DGFI Cox’s Bazar officer Mohammad Anwar Hossain on November 23 filed a case against ARSA commander-in-chief Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi and 66 others for Rushdee’s death.
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Bangladesh told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that two injured people were treated at its Kutupalong clinic in Cox’s Bazar. Another victim was dead on arrival.
“MSF can confirm that among the two injured patients who survived, one suffered a gunshot wound and has been referred for further treatment to another facility. The second patient, a child, sustained minor injuries after a bullet grazed his hand and damaged the tissue,” the charity said.
The deceased man was Hamid Ullah, 24, while Mohid Ullah, 23, of Shalbagan Rohingya camp near Cox’s Bazar was admitted to a government hospital.
Ullah’s brother-in-law Mohammad Shaker said he was an RSO member.
Rohingya community leader Dil Mohammad told the media that the rival groups were fighting to control the refugee camp.
Many Rohingya were later displaced after fires were set at the camp.
“We have learned it was ARSA who set fire to escape from Konarpara. I saw over 100 Rohingya lose their shelters,” said a Bangladeshi visitor.
Bangladesh Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman said many of those displaced were seeking safety inside Bangladesh.
“We put our law enforcement agencies on alert and asked them not to allow anyone inside into Bangladeshi territory as we are already overburdened and have no room to accommodate a single person,” he told The Irrawaddy.
RSO or ARSA made no comment.
Last month Bangladeshi home minister Asaduzzaman Khan announced that security at Konarpara would be increased, including extra fencing to reduce transborder crimes.
He said around 4,500 Rohingyas in no man’s land would not be relocated but fences would be erected to prevent crime..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-19
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Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Executive Summary:
Around 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar continue to live in the largest refugee settlement in the world in Bangladesh. More than 700,000 of these refugees fled genocide by the Myanmar military in August 2017. Five years on, the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have built up networks of support within the camps with volunteer educators, health workers, and distributors of aid. The people and government of Bangladesh, supported by international donors and humanitarian actors, have provided the Rohingya with food, shelter, and vaccines. But too few solutions have been implemented to address what has become a protracted humanitarian crisis.
Indeed, prolonged displacement and uncertainty about the future of the Rohingya is feeding a growing despair, which recent events and policies have only heightened. The 2021 coup by the Myanmar military (the entity responsible for the genocide against the Rohingya) and increased fighting within Rakhine State (the homeland of the Rohingya) in 2022 make safe return in the near term unlikely. Safety in the camps in Bangladesh has deteriorated as militant Rohingya groups and criminal gangs increasingly have targeted and killed Rohingya camp leaders. And Bangladeshi policies have constrained the ability of refugees to pursue formal education and employment opportunities, to move freely, or to form organizations and gather as civil society actors. At the same time, donor fatigue, competing crises, and global economic downturn are projected to lead to significant cuts in humanitarian funding.
Despite the dangerous trends, solutions are emerging that must be cultivated and expanded. Enhancing promising new education and skills-building initiatives is an essential place to start. The government of Bangladesh, supported by international donors, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society must better engage and incorporate the Rohingya community efforts and views toward improved quality education and livelihood opportunities. Other countries, particularly in the region, should explore opportunities to provide Rohingya with access to higher education and temporary work opportunities. The government of Bangladesh must prioritize the safety and security of Rohingya refugees by cracking down on armed and criminal elements and investigating and snuffing out corruption and abuse from some members of the Armed Police Battalions (APBn) and other authorities in the camps. The United States and other countries must also engage the government of Bangladesh about resettlement of the most vulnerable among the refugees and UN agencies must work with Bangladesh to provide further safe houses for those under greatest threat.
For the Rohingya refugees to realize their ultimate goal of safe return to their homeland, the United States and like-minded countries, particularly Myanmar’s neighbors, must also address the long-term root causes of the crisis by increasing pressure on the military junta in Myanmar and furthering diplomatic and humanitarian support for opposition groups and civil society within the country.
In the meantime, to stem the tide of hopelessness, and in the interest of sustainable and dignified return in the future, the Rohingya community in Bangladesh must not be restricted, but rather supported and empowered.....Recommendations: The government of Bangladesh should:
Urgently address the security situation in the camps through enhanced coordination, investigation, and accountability among Bangladeshi law enforcement. Investigation and apprehension of armed actors in the camps must be improved through enhanced coordination among Bangladeshi law enforcement inside and outside of the camps and through authorization of APBn officers in the camps to directly receive reports from Rohingya and carry out investigations in the camps. Charges of corruption and abuse among the APBn must also be addressed and due process guaranteed for Rohingya detained in mass arrests.
Improve protection of Rohingya in the camps through safe houses and enhanced community engagement. Camp officials must engage the Rohingya community to improve protection measures including the use of unarmed refugees in night patrols or to find alternative solutions. Officials must also provide safe houses outside of the camps to human rights defenders and other Rohingya refugees identified as particularly vulnerable and at risk of attack.
Expand access to quality education for Rohingya. The government should enhance training and recruitment of Rohingya teachers through increased limits on stipends and dedicated capacity-building for female Rohingya teachers. It should support community-based learning initiatives and also allow two-story buildings to be used for schools. The government should provide and facilitate access to higher education for Rohingya refugees both in Bangladesh and abroad through scholarships and online opportunities.
Expand livelihood opportunities for Rohingya. The government should expand programming under the new skills development framework, increase the upper limits of stipends for Rohingya volunteers, expand livelihood opportunities to the main camps, and engage regional governments toward temporary work opportunities for Rohingya.
Support and open space for Rohingya civil society. The government should allow gatherings and provide capacity-building support, official registration, and access to bank accounts and mobile financial services for community-based organizations.
Refrain from further movement of refugees to Bhasan Char until ongoing questions of voluntariness and sustainability are properly addressed. Refugees currently on the island should be provided opportunities to visit or return to the main camps if they choose.
Refrain from repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar until conditions are conducive for safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable returns, in line with international standards.
Allow resettlement of Rohingya refugees to the United States and other third countries.....UN Agencies should:Urge and support the government of Bangladesh to do more to protect refugees and address the insecurity situation within the refugee camps. UN agencies should expand trainings of APBn and other camp officials on humanitarian protection principles and community safety. They should also work with the government to improve protection services and provide safe houses for human rights defenders and other refugees facing imminent threats.
Prioritize commitments on Bhasan Char in meetings with the government of Bangladesh, towards truly voluntary and informed relocations, planning and preparation for potential natural disasters and disruptions of supply lines, and increased opportunities for refugees to return to the main camps.
Engage the government of Bangladesh toward allowing resettlement of Rohingya refugees to third countries and build UN capacity to do so.
Empower Rohingya and improve representation in the camps and on the global stage. UN agencies should work with the government of Bangladesh to restart and expand the pilot representation program for electing Rohingya camp leaders. Rohingya community representatives should be included in important fora including the Global Refugee Forum.....The government of the United States and other donor countries should:Engage and support the government of Bangladesh toward improved policies on access to quality education, skills building and livelihood opportunities, freedom of movement, and voluntariness of any further relocations to Bhasan Char.
Sustain and cultivate robust humanitarian support through a global pledging conference. Donors should maintain robust funding, particularly for psycho-social support, and seek further support through engagement of the private sector and hosting of a global pledging conference for the Rohingya response and broader Myanmar response as was done in 2019.
Offer a significant number of resettlement spots to Rohingya in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the region. The United States should offer to settle at least 50,000 Rohingya in the coming years and urge other countries to enhance that number.
Work with like-minded countries, especially in Southeast Asia, to coordinate further pressure on the Myanmar junta to create conditions for safe return of Rohingya. Key steps include placing a global arms embargo on the junta, additional targeted sanctions on military leaders and military-owned enterprises (including on the oil and gas sectors and entities supplying jet fuel to the junta), support for accountability including the genocide case before the International Court of Justice, and diplomatic and humanitarian support for opposition groups and civil society within Myanmar.....Research Overview: Refugees International traveled to Bangladesh in October 2022, visiting Dhaka, Cox’s Bazar, and the Rohingya refugee camps to assess the humanitarian response to the Rohingya refugee crisis and to explore ongoing challenges and possible solutions. This report is informed by dozens of interviews with Rohingya refugees, representatives of UN agencies, donor governments, and local and international non-governmental organizations working on providing humanitarian assistance. It is also informed by and builds upon several Refugees International research trips to Bangladesh, consultations with Rohingya refugees, and prior reports over recent years.....Background: Around 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar continue to live in the largest refugee settlement in the world in Bangladesh. Of these, an estimated 200,000-300,000 Rohingya fled decades of persecution prior to 2017, including 36,000 living in camps established in the early 1990s. The majority, however – more than 700,000 – fled genocidal attacks by the Myanmar military in August 2017. Five years later, the Rohingya refugee crisis now fits what the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) defines as a protracted crisis.
Another 600,000 Rohingya remain in Myanmar – including more than 100,000 living in camps for internally displaced people since 2012. They face rising threats as fighting increases between the Arakan Army (an ethnic Rakhine armed group) and the military junta. The fighting has at times spilled over the border into Bangladesh with errant shells killing one Rohingya refugee and injuring several Bangladeshi citizens. This fighting has made the prospects of safe return of Rohingya to their homeland in the near term unlikely. It also underscores the need to address ongoing and growing challenges faced by the million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Over the first five years of the displacement crisis, the government of Bangladesh – supported by international donors, UN agencies, and international and local NGOs – oversaw a robust humanitarian response, providing food, shelter, health and sanitary infrastructure, protection, and other services. But the needs have been immense, requiring nearly $1 billion in humanitarian aid each year. The response has also sought to support the Bangladeshi community near the camps. These communities were already facing high unemployment and poverty rates and have been adversely affected by the crisis. The Bangladeshi population in the sub-districts hosting the camps is now outnumbered by Rohingya at a 2:1 ratio.
From the start of the crisis, the government of Bangladesh has viewed the stay of Rohingya as temporary. It has resisted any longer-term planning or programming that might allow for integration of Rohingya into Bangladeshi society, insisting on repatriation to Myanmar as the only viable solution. Refugees have not been allowed to work, seek formal education (until recently), nor leave the camps without express permission, usually on medical grounds. In late 2019, Bangladeshi authorities began building barbed wire fencing, which now surrounds the main mega-camp.
Meanwhile, the governance structure in the camps has left the Rohingya with little in terms of a representative voice. With the arrival of new refugees in late 2017, Bangladeshi officials hand-picked local camp leaders, or majhis, without input from the refugees themselves. These majhis answer to appointed Bangladeshi officials known as Camps-in-Charge (CiCs) who oversee various parts of the camp. A pilot representation program, in which Rohingya were allowed to elect their own leaders, was tried by UNHCR in one of the camps established in the 1990s, but Bangladeshi authorities have not allowed that to expand.
Finally, in 2020, Bangladeshi authorities began relocating refugees to the island of Bhasan Char – located 37 miles out from the mainland in the Bay of Bengal. Thousands of refugees have now been relocated, despite ongoing questions of informed consent and the safety and sustainability of such moves....Current Situation in the Camps in Bangladesh : In October 2022, Refugees International visited the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh and spoke with dozens of refugees, humanitarian workers, and UN and government officials. Efforts to improve conditions in the camps since the first chaotic months are readily observable. Roads and bridges have been reinforced with bricks and concrete drainage. Trees and bushes that had been decimated as refugees sought fuel to burn have been largely reforested. Fires that ravaged the camps, particularly in 2021, have been minimized through better response training and preparation. As one humanitarian official told Refugees International, the Rohingya camps now have the largest refugee voluntary fire response team in the world. Innovations in wastewater treatment and e-vouchers for World Food Program (WFP) markets, allowing greater diversity in food selection, are other noteworthy improvements.
But beneath the surface, several challenges have been percolating, ranging from increased insecurity to a growing sense of despair tied to uncertainty about the future and inability to access educational and livelihood opportunities.
Rohingya refugees, many with family or friends still living in Myanmar, want above all else to return, but recognize that it is not currently safe to do so. One refugee told Refugees International, “I want to be in Myanmar tomorrow. But relatives and friends in Myanmar know no peace.”
Further, Rohingya see little opportunity to provide for themselves and for their children to access quality education, and this is having a direct effect on their mental health. A humanitarian worker involved with psycho-social support in the camps told Refugees International that there has been a shift from the trauma of directly experienced or witnessed atrocities during the genocidal attacks in 2017 to a cumulative trauma based on lack of education opportunities and increased hopelessness.
A sense of despair and lack of opportunity threaten to worsen both mental health and the security situation in the camps. Without more positive alternatives, Rohingya youth are far more vulnerable to turning to negative coping mechanisms ranging from child marriage, human smuggling and trafficking, and involvement in the drug trade to joining gangs or turning to extremist militancy.
Finally, several humanitarian officials raised concerns over the risk of rising tensions between the Rohingya and the host community, especially as the lead up to parliamentary elections in 2023 may incentivize scapegoating of the Rohingya. Negative narratives of Rohingya refugees have already been prevalent in local and national media and efforts to counter this will be important in the year ahead.
Within this backdrop, refugees and humanitarian workers with whom Refugees International spoke identified a number of ongoing challenges in the camps, but also some promising solutions.....Main Challenges and Potential Solutions: Rising Insecurity
THE CHALLENGE
The most prevalent concern Rohingya refugees and humanitarian workers in the camps raised during Refugees International’s interviews was the rising insecurity within the camps, particularly at night. Attacks on Rohingya by members of the Rohingya militant group the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and rival factions and criminal gangs competing for influence have been on the rise. In the time Refugees International visited Bangladesh, two Rohingya local camp leaders, or majhis, were killed and another shot and injured. At least 17 Rohingya have been killed since mid-August 2022. The motivations behind these attacks are not always clear but appear to be a mix of influence-seeking and retaliation on those seen as informing authorities about illegal activities.
The assassination of prominent civil society leader Mohib Ullah by ARSA in September 2021 is cited by Rohingya refugees as a particular turning point in terms of feelings of insecurity. In the year following, several more Rohingya camp leaders have been attacked or killed, as well as a number of civil society actors. As one refugee told Refugees International, “After one year of Muhib Ullah’s assassination, the camp [has] become a war place, and murder by the armed groups in the camp are always happening. The camps are totally unsafe for civilians.”
Bangladesh authorities have responded with an increased presence of Armed Police Battalion (APBn) units and have sporadically made mass arrests. These operations have been followed by lulls in attacks. However, Rohingya refugees have also reported corruption and abuse at the hands of some APBn officers and frustration with both innocent people getting caught up in crackdown operations and guilty parties being released after only a short time. Refugees also expressed fear and frustration in being selected to serve in nominally volunteer night patrols set up by camp authorities following the increase in killings of majhis. Those who serve in night patrols are unarmed and understandably feel that such activities put them in danger.
One refugee with whom Refugees International spoke said that his brother had been held hostage by ARSA until his family was able to pay 20,000 Taka, nearly $200. He continues to receive threats from ARSA, accusing him of informing on them, and has not stayed the night in the camps for five months. “The camp security system is too weak,” he said. “APBn is not doing enough to take action against criminals.”
The insecurity caused by ARSA and other armed or criminal elements and the reported abuse and extortion by APBn in the camps contribute to a sense of accumulating trauma. A Rohingya photographer in the camps told Refugees International, “We faced the trauma of 2017. Now we are facing persecution by [camp] authorities and our people.”
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
These allegations of abuse and corruption and the growing trust deficit stemming from them must be addressed. Bangladeshi authorities have sent in higher level APBn officers but must do more to crack down on criminal activities while also addressing corruption and abuse. Bangladesh should also authorize and empower APBn officers to collect and file reports of violent crimes directly from refugees and to carry out investigations. Currently, Rohingya must report such crimes to majhis and CiCs before getting permission to leave the camps to officially file a report with police who are authorized to carry out investigations. The Bangladeshi officials in the camps should also ensure that the use and selection process for night patrols or alternative solutions are done in close consultation with the Rohingya community.
UN agencies are seeking to provide trainings for APBn on humanitarian protection principles and community safety and should seek to expand such programs. UNHCR, which leads the protection sector, should work with the government of Bangladesh to further relocate those facing imminent threats to more secure areas in the camps or to safe houses outside of the camps. Another potential solution would be to increase protection by allowing UN actors and international and local NGOs to operate or stay in the camps overnight. Currently, all outside actors are required to leave the camps at the end of each day. This protection by presence, accompanied by security guards, could go a long way in deterring attacks.
Lack of Quality Education
THE CHALLENGE
Further contributing to the general growing sense of despair, according to refugees with whom Refugees International spoke, is frustration with a lack of quality education for their children. As one refugee told Refugees International, under educational efforts to date, “Children are not improving and not getting any benefit.”
For most of the first five years of the response, access to education has been limited to informal learning centers run by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and NGO partners. This informal system was based on a curriculum of classes including English, math, Burmese, and life-skills, developed as an emergency measure, and only through the eighth grade level (with more than 90 percent of children learning at below a third grade level). In January 2020, Bangladesh announced the launch of a pilot education program based on the official curriculum used inside Myanmar prior to the coup and taught in Burmese. But the launch was delayed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rohingya civil society groups have filled this gap by setting up their own community-based learning centers or in-home private education. These community-based efforts are taught in Burmese or the Rohingya language and range from basic skills and literacy to efforts to follow the formal curriculum in Myanmar.
A growing recognition by Bangladeshi officials of the need to combat the dangers of idle youths growing up in the camps and to prepare for sustainable returns to Myanmar has opened the way for a more formalized education program. The delayed pilot Myanmar curriculum program was finally relaunched in November 2021 and provides a formal, standardized education up to the secondary level (grades six to nine) and expands the number of subjects covered to include science, social studies, and skills training. The program has now reached 248,000 children with aims to reach all of the more than 400,000 school-aged Rohingya in the next two years.
While the roll out of the Myanmar Curriculum Program has been a welcome initiative, it has already faced several challenges and Rohingya and humanitarians alike question the quality of the teaching. Rohingya refugees told Refugees International that many of the instructors are unqualified and that what children are learning is too basic. Humanitarian actors cite the difficulty in finding qualified teachers among the Rohingya. Rohingya teachers cite the low stipends offered, especially compared to that of the Bangladeshi instructors they are paired with, and the failure to incorporate informal educational efforts that the Rohingya themselves have been carrying out to fill the gaps over the past five years.
Bangladeshi authorities have also been cracking down on informal education efforts, ordering the closure of Rohingya-run community schools in December 2021 and threatening private instructors. This directive affected an estimated 32,000 students and led to the closure of several learning centers including the largest, a school of some 600 students founded by the assassinated community leader Mohib Ullah. This crackdown has led to wide-spread angst among Rohingya refugees and undermined overall access to education.
Many refugees told Refugees International they prefer the informal Rohingya-led efforts and question how Rohingya teachers are selected for the formal program. A recent survey of Rohingya refugees by Save the Children found that just 25 percent thought the quality of education was better than in earlier years of the response, while 40 percent said it was the same, and 32 percent said it was worse. As one Rohingya community volunteer put it, the Myanmar Curriculum Program is “more about quantity than quality.”
For their part, humanitarians involved with the educational efforts complain that it is difficult to find qualified teachers who speak and read Burmese among the Rohingya community. According to a 2020 survey, only 57 percent of households have at least one Burmese-language speaker. Many Rohingya speak only the Rohingya language and were denied educational opportunities in Myanmar. Bangladeshi officials say that the illegal private schools charge students and prevent the more qualified teachers among the Rohingya from joining the Myanmar Curriculum Program. They also cite inequities in access to education through private learning, as it is only accessible for those who can afford it. Bangladeshi authorities want to ensure that teaching does not take place in the Bangla language and warn about alleged dangers of extreme jihadist ideologies being taught through these unmonitored community-based programs.
Another challenge is the lack of space for education. The Myanmar Curriculum requires longer hours than the previously approved educational programs, meaning that it is more difficult to incorporate multiple shifts of students in the limited number of learning centers throughout a day. Finding space in the already densely populated camps is challenging.
Cultural norms and pressures present further challenges for girls’ access to education, as much of the Rohingya community holds conservative views on the education of girls, particularly when mixed with boys. This is accentuated by threats from groups like ARSA against girls who seek education or to volunteer with NGOs. The effects of these pressures and threats are particularly seen as girls get older. Whereas girls are enrolled in learning centers at roughly equal rates to boys at younger ages, the dropout rates for girls increase as they get older, especially around puberty around ages 12 to 14. UNICEF has set up some girls-only classes as part of the Myanmar curriculum program, but these remain limited as more resources and trained female teachers are needed.
Finally, the Myanmar Curriculum Program faces the challenge of not being accredited and not providing a path to higher education. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
In Refugees International’s conversations with Rohingya refugees, one of the most cited ways to counter the growing hopelessness was by providing quality education to the Rohingya youth. Such education is seen as a concrete way to prepare the Rohingya community for a better future and to counter influences toward negative coping mechanisms. As one refugee put it, “Solve for education and you solve for ten other problems.”
The Myanmar Curriculum Program provides a base from which to build, but steps must be taken to ensure that qualified teachers are found, trained, and prepared. The private education networks set up in the camps should be incorporated into the broader efforts to provide quality education to all Rohingya youth, both through recruitment of the most qualified teachers and as a private supplement to the Myanmar Curriculum classes. As UNICEF has stated, “Private and community-based learning facilities that meet the needs of both boys and girls, and which are operated with sufficient oversight, could also play a role in providing educational services.”
This will require adjusting the system to allow for higher stipends for teachers, while allowing teachers to supplement their incomes through private sessions. The new volunteer guidance is raising that monthly stipend from 8,000 Taka to between 10,000 and 15,000 Taka, depending on teaching level, as of November 2022. This is a good start but should be increased further.
While possible inequities for those Rohingya able to afford private lessons versus those who cannot are a concern, the current alternative of denying private education or forcing it to function under the radar, is both a net negative and undermines the ability to monitor private efforts for both quality and risks of extremism. One way to address this would be for Bangladesh to allow Rohingya civil society groups to officially register. They could also be supported to set up accounts with Bangladeshi banks or mobile financial services such as bKash. Both initiatives would help give Bangladesh more oversight over the private schools and address their concerns.
Allowing for some private, community-based learning would also help to alleviate the space challenges already faced by the Myanmar Curriculum Program. Another solution to the space problem would be allowing the use of two-story buildings in the camps, something that Bangladeshi authorities have been reluctant to do so far.
Allowing for more girls-only classes, providing more learning centers closer to girls’ households, and prioritizing the training and recruitment of women teachers could help to address the cultural challenges. Donors should also continue to support community outreach efforts to push back on negative views of women and practices like child marriage and gender-based violence that remain major challenges for women and girls in the camps.
Finally, to address the lack of access to higher education, the United States and other countries, including those in the region, should engage Bangladesh to provide scholarship programs and allow for access for Rohingya to attend universities abroad or to access higher education through online courses. The question of accrediting the Myanmar Curriculum Program will be more challenging as long as the military junta continues its coup in Myanmar. But other countries could recognize the program for the purposes of pursuing higher education. Myanmar’s opposition groups, including the National Unity Government, should also commit to recognizing and accrediting the program for when Rohingya refugees are able to return to their homeland.
Lack of Livelihood Opportunities
THE CHALLENGE
Alongside lack of education, the lack of livelihood opportunities is among the most cited reasons for growing despair among Rohingya refugees. As one refugee told Refugees International, one of the most effective ways to improve people’s lives in the camp would be “permitting refugees to do business in the camp to support their respective families.”
Bangladeshi officials view the stay of Rohingya refugees as temporary and fear allowing Rohingya to work will lead to their integration into Bangladesh for the long term. Officials also do not want Rohingya to compete for work with Bangladeshis near the camps who face high unemployment rates and levels of poverty.
As a result, official livelihood opportunities have, until very recently, been barred, with legal opportunities to earn income limited to some cash-for-work activities and small stipends for volunteer work with UN agencies and NGOs in the camps. These include carrying supplies, shelter construction and repair, desludging latrines, and community outreach on health, monsoon preparedness, and other issues. Unofficially, many Rohingya have set up shops in or near the camps. Others have found ways, often through payment of bribes, to get through the barbed wire fencing to work as day laborers in nearby fields or as domestic workers. However, each of these carry risks of detention, extortion, or loss. For example, at the end of 2021, Bangladeshi officials destroyed more than 3,000 Rohingya-run shops and continue to do so on a semi-regular basis.
In its reluctance to allow anything that hints at integration of Rohingya, the government of Bangladesh has also rejected possible funding. In July 2021, the Bangladesh foreign ministry denounced a World Bank proposal to offer funding tied to one of its mechanisms for countries hosting refugees and people in refugee-like situations. At question was the Bank’s broader guidance, not specific to Bangladesh, that mentioned efforts to allow refugees freedom of movement throughout a host country, the right to purchase property, and access to public education and the labor market. While the World Bank has funded several efforts related to provision of basic services and building disaster and social resilience for Rohingya refugees, as well as several that support the host community, Bangladesh’s stance on refugee-related funding mechanisms is preventing potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in additional assistance.
The one place where Bangladesh has allowed for true livelihood activities is on Bhasan Char. Bangladesh has said that it will allow fishing, farming, cattle raising, and other activities on the island. This can be understood partially because there are no local host communities with which to compete on the island, but also because it is in Bangladesh’s interest to attract refugees to come to the island and to entice international donors to support these relocations. To date, these opportunities have remained limited, and their sustainability remains in question. For example, Rohingya are not allowed to fish beyond the island’s shores, and it is unclear how needed supplies will reach the island, which so far is only serviced by Navy boats.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
The government of Bangladesh’s approval in late 2022 of a new skills development framework and guidance on volunteer stipends has created an opening. The framework – a copy of which was seen by Refugees International – aims to provide Rohingya with skills that can be applied to future work upon return to Myanmar or, in other words, to prepare Rohingya for sustainable return and reintegration in Myanmar. But it also recognizes the need to mitigate risks during the Rohingya’s stay in Bangladesh by providing opportunities for an otherwise idle population. The framework is also meant to mitigate the effects of the crisis on the host community, by offering Bangladeshis living near the camps enhanced employment and entrepreneurial skills.
Among the activities mentioned for support for Rohingya are kitchen and homestead gardening, chicken and turkey rearing, and training in electrical maintenance, plumbing, tailoring, and production of soap and dairy products. The framework also aims to expand some livelihood activities already begun on Bhasan Char, including fishing, livestock rearing, and gardening.
Notably the framework allows for UN agencies and NGOs to provide allowances to Rohingya refugees participating in such projects. The guidance on volunteer stipends aims to establish consistency in what volunteers receive as stipends across the camps and provides for slight increases from earlier established levels. Monthly stipends range from 8,000 Taka (roughly $80) for unskilled volunteers to 13-15,000 Taka (roughly $130-150) for skilled volunteers (e.g. assistant teachers/trainers, head teachers/trainers). However, such opportunities remain limited.
The activities identified in the skills building framework should be rapidly rolled out and expanded. At the same time, Bangladeshi authorities should refrain from activities that constrain what little additional opportunities to earn for themselves the refugees have at their disposal. They should, for example, allow shops, or at least refrain from destruction of shops in the camps even if unofficial. UN agencies and donor countries should encourage Bangladesh to allow the same livelihood opportunities offered on Bhasan Char in the main camps.
International financial institutions and private sector actors should engage Bangladesh on economic projects that will benefit both the host community and Rohingya refugees. As has been recommended by the Center for Global Development, there are several activities that governments, international financial institutions, and private companies can offer, if allowed, including trade incentives, infrastructure investment, and development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to provide employment for the host community and refugees. Finally, other countries, particularly in the region, should look to offer temporary work opportunities for the Rohingya, particularly in fields such as farming and fishing that they pursued while in Myanmar.
Restrictions on Freedom of Movement and Civil Society
THE CHALLENGE
Over time, restrictions on freedom of movement have increased, with refugees telling Refugee International that they now have difficulty in gaining permission even to move within the camps. Several Rohingya refugees told Refugees International about having to pay bribes to camp authorities for being caught moving without permission. And as one refugee told Refugees International, “We can’t travel to Cox’s Bazar [town] except for medical reasons. Even moving block to block [in the camp] can lead to harassment, beatings, arrests, and extortion.”
One of the more positive aspects of the Rohingya humanitarian response was the growth of a robust civil society among the refugees. Repressed and persecuted within Myanmar, refugees found new space in the camps in Bangladesh to meet, discuss how to address community challenges, and organize toward a better future. Hundreds, if not thousands, of groups were formed focusing on a range of issues, from basic education to women’s empowerment.
At the height of this civil society growth, a group known as the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH) organized a rally of thousands of refugees to mark the second anniversary since the genocidal attacks that forced most of the Rohingya population to flee to Bangladesh. While the rally featured calls for justice and for the ability of Rohingya to return to Myanmar – all messages with which Bangladeshi authorities whole-heartedly agreed – the size of the rally and prospect of refugees getting more organized was portrayed in the media as a security threat and led to a backlash. ARSPH’s headquarters was locked up, and Bangladeshi intelligence officers began monitoring and listening in on meetings between ARSPH and other groups and foreign visitors. Since that time, civil society has been much more closely monitored and restricted or even co-opted by Bangladeshi intelligence to emphasize their own interests. For example, a large rally in June 2022 and similar gatherings to mark the fifth Rohingya genocide remembrance day in August 2022 featured “Going Home” messages reportedly encouraged and orchestrated by intelligence officials, including the provision of poster materials and suggested messages to emphasize support for Rohingya repatriation as soon as possible.
ARSA and its factions, along with rival criminal gangs operating in the camps, have also targeted civil society leaders – including assassinated ARSPH leader Mohib Ullah – seen as endangering their influence or informing on their activities. As one Rohingya civil society leader told Refugees International, “people who speak up for the community are not safe. Those who take initiative of leadership are targeted.”
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
Despite the risks, a number of Rohingya civil society actors continue their efforts and advocacy, whether in partnership with UN agencies and NGOs or via Whatsapp and Signal groups. They work to educate Rohingya youth, empower women, pursue accountability for the atrocity crimes committed against the Rohingya, and raise awareness about hygiene, gender-based violence, and child marriage. These groups hold the key to a better future for the Rohingya community and must be protected, supported, and empowered. Supporting them will both help to improve current conditions in the camps and facilitate sustainable return of Rohingya to Myanmar when it is safe.
In addition to the efforts needed to improve security mentioned above, camp officials, UN agencies, and NGOs should seek to build the capacity of Rohingya civil society actors through training and funding of activities. Rohingya-led community-based organizations could be better supported through official registration in Bangladesh that would allow them to hold bank accounts and to receive funding directly from donors. As one Rohingya man told Refugees International, “If we have to stay in the camps, we at least want to be independent. Allow teachers to teach. Allow us to raise the voice of the community.”
Rohingya-led research initiatives should also be supported. For example, a recently released report on threats to Rohingya language, culture, and identity in Myanmar and Bangladesh, was carried out by a team of Rohingya researchers based in the camps in Bangladesh. Donors should seek to fund similar Rohingya-led research and advocacy efforts.
UN agencies and donors should also engage Bangladeshi officials toward restarting and expanding the pilot representation program, which replaced Rohingya camp leaders selected by Bangladeshi authorities with those elected by the Rohingya community. Once leaders are identified, they should be included in important meetings discussing the future of the Rohingya community in Dhaka and globally. In the meantime, UN agencies should seek to include community representatives in such meetings as the Global Refugee Forum (GRF), an international gathering of States and other actors aimed at raising financial support and identifying best practices for refugee response. The first GRF took place in 2019 with the passage of the Global Compact on Refugees, and the second GRF will take place in 2023.
Bhasan Char
THE CHALLENGE
Another recurring concern raised by Rohingya refugees and humanitarian actors in the camps is the relocation of refugees to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal known as Bhasan Char. The government of Bangladesh had long spoken about the idea of developing the island to host Rohingya refugees but accelerated plans following the sudden increase of refugees starting in August 2017. It has spent at least $300 million to build embankments and concrete housing to ensure the safety of the island for refugees. Bangladeshi authorities first moved a small group of Rohingya caught fleeing the main camps by sea to the island in April and May 2020, then began more formal relocations in December 2020. Bangladesh has now moved some 30,000 refugees to the island, claiming the moves to be voluntary. However, hundreds of refugees have attempted to flee the island, calling this into question.
Human rights and refugee advocacy groups, including Refugees International, have long raised questions about the safety and sustainability of moving refugees to the island, without satisfactory answers. International donor countries, UN agencies, and NGOs have expressed similar concerns. Eventually, UN agencies were able to visit and carry out limited assessments. In October 2021, UNHCR signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government, in which the government committed to voluntariness and informed consent of any relocations to the island and the ability of refugees to return to the main camps for limited occasions, such as weddings and funerals. The government has also set up livelihood opportunities on the island that are not available to refugees in the main camps, including fishing and farming. Bangladeshi authorities also began providing limited transport for refugees to return to the camps and arranging go-and-see visits for refugees in the main camps to see the island before deciding to relocate there.
Since the signing of the MoU, observers told Refugees International that the process for informing refugees about the island and monitoring voluntariness has improved. Many Rohingya who choose to move to the island are motivated by the more stable shelters and the relative safety of the island compared to the rising insecurity in the camps. However, many Rohingya refugees continue to report false information and coercive pressures to move to the island. Refugees with whom Refugees International spoke described pressure exerted by Bangladeshi security and camp authorities on majhis leading to offers of money to volunteers and threats to confiscate ration cards if a quota of volunteers is not reached. And only around 1,500 refugees have been able to return to the main camps for visits, all dependent on transport by the Bangladeshi navy. Refugees International spoke by phone to a Rohingya man who was among the first thousand refugees on the island. He said that, at the beginning, he felt good and that the government was doing better for him, but now, nearly two years later, he felt “the government wanted to tie us up without rope.”
By 2022, UN agencies were able to carry out a needs assessment and identified serious concerns about the health and nutrition situation on the island, finding high malnutrition rates and inadequate health facilities. Recognizing the humanitarian imperative to help the refugees, the United States and other donors agreed to provide funding for limited life-saving aid including for food security, protection, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene efforts.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
Even as international donors and NGOs are compelled by the humanitarian imperative to provide life-saving assistance to those already relocated to the island, they must make clear that future support that goes beyond emergency needs, will depend on Bangladesh living up to its own commitments. These commitments include truly voluntary and informed relocations, provision of Myanmar curriculum education and livelihood activities, and planning and preparation for potential natural disasters and disruptions of supply lines to the island. Refugees should also have increased opportunities to visit the main camps, or to return permanently, should they so choose.
Donor and UN engagement with Bangladesh on Bhasan Char must also include pushes for generally improved conditions for Rohingya, including access to health care, quality education, and livelihood opportunities both on the island and in the main camps.
Looming Funding Cuts
THE CHALLENGE
Humanitarian workers in Bangladesh are concerned about likely cuts in funding for aid to the Rohingya. The prolonged nature of the crisis, paired with greater global humanitarian needs and negative economic factors make it unlikely that international donors will continue to fund the Rohingya response at the levels of recent years.
The appeals of the Joint Response Plan (JRP), which provides an annual roadmap for matching funds with needs, called for more than $900 million annually between 2018 and 2021. These appeals have been funded at between 65 and 75 percent each of those years. In 2022, the appeal was reduced slightly to $881 million and, as of November 2022, had only been funded at 43 percent.
UN agencies and NGOs recognize these trends and are taking steps to consolidate and improve the efficiency of their efforts. For example, the number of medical facilities in the camps has been reduced based on analysis of distance and overlapping services. Similar consolidation measures are planned for various sectors of the response. However, NGOs have raised concerns about the transparency of the process and resulting greater control by UN agencies at the expense of international and local NGOs.
But with nearly 1 million refugees dependent on aid, consolidation can only go so far. Humanitarian officials, for example, warn about the impact of diminished funding for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) used by refugees to cook within their shelters. Massive deforestation – that was the result of refugees’ initial use of trees for shelter materials and cooking fires – has been successfully rolled back with efforts to “re-green” the camps. Today much of the plant-life has been regrown, but as soon as LPG is no longer available, refugees will turn to whatever sources of fuel they can find. Similarly, food aid can only be cut so much before malnutrition rates rise.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
International donors must not forget the need of the Rohingya and the rapid deterioration that will result from aid cuts. Those currently supporting the response must sustain robust financial commitments while engaging other donors to do the same. The United States, as the leading donor to the response, should work with like-minded countries to host a global pledging conference for the Rohingya response and broader Myanmar response as was done in 2019.
Until Rohingya can return safely to their homeland, the most effective way to support the humanitarian response and reduce the need for aid in Bangladesh is to increase the self-reliance of Rohingya refugees in the camps. Taking the steps mentioned earlier in this report to expand education, skills-building, and livelihood opportunities would help to create a more self-sustaining situation in the camps. The United States and other countries must engage the Bangladeshi government to take these steps.
In the meantime, beyond aid, the most impactful action that can be done to ameliorate the situation in the camps would be to allow for the processing of vulnerable Rohingya for resettlement to third countries. In an earlier report, Refugees International suggested resettlement of at least 50,000 refugees by the United States over several years as a reasonably attainable number, but the United States should work with allies to aim higher. Resettlement will not be a solution for the vast majority of Rohingya in Bangladesh, but it will make all the difference in individual lives and may also help in other ways. As one Rohingya refugee said, resettlement will allow more Rohingya to speak freely and raise awareness of our situation on the global stage.
Conclusion
Solutions to the protracted crisis in the Bangladesh camps all require empowerment of the Rohingya. Donors and humanitarian actors must work with the government of Bangladesh to ensure that the more positive solutions begun are expanded and not undermined by counter-productive actions. The ultimate solution to the crisis will be the safe return of Rohingya to their homeland. This will require increased global coordination of pressure on the Myanmar junta. But until this is realized, protecting and empowering Rohingya in Bangladesh is the best way to reduce dependency on international aid, to counter rising despair, to prevent further insecurity, and to prepare for sustainable return in the future..."
Source/publisher:
Refugees International
Date of entry/update:
2022-12-13
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Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"The United States is pleased to announce the establishment of a resettlement program for vulnerable Rohingya refugees in collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This program, which will be part of the global U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, is one element of a broader comprehensive response to the Rohingya refugee crisis with the main focus on preparing the Rohingya for voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return. The United States will consider for resettlement referrals submitted by the UNHCR.
The United States is proud of our long-standing support for displaced Rohingya, who have suffered genocide and crimes against humanity at the hands of Burma’s military, and we have provided more than $1.9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees from Burma in Bangladesh and the region, those affected by ongoing violence in Burma, and communities hosting refugees from Burma. In addition to supporting immediate basic needs, our humanitarian assistance strengthens the resilience, economic security, and dignity of refugees and host communities by improving education and livelihood opportunities. The United States is also supporting efforts to hold the perpetrators of the genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya accountable and to ensure justice for the victims of these atrocities.
The resettlement of most vulnerable Rohingya from Bangladesh reflects the United States’ long-standing leadership on refugee resettlement in the face of an unprecedented displacement crisis as record numbers of people around the world have been forced to flee war, persecution, and instability. We thank the Government of Bangladesh as a generous host of refugees and for their support of this important resettlement initiative..."
Source/publisher:
United States Department of State
Date of entry/update:
2022-12-13
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Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Today, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. State Department, announced more than $170 million in additional humanitarian assistance for vulnerable populations in Burma and Bangladesh, including support for Rohingya who remain in Burma, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, their generous Bangladeshi host communities, and other communities affected by the 2021 coup in Burma and the escalating conflict and repression that has followed. This additional funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for these populations to nearly $1.9 billion since it began in August 2017.
With this new funding, the United States will provide food and nutrition assistance, health care, shelter, safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene support, protection for the most vulnerable, and other critical support for relief operations in Burma and Bangladesh. This support includes assistance to Rohingya refugees sheltering in camps and affected host communities in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar District, as well as internally displaced persons across Burma affected by ongoing violence.
The United States remains committed to delivering assistance to crisis-affected communities in Burma and Bangladesh, but much more is needed. We urge other donors to join us in providing additional assistance to vulnerable populations in both countries..."
Source/publisher:
United States Agency for International Development (Washington, D.C.)
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-22
[field_licence]
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Individual Documents
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"25 August 2022: Five years ago, the Myanmar military launched genocidal security operations against Rohingya in Rakhine State in a horrific culmination of decades of state-based persecution of Rohingya inside Myanmar. Today, the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) remembers the Rohingya victims and survivors of the genocide perpetrated by the Myanmar military and all of those struggling for justice, human rights, and the right to live dignified lives free from military oppression.
On 25 August, 2017, the launch of security operations by the Myanmar military against Rohingya in northern Rakhine State heralded the beginning of a widespread and systemic campaign of rape, arson, torture, murder and forced displacement that would claim the lives of thousands of boys, girls, men and women and drive 750,000 people across the border into Bangladesh. Those that fled joined a quarter of a million Rohingya already seeking refuge inside Bangladesh. Today, nearly one million people live in squalid conditions inside the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh.
“The stories and accounts we have heard from the Rohingya survivors of Myanmar military atrocities have had a profound effect on us all. They will never leave us,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “Today we remember the Rohingya survivors and victims of these grave crimes and are reminded once more of our moral duty to the Rohingya people and to humanity that the perpetrators of such atrocities are held to account wherever they occur.”
Life is a daily struggle for the some 900,000 people confined to refugee camps in Bangladesh. Hemmed in on all sides by barbed wire, there is no escape from the frequent fires, floods and landslides caused by the torrential monsoon rains or criminal gangs that threaten and murder camp inhabitants with impunity. Last September, much-loved Rohingya community leader and activist Mohib Ullah was assassinated after threats were made against his life.
The situation is similarly dire for the 600,000 Rohingya that remain inside Myanmar where the military has been committing widespread daily atrocities against the entire population of the country since attempting a military coup in February 2021. Rohingya in Rakhine State face increased restrictions on movement and threats of violence and persecution from security forces. As such, the safe, voluntary, dignified and durable return of Rohingya in Bangladesh to Myanmar is currently impossible.
“The strength, spirit and determination of the Rohingya and their fight for justice in the face of such horrific circumstances is a source of great inspiration for us and oppressed peoples around the world,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “The entire country of Myanmar is now engaged in a struggle against their military oppressors as they fight for a new Myanmar built on human rights, justice, and democracy. The Rohingya are an integral part of this future. Securing justice for the Rohingya is essential to seeing these dreams of a new Myanmar become reality.”
Today, as SAC-M remembers the Rohingya victims and survivors of genocide, we call on the international community to spare no effort in assisting and strengthening ongoing accountability measures and to explore every avenue in pursuit of justice for the Rohingya and accountability for the Myanmar military’s genocidal atrocities.
“Myanmar military impunity is the root cause of the Rohingya genocide,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “Only when Myanmar military leadership are held to account for their grave crimes can the horrific, decades-long cycle of military violence that has brought untold suffering to the Rohingya people finally be brought to a close.”..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
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Individual Documents
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Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"The upcoming five-year anniversary of the Rohingya crisis must mark a turning point in the urgent quest to deliver justice to the victims and hold those responsible to account, Amnesty International said today.
On 25 August 2017 Myanmar’s military began carrying out violent operations against the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State, which resulted in grave crimes under international law, whole villages torched, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee into Bangladesh.
“This solemn anniversary is a haunting reminder that not a single high-ranking Myanmar military official has been prosecuted for the egregious campaign of violence against the Rohingya,” said Amnesty International’s Ming Yu Hah, Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns.
“Amnesty International stands in solidarity with the Rohingya people who are in Rakhine State and the estimated one million refugees living across the border in Bangladesh. Real justice is essential to ending the spiraling cycle of impunity engulfing Myanmar for many years.”
"This solemn anniversary is a haunting reminder that not a single high-ranking Myanmar military official has been prosecuted for the egregious campaign of violence against the Rohingya." - Amnesty International's Ming Yu Ha, Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns
Five years later, Rohingya in Rakhine State still lack freedom of movement and other basic rights such as access to adequate food, healthcare and education, problems compounded by the rising insecurity brought on by the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. Across the border in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees are living in limbo with neither the opportunity to safely return to their homes in Myanmar nor a way to live peacefully in Bangladesh, where violence has been on the rise in refugee camps.
“We face enormous hardship in the refugee camps,” San thai Shin, a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar camp, told Amnesty International in June. “We do not know how we can ever return to our homes. We are neither safe in the refugee camps nor in Arakan [Rakhine State in Myanmar].”
“Our people are losing their lives to gang violence in the refugee camps, in environmental calamity, or by taking dangerous attempts to migrate to other countries through the deadly seas and other means.”
Importantly, some international justice efforts are moving forward. In July 2022, the International Court of Justice dismissed Myanmar’s objections and decided that it has jurisdiction to continue proceedings instituted by the government of The Gambia against the government of Myanmar in 2019 on the basis of the Genocide Convention.
“The International Court of Justice’s decision is a vital step in ongoing efforts to hold Myanmar’s government to account,” Amnesty’s Ming Yu Hah said.
The International Criminal Court is also investigating crimes committed in 2016 and 2017 against the Rohingya population. Although Myanmar has not ratified the ICC’s Statute, the Court is examining alleged crimes committed partly in the territory of Bangladesh or other states. Amnesty International has called for the United Nations Security Council to refer the full situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, so that an investigation of all crimes committed in Myanmar can be conducted.
An investigation into other crimes in Myanmar is also being conducted in Argentina under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which permits national authorities to investigate crimes under international law committed anywhere in the world on behalf of the international community. The case, which was filed by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), hopes to hold senior military leaders to account for alleged responsibility in crimes against the Rohingya people.
These efforts should be supported and other states should also take measures to investigate and prosecute the crimes before their national courts.
“The Association of Southeast Asian Nations must also play a more forceful, decisive and leadership role in standing up for the Rohingya people and pushing for accountability in Myanmar,” Amnesty’s Ming Yu Hah said.
“We reiterate our call on authorities to respect and ensure the participation of Rohingyas in the decisions that affect them in order to protect their human rights.”
Background:
More than 740,000 Rohingya women, men and children fled northern Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh, when in August 2017 Myanmar security forces launched a widespread and systematic assault on Rohingya villages, including extrajudicial killings, destruction of properties and sexual assault. The onslaught came in the wake of a series of what the military claims were insurgent attacks on police posts.
Taking into account previous decades of violence against the Rohingya, an estimated one million Rohingya refugees now live in Bangladesh, while many of their homes in Rakhine State have been destroyed without a trace.
The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar previously called for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other top military officials to be investigated and prosecuted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the role of Chairman of the State Administration Council following the February 2021 coup.
In a report published earlier this month, since the coup Amnesty International documented the crackdown and arbitrary detention of those who exercise their right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly as well as enforced disappearances, torture and other inhuman treatment in detention.
More than 2,000 people have reportedly been killed since the coup, and Myanmar arbitrarily executed four people after grossly unfair trials, the first use of capital punishment in the country in decades.
A report by Amnesty International published in July showed that the Myanmar military is committing war crimes by laying banned landmines and around villages in Kayah (Karenni) State, while a report in May showed how the military uses air strikes and shelling as a form of collective punishment against civilians..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Anniversary of Atrocities Highlights International Inaction
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"(Bangkok) – Rohingya Muslims are still awaiting justice and protection of their rights five years after the Myanmar military began a sweeping campaign of massacres, rape, and arson in northern Rakhine State on August 25, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. More than 730,000 Rohingya fled to precarious, flood-prone camps in Bangladesh, while about 600,000 remain under oppressive rule in Myanmar.
No one has been held accountable for the crimes against humanity and acts of genocide committed against the Rohingya population. This anniversary should prompt concerned governments to take concrete action to hold the Myanmar military to account and secure justice and safety for the Rohingya in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and across the region.
“Governments should mark the five-year anniversary of the devastating campaign against the Rohingya with a coordinated international strategy for accountability and justice that draws on Rohingya input,” said Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Donors should support Rohingya refugees to study and work freely and safely so they can build independent and self-reliant futures.”
Since August 2017, Human Rights Watch has interviewed hundreds of Rohingya in Bangladesh who fled the Myanmar military’s atrocities. They described incidents in which soldiers systematically killed and raped villagers before torching their homes. Altogether, the security forces killed thousands and burned down nearly 400 villages. Those who escaped to neighboring Bangladesh joined a few hundred thousand refugees who had fled earlier waves of violence and persecution.
“Myanmar authorities brutalized us,” said Abdul Halim, 30, a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh. “They burned down our houses, raped our mothers and sisters, burned our children. We took shelter in Bangladesh to escape that brutality. Now I’ve been living in Kutupalong camp for five years.” Abdul carried his very ill mother on his back when they fled Myanmar in 2017. She died shortly after reaching Bangladesh.
The Rohingya who remain in Rakhine State face systematic abuses that amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty. They are confined to camps and villages without freedom of movement, cut off from access to adequate food, health care, education, and livelihoods.
“Since we were children in Myanmar, we never had any freedom,” Abdul said. “They called me ‘nowa kalar’ [a slur for Muslims], to say we are like animals.”
Rohingya are effectively denied citizenship under Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law, rendering them stateless. The 2017 atrocities were rooted in decades of state repression, discrimination, and violence.
“In Myanmar, we struggled through life,” Hasina Hatu, 40, said. “When we raised goats, the border guard forces took away the goats. When we raised cattle, they took away the cattle. When we farmed paddy fields, they took away the rice.” Hasina’s father died after falling down a muddy slope as they fled in 2017.
In February 2021, the generals who had orchestrated the atrocities against the Rohingya staged a coup and detained Myanmar’s elected civilian leaders. The military junta responded to mass demonstrations with a nationwide campaign of mass killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and indiscriminate attacks that amounted to crimes against humanity and, in conflict areas, war crimes. Military units that had been implicated in the 2017 atrocities – since sanctioned by the United States and United Kingdom – have been deployed in renewed operations around the country.
The junta has imposed new movement restrictions and aid blockages on Rohingya camps and villages, increasing water scarcity and food shortages, along with disease and malnutrition. Since the coup, security forces have arrested an estimated 2,000 Rohingya, hundreds of them children, for “unauthorized travel.” Many have been sentenced to the maximum five years in prison. Increased fighting between the Myanmar military and ethnic Arakan Army has also left Rohingya caught in the middle.
In Bangladesh, about one million Rohingya refugees live in sprawling, overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar and the isolated silt island of Bhasan Char. For five years, the Bangladesh government has respected the international principle of nonrefoulement, the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
However, Bangladesh authorities have recently intensified restrictions on livelihoods, movement, and education that make many refugees feel unwelcome and at risk. Officials have closed community-led schools, arbitrarily destroyed shops, and imposed new obstacles on travel.
“If our children can’t be educated here in Bangladesh either, then anywhere we go, we will still be persecuted,” Abdul said.
Bangladesh authorities have moved about 28,000 Rohingya to Bhasan Char, where they face severe movement restrictions, food and medicine shortages, and abuses by security forces. Despite the involvement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), many continue to be transferred without full, informed consent, and have been prevented from returning to the mainland. Bangladesh authorities should lift the new restrictions and end forced relocations of refugees, Human Rights Watch said.
“How long will we live like this?” Hasina said. “I don’t think the world will solve our condition.”
The 2022 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis has received only a quarter of its requested US$881 million in funding. Donors including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Australia should increase funding to meet the massive needs of the refugee population to help Bangladesh support the Rohingya and host communities.
The Bangladesh government and Myanmar junta have renewed discussions around repatriation, announcing in January joint plans to “expeditiously complete the verification process.” Two prior repatriation attempts failed, with Rohingya refugees unwilling to return due to the ongoing persecution and abuse in Myanmar. Michelle Bachelet, the outgoing UN high commissioner for human rights, announced on August 17, following a visit to Cox’s Bazar, that “the current situation across the border means that conditions are not right for returns.”
“We want to go back to Myanmar but to go there we want justice,” Mohammad Ayaz, 21, said. “How long will we have to live in a tarpaulin house? It’s been five years. Who knows how long we have to live here. Who knows whether the world will help us get justice or not.” Mohammad was shot while fleeing his village of Tula Toli on August 30, 2017. At least 12 members of his family, including his parents and sisters, were killed.
In Malaysia, India, and Thailand, thousands of Rohingya refugees are being held indefinitely in immigration detention sites or living without adequate support and protection.
The international response to the 2017 violence was fragmented and halting, with governments favoring quiet diplomacy that achieved little over strategic measures to place real pressure on the military, Human Rights Watch said.
Building conditions for the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of Rohingya refugees will require a cohesive international response to establish rights-respecting rule in Myanmar and achieve justice for the crimes in Rakhine State. A future Myanmar under democratic civilian rule will entail full citizenship rights for Rohingya and reparations for the atrocities, including for stolen or destroyed land and property.
The UN Security Council should end its inaction borne of anticipated vetoes by China and Russia and urgently negotiate a resolution to institute a global arms embargo on Myanmar, refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, and impose targeted sanctions on the junta and military-owned conglomerates.
“What are we waiting for?” a US diplomat said in a speech at a Security Council meeting in 2021. “The longer we delay, the more people die. This council is failing in our collective responsibility to safeguard international peace and security. And it is failing the people of Burma.”
The US, UK, EU, and other governments should together strengthen international sanctions to cut off the Myanmar military from the revenue funding its abusive operations, including in Rakhine State. Governments should target the junta’s gas revenues, its largest source of foreign income, totaling about $1 billion in annual profits. The EU sanctioned the junta-controlled Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise in February, but other governments have so far failed to follow suit. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should urgently abandon its failed five-point consensus response to the crisis and instead coordinate strong action against the junta’s abuses.
“We hope that, with help from foreign governments and Bangladesh, we will be able to get back our rights,” Abdul said. “That is what we want.”
Governments should explore every avenue for justice and accountability for the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes, including by formally supporting the case under the Genocide Convention brought by Gambia against Myanmar before the International Court of Justice. Canada and the Netherlands have publicly declared their intention to support the proceedings.
Governments should also actively pursue investigations and prosecutions under the principle of universal jurisdiction, an avenue to justice for crimes so serious that all states have an interest in addressing them. The Argentine judiciary has opened an investigation into Myanmar’s atrocities against the Rohingya under universal jurisdiction.
“The Myanmar junta’s killing of demonstrators, shelling of civilians, and other abuses reflect in large measure the failure to hold the generals accountable for their atrocities of five years ago,” Pearson said. “Influential governments should overcome their past mistakes and take strong measures to sever the flow of arms and revenue underwriting the junta’s ongoing crimes.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya
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Myanmar’s crackdown in 2017 forced a vast wave of refugees across the border into already crowded and unsafe camps – the result of decades of international political paralysis
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"In the 31 years since Anuara Begum’s family moved into their bamboo shelter in the Nayapara refugee camp, the only improvement they could make was replacing its tarpaulin roof with tin sheeting – less flimsy but hammer-loud when the rains come.
Running from Myanmar’s military, their new home was built to be temporary, and so it proved when it took just 30 minutes for a fire last year to incinerate the metal and bamboo structures of a whole block of the camp.
Fires in the camp have become commonplace in the five years since 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, the August 2017 wave joining the approximately 300,000 already there from previous security crackdowns by the Myanmar military.
The conditions those refugees now endure – living in fragile shelters, banned from education, work and travel – have been faced by several generations, who have run for decades from violence and discrimination at the hands of the Myanmar government.
Begum, 23, was born in Bangladesh without any prospect of a safe return to the Myanmar she has never seen.
“We have no peace of mind. The camp is like an open prison for us. Most people suffer with depression and trauma,” she says. “Since I was born, I have faced constant hardship. I have spent my entire life as a refugee, since 1999, and still I can’t find peace.
“I cry when I see a fire. My family can’t sleep properly through the night because of our fear after the fire. My neighbours are constantly scared.”
Rohingya people and aid workers say the refugees who arrived five years ago have been abandoned to the same fate as those before them, accusing the humanitarian agencies of decades of failure to ensure basic rights or to secure a safe return.
One senior aid worker for an international NGO said the UN had consistently failed to challenge the Bangladeshi government over restrictive policies such as the demand that all homes be temporary, its restrictions on education and movement and the relocation of tens of thousands of people to Bhasan Char, an island camp vulnerable to extreme weather.
“Basic shelter standards have not been met, and every year the camp burns down,” he said, asking for anonymity.
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“They often blame climate change for this, which is, frankly, bollocks. The fault for those fires is on the UNHCR [UN refugee agency] and IOM [International Organization for Migration]. And they should be held accountable. Where the government has put punitive measures in place, they’ve never been challenged.”
He said the Rohingya posed no significant security threat in Bangladesh, which should ensure more humane conditions.
“It has been a failure and, on the five-year mark, the UN has to be close to saying that it’s failed. They won’t – they’ll say we did our best, and look at all of the things we’ve done. But they’ve essentially created a prison camp in Cox’s Bazar … it’s insane when you think about it.”
Another frontline worker said humanitarian agencies are too concerned about maintaining good relationships with the government so they can continue operating in Bangladesh. “They’re very much reliant on those good relationships with the government and it was my impression that they value those relationships and development programmes more than the rights of Rohingya, who were not allowed to leave, to work or receive education,” he said.
At least 7,000 Rohingya were killed in Myanmar’s Rakhine state over several weeks of “clearance operations” by the military, which began on 25 August 2017. Described as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing” by the UN, the attacks were ostensibly to remove the fringe Rohingya armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, but targeted civilians instead. The military, and ethnic Rakhine villagers, used killing, arson and rape to drive hundreds of thousands of people to Bangladesh. The UN called it genocide.
Such violence is not new. It was employed by the military in 1978 and 1991, creating similar but smaller refugee crises. Both times, Bangladesh carried out repatriation campaigns to force people back, with apparently little international resistance.
A report, prepared in 2010 but never published, about the UNHCR’s role in the camps and during the repatriations, said that in 1978 and during the 1990s the agency “departed the furthest from its protection mandate and principles in any of its operations worldwide”.
According to that report, seen by the Guardian, the agency cooperated with the government in repatriation efforts during the 1990s, despite concerns about lack of consent, intimidation and, on one occasion, a group of Rohingya being forced at gunpoint to board boats.
A researcher who produced a separate report for the US Congress at the time said that, when invited by UNHCR to witness a repatriation, they were shocked to see Rohingya burst into tears when told they were being returned to Myanmar.
The UN report also noted that Rohingya faced the same violence and controls when they were returned to Myanmar. Some found their home villages had been taken over as military bases. They faced increased taxes and more restrictions on their movements. Many made the journey back to Bangladesh.
The report was particularly damning on the lack of involvement the Rohingya played in decision-making. It quoted a senior official who said in a meeting: “The Rohingya are primitive people. At the end of the day, they will go where they are told to go.”
Rohingya people have repeatedly complained at not being consulted in the repatriation process, including when the UN signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar which did not address their main demand – the restoration of citizenship rights stripped away in 1982.
UNHCR spokesperson Regina de la Portilla said it will ensure any future repatriation is safe and that informed consent is obtained, but that the conditions in Myanmar are not currently suitable for a return. “It’s clear that, this time around, the return needs to be voluntary, safe and sustainable, and that it can only happen if the basic rights and the human rights of the Rohingya in Myanmar are ensured,” she said.
“This implies that they are granted documentation, have had services, have freedom of movement, and their safety is ensured.”
A lack of opportunity in the camps has helped feed a trafficking network that has seen tens of thousands of Rohingya trafficked from Bangladesh and Myanmar to Malaysia. In 2015, the Thai government discovered mass graves at one of the jungle camps where refugees had been held captive.
The trafficking network seemed dormant for several years after that but is now active again, with reports of boats arriving into southeast Asia. Last week, the Indonesian navy had to retrieve a sinking boat carrying more than 100 people.
Rohingya complain that insecurity has spiralled in the camps, fuelled by armed gangs vying for dominance. Last year, the most prominent Rohingya civil society leader, Mohib Ullah, was assassinated in his office. Two other leaders were shot dead in the camps last week.
Speaking at Nayapara refugee camp, Anuara Begum says gang members have threatened to abduct her if she continues to work with NGOs and advocate for girls’ education. “They said I’m a bad influence for the community. The miscreants threatened to kidnap me if I go outside any more,” she says.
“I fear them now, and can only secretly go outside. I already feel dead inside.”
All Bangladesh’s attempts to begin repatriations have failed, with no refugees signing up willingly to return. Last year’s military coup in Myanmar means the country is no safer for the Rohingya than in 2017.
Progress towards justice has also been slow. A genocide case against Myanmar, taken by the Gambia to the UN’s International Courts of Justice, moved beyond the preliminary stage in a recent ruling, but the investigation by the international criminal court into forced deportations by the military has been slower.
Evidence gathered by the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, and submitted to the ICC investigation, indicated that there was evidence the Myanmar military had for years planned operations to expel the Rohingya.
De la Portilla said the UNCHR has tried to improve conditions within the temporary response framework set out by the government, with better sanitary systems, the ability to respond to fires, and gradually rolling out limited secondary education. But funding has become a major barrier, especially when global prices have soared for key items like gas, which prevents refugees having to cut firewood.
Khin Maung leads the camp-based Rohingya Youth Association. He says UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet told the refugees at a meeting last week that conditions are not right for repatriation. “The military regime has no plan to take back Rohingya, it just shows fake willingness on social media to get legitimacy from the international community and Bangladesh government,” he says.
“[Meanwhile], the conditions in the camps are not good. Nothing is changing at all and violence is increasing.
“The Rohingya community must start political activism for self-determination. We have the right to struggle for our ethnic rights like other minority communities in their areas. Why not for our community? The solution is in our hands.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-24
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Type:
Individual Documents
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Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Sub-title:
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Description:
"This week marks five years since more than 700,000 Rohingya women, men and children fled Myanmar for Bangladesh, joining hundreds of thousands of other Rohingya who had sought and found refuge in the country in previous years. The latest exodus from Myanmar is now officially defined as being a protracted situation.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is appealing for much greater efforts to secure both financial support and solutions for the Rohingya.
Since the onset of this humanitarian crisis, the Government of Bangladesh and local communities, with aid agencies, were quick to respond to arriving refugees, providing shelter in what is now the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar.
Five years later, many Rohingya refugees have told UNHCR they wish to return home to Myanmar so long as conditions for safe, dignified and sustainable returns are met and they can enjoy freedom of movement, access to documentation and a pathway to citizenship, as well as access to services and income-generating activities.
For the almost 1 million stateless Rohingya refugees, conditions in Bangladesh are extremely overcrowded, and they remain fully reliant on humanitarian assistance for their survival. With decreased funding, they face many challenges in their daily lives. Multiple humanitarian assessment surveys have found that the most commonly unmet needs include proper nutrition, shelter materials, sanitation facilities and livelihood opportunities. Some have resorted to dangerous boat journeys to seek a better future.
Protection needs — especially for women, children and people with disabilities — are often under-reported. Violence against children and women, especially gender-based violence, is shrouded in stigma that can render survivors voiceless, often unable to access legal, medical, psycho-social or other forms of support.
Support must be stepped up for education, skills development, and livelihood opportunities. These activities will prepare refugees for eventual return while also helping them remain safe and productive during their stay in Bangladesh.
Some 10,000 Rohingya children in Bangladesh are already enrolled in the Myanmar curriculum, taught in the Myanmar language. Support for sustained and expanded access to the Myanmar curriculum is needed. This a milestone towards a more formal education and helps close the gap for older children who previously had no learning opportunities.
UNHCR is also appealing for further investment from the international community to ensure Rohingya refugees can benefit from skills development, including vocational training and other forms of capacity-building for adolescent and adult refugees. This will allow refugees to support their communities and live with dignity in Bangladesh, and above all to prepare them for rebuilding their lives when they can voluntarily and safely return to Myanmar.
The support from the international community has been and is crucial in delivering lifesaving protection and assistance services for Rohingya refugees but funding is well short of needs. The 2022 response plan seeks over US$881 million for more than 1.4 million people, including Rohingya refugees and more than half a million most affected host communities, and is so far funded at only 49 per cent, with US$426.2 million received.
Together, the international community must do more to ensure that the Rohingya do not continue to languish in displacement and redouble efforts for increased political dialogue and diplomatic engagement to create conditions for voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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