Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh: Bangladesh wants to send more than 80,000 Rohingya refugee to a remote island in Bay of Bengal Officials said on Friday, after sealing a deal to provide aid to the United Nations.
Some 19,000 of these Muslim refugees from Myanmar Officials said Bhashan has shifted from overcrowded camps on the mainland to Char Island, despite doubts raised by aid groups.
Bangladesh’s refugee commissioner Shah Rezwan Hayat told AFP that tens of thousands more would be gone once monsoon storm Which ends the Bay of Bengal in November every year.
“We are aiming to move about 81,000 (Rohingya) to language four by the end of February, so that the 100,000 quota can be met,” he told AFP.
The government has spent about $350 million building shelters on the 53-square-kilometre (20 sq mi) island, which was created about 20 years ago by tidal silt deposits.
On top of inhospitable weather, the island is 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the mainland of Bangladesh and some Rohingya The groups say people were forced to move there.
Nearly 850,000 Rohingya are packed into camps Bangladesh-Myanmar border. most fled Myanmar army repression In 2017 the United Nations says that maybe Massacre.
Bangladesh has been praised for accepting refugees from across the border, but has had little success in finding permanent homes.
While a security intelligence agency in Bangladesh is responsible for relocating the refugees, the government denies that any form of coercion has been used.
Nevertheless, several hundred Rohingya have fled the country only to be detained on other islands or coastal villages. Dozens were killed when a fishing boat full of Rohingya sank as they tried to flee the island in August.
The United Nations had cast doubt on the transfer. But Bangladesh and UN officials said a deal had been agreed to give the UN a role in providing humanitarian aid and monitoring conditions on the island.
“We can confirm that the UN will sign a memorandum of understanding with the government on Saturday for the protection of Rohingya refugees in Language Four,” a spokesman for the UN refugee agency UNHCR told AFP.
Refugees Commissioner Hyatt said the UN would now play a bigger role on the island than on the mainland refugee camps, where they already have extensive operations.
“Bhash Char residents will receive the same treatment as the humanitarian response now provided to people in Cox’s Bazar camps,” he said.
He said there would also be more opportunities to work on the island for the Rohingyas, who are now in hardened police camps.
but Amnesty International Raised new concerns over resettlement and highlighted efforts by refugees on the island to move away again.
Amnesty’s South Asia campaigner Saad Hammadi told AFP: “Some refugees have drowned at sea and many are either being arrested, detained or forcibly returned to the island.”
He said Bangladesh, the United Nations and donor countries “should develop a policy that respects their rights and ensures the participation of Rohingya refugees in decisions affecting their lives.”
Some 19,000 of these Muslim refugees from Myanmar Officials said Bhashan has shifted from overcrowded camps on the mainland to Char Island, despite doubts raised by aid groups.
Bangladesh’s refugee commissioner Shah Rezwan Hayat told AFP that tens of thousands more would be gone once monsoon storm Which ends the Bay of Bengal in November every year.
“We are aiming to move about 81,000 (Rohingya) to language four by the end of February, so that the 100,000 quota can be met,” he told AFP.
The government has spent about $350 million building shelters on the 53-square-kilometre (20 sq mi) island, which was created about 20 years ago by tidal silt deposits.
On top of inhospitable weather, the island is 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the mainland of Bangladesh and some Rohingya The groups say people were forced to move there.
Nearly 850,000 Rohingya are packed into camps Bangladesh-Myanmar border. most fled Myanmar army repression In 2017 the United Nations says that maybe Massacre.
Bangladesh has been praised for accepting refugees from across the border, but has had little success in finding permanent homes.
While a security intelligence agency in Bangladesh is responsible for relocating the refugees, the government denies that any form of coercion has been used.
Nevertheless, several hundred Rohingya have fled the country only to be detained on other islands or coastal villages. Dozens were killed when a fishing boat full of Rohingya sank as they tried to flee the island in August.
The United Nations had cast doubt on the transfer. But Bangladesh and UN officials said a deal had been agreed to give the UN a role in providing humanitarian aid and monitoring conditions on the island.
“We can confirm that the UN will sign a memorandum of understanding with the government on Saturday for the protection of Rohingya refugees in Language Four,” a spokesman for the UN refugee agency UNHCR told AFP.
Refugees Commissioner Hyatt said the UN would now play a bigger role on the island than on the mainland refugee camps, where they already have extensive operations.
“Bhash Char residents will receive the same treatment as the humanitarian response now provided to people in Cox’s Bazar camps,” he said.
He said there would also be more opportunities to work on the island for the Rohingyas, who are now in hardened police camps.
but Amnesty International Raised new concerns over resettlement and highlighted efforts by refugees on the island to move away again.
Amnesty’s South Asia campaigner Saad Hammadi told AFP: “Some refugees have drowned at sea and many are either being arrested, detained or forcibly returned to the island.”
He said Bangladesh, the United Nations and donor countries “should develop a policy that respects their rights and ensures the participation of Rohingya refugees in decisions affecting their lives.”
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