Bangladesh promises to take back Rohingya if pilot repatriation project fails

Bangladesh on Sunday defended its pilot project to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, assuring that they would be brought back if they feel uncomfortable in Rakhine state or the project fails.

Rohingya are going there voluntarily, Bangladesh’s Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, told reporters in the capital Dhaka.

“This is a trial process, no major repatriation. Rohingya will be sent to Rakhine to monitor the situation. If they feel uncomfortable, there is a chance to bring them back. In that case, we see no argument to go against it,” he added.

His comments were the latest by Bangladeshi authorities aimed at addressing global concerns and calls for suspending the pilot project, which is being jointly carried out by Bangladesh and Myanmar and brokered by China.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladeshi camps have already expressed concern over forceful repatriation and no change in their lives after being repatriated to Rakhine without citizenship rights.

Bangladesh and Myanmar have been pushing to launch the project with the return of around 1,100 refugees.

Nearly 1.2 million Rohingya are living in Bangladesh, most of whom fled a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine in August 2017. While the majority are still in overcrowded camps in southern Cox’s Bazar district, around 30,000 have been shifted to the island of Bhasan Char since late 2020.

Alam said his comments were in response to the UN’s opposition to the pilot project. He added that a process is underway to involve the UN.

He noted that while there is no such agreement yet that the Rohingya would be repatriated with a certificate from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), “they have been informed about our efforts.”

He also protested a statement made by Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

Alam said Andrews visited Cox's Bazar recently and gave a statement on the pilot project, but the things he said and the language he used “belittled and dishonored our efforts. We will report the matter to the UN.”

Andrews said Thursday that Bangladesh must immediately suspend the pilot repatriation project for Rohingya refugees to return to Myanmar, where they face serious risks to their lives and liberty.

Last month, Bangladeshi officials took 20 Rohingya refugees on a visit to resettlement camps in Myanmar’s Rakhine state to assess conditions for their return, which ended with the Rohingya delegation expressing concerns over the plan.

International rights groups including Human Rights Watch have joined the chorus of voices opposing the proposal, urging donor governments and the US to call for a halt to any Rohingya repatriation until conditions are in place for safe and sustainable returns.

Despite the backlash, authorities in Bangladesh are apparently willing to do whatever it takes to see the plan through.