Postpone refugee plan urges expert

THE implementation of a repatriation plan for Rohingya refugees, proposed by the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh and set for the middle of this month, should be postponed as the authorities of Myanmar have failed to provide guarantees for the refugees’ safe return, Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said yesterday.

On October 30, the authorities of Bangladesh and Myanmar met in Dhaka, where they reached an agreement to begin the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh.

It was announced the two sides had developed a “very concrete plan” to start repatriations in midNovember.

“I have not seen any evidence of the government of Myanmar taking concrete and visible measures to create an environment where the Rohingya can return to their place of origin and live there safely with their fundamental rights guaranteed…

“I urge the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar to halt these rushed plans for repatriation, to ensure the protection of the Rohingya refugees and to adhere to their international human rights and refugee law obligations to ensure any returns are safe, sustainable, voluntary and dignified,” she said.

According to the expert, many Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar camp in Bangladesh fear that their names can be put on the list of those to be repatriated back to Myanmar.

She stressed that the refugees must be given an opportunity to decide themselves whether to returned to Myanmar or not.

“Any returns under current conditions, where there is high risk of persecution, may violate obligations under customary international law to uphold the principle of non-refoulement,” the UN expert added.

Rohingyas, a Muslim minority in Myanmar, have been fleeing their homes to avoid waves of violence following the government’s deployment of police and military units in response to an attack by Rohingya insurgents on security posts in Rakhine State on August 25, 2017.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, nearly 700 000 Rohingyas have left the country for Bangladesh since last August for the fear of persecution. |