Rohingya situation in Bangladesh ‘shocking’
What we saw in the camps was shocking. The scale of the refugee crisis is immense: more than 600,000 displaced from their homes since Aug 25. The conditions are tough. People are suffering. Simon Henshaw, acting Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration
NEW YORK: The acting Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Simon Henshaw, has just returned after a week long visit to Myanmar – US officials still refer to Myanmar by its old moniker ‘Burma’ – and Bangladesh, and said that the conditions at the refugee camps in Bangladesh for the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar were “shocking”.
Henshaw led a high-powered delegation which included deputy assistant secretary Scott Busby from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour; acting deputy assistant secretary Tom Vajda of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs; and office director Patrician Mahoney of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
“What we saw in the camps was shocking. The scale of the refugee crisis is immense: more than 600,000 displaced from their homes since Aug 25. The conditions are tough. People are suffering.
“Many refugees told us, through tears, accounts of seeing their villages burned, their relatives killed in front of them. It was tough to take. Some recalled being shot as they fled.
“Despite the trauma, many expressed a strong desire to return to their homes in Burma, provided their safety, security, and rights could be guaranteed,” Henshaw recounted.
In Myanmar, Henshaw and the visiting delegation met government officials and Rohingya community representatives, and also had a first-hand inspection of the camps for displaced persons inside Myanmar.
“We urge the Burmese government to act to restore the rule of law, protect local populations, investigate alleged human rights abuses and violations, and to hold those responsible accountable.
“We welcome the government’s plans for repatriation, and encourage them to implement these plans as soon as possible, emphasising the importance of creating safe conditions that would allow refugees to voluntarily return to their villages and land,” Henshaw said.
Henshaw and his delegation, later, visited Bangladesh where they held talks with government officials, international organisations, and NGOs, and visited refugee camps near Cox’s Bazar.
Expressing appreciation for the generosity and commitment from the government and people of Bangladesh and the humanitarian partners, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, the Organisation for Migration, the UN World Food Programme, and the United Nations Children’s Fund, Henshaw said the situation required a lot more work.
While the US was among the first to pledge funds to support international organisations in the crisis, other donors also need to contribute more.
“The US remains committed to addressing the needs of those impacted by the crisis and calls on others, including in the region, to join us in our response,” he said.
Henshaw noted that the “Burmese government appear committed to start a repatriation programme for those wanting to return, but it was in the early stages”.
However, he stressed that it was important for the US that the programme “not only creates safe conditions so that refugees will want to return voluntarily, but also assure that refugees go back to their villages and land, that their houses (would) be restored in the areas where the villages were burned, and that political reconciliation takes place”.
On the granting of full citizenship to the Rohingya population, Henshaw said that the “(former UN Secretary- General Kofi) Annan recommendations should be implemented, and they include a path to citizenship”.
Henshaw also called on the Asean member countries to support efforts to achieve a resolution of the situation.
He said that the matter will be further pursued when Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, visits Myanmar.
Tillerson who is presently accompanying President Donald Trump on his travels to Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, will also make an additional stop in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on Nov 15 when he will hold talks with that country’s senior leaders and officials on actions to address the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State and US support for Burma’s democratic transition. — Bernama